2nd Oman International Photography Competition: Outstanding pieces of work stand out among the rest

The 2nd Oman International Photography competition participated by dozens of photographers from all over the world concluded Wednesday and the entries were not only breathtaking but they boosted the competition to another level sending a clear message that it is a competition that has to be taken seriously. While the first competition held two years ago brought many recognizable photographer names to the shores of Oman, this year’s competition brought the world’s best making it difficult for the judging panel to decide on who should win the competition. Held under the patronage of Dr Abdulmoneim Mansour al Hasani, Minister of Information, the Wednesday concluding programme also served as the opening of the exhibition and the launching of the photo book which included the best submissions that became part of the competition. The photo book, according to the International Federation of Photography (FIAP) has been done in the most prestigious manner to give the photos the recognition they all deserve. Omani contenders had strong entries this year with Hamed al Ghabnboosi, Omani FIAP Photographer, winning the Best Participant Award at the Khasab International Salon and Nasser al Masoudi receiving an IAAP Ribbon. Croatia’s Peter Sabol won the Best Participant Prize at the Barka International Salon while Arnaldo Paolo Xie and Chan Hu Wei of Hong Kong won the best participation Award for Sur International Salon and Duqm International Salon respectively. The Minister of Information himself gave the awards to the deserving winners. Outstanding pieces of work Overall, the gold medal of the Grand Oman International Competition was won by photographer Arnaldo Paolo Xie from Hong Kong as the best photographer in the four categories. At the level of clubs and international associations, Changtov Photography and Arts Club of China won the award of the best international club participating in the competition. At the local level, Qumra Photographic Group from the National University won the Best Cinematography Award in the Sultanate. The competition came in four salons bearing the names of four coastal Omani cities of Khasab, Barka, Sur and Duqm. The four main themes of the competition were: “The Sea” as the main axis with three other axes focused on nature, open colour and open black and white. Sixty-six (66) countries participated in this grand competition with 601 photographers and 6,780 photos submitted for the four categories. The jury was comprised of 12 experienced and competent international and local award winners from four countries namely Greece, Macedonia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Oman International Photography Competition is held every two years under the patronage of the International Federation of Photographic Arts (FIAP) and Global Photographic Union (GPU), the International Association of Art Photographers (IAAP), and the Photographic Society of Oman (PSO) which hosts the FIAP’s International Exhibition in the Middle East. The exhibit showcasing not only the winning photos but other entries as well will be on display at Al Araimi Boulevard for five days starting Wednesday, May 1, 2019.