Doha: Huawei’s annual smartphone photography competition, Huawei NEXT IMAGE Awards 2022, concluded on December 30th with the unveiling of 54 prize-winning works, which included 3 Grand Prize Winners, 24 Best-in-Category Winners, and 27 Runner-up Winners.
The NEXT IMAGE Awards 2022 kicked off on August 1 last year and remained open for more than three months and received thousands of entries from around the world.
Regional photographers have made a strong showing in the competition. Out of the 54 winning works, 7 are from across the Middle East and Africa region.
Smartphones have revolutionised the way people take pictures.
As smartphone cameras get better year after year, people are relying less and less on digital cameras.
According to some studies, more than 85 percent of photos are being taken with smartphones, and their share is only going to go up. The compact size and flexibility smartphones offer over traditional cameras help photography enthusiasts push the boundaries of this art form.
Four photographers from the MEA region won the best-in-category award, and two others were runner-up winners.
Besides winning the award, these photographers also do an excellent job of showcasing the diversity and charm of the region’s rich culture.
Their photographs highlight the unique perspectives and stories these cultures have to offer the world. The winner in the Storyboard category is Mark Anthony Agtay from the United Arab Emirates, with a series of nine photographs beautifully depicting interesting and diverse ways people use their hands in their day-to-day lives.
These pictures are thought provoking and benefit from clever use of colours.
The runner-up winner in the Portrait category is a photograph by Junaid Jafar from the UAE.
His photograph of a little girl is a great example of portrait mode photography.
The light falling from right to left on the girl’s face gives depth and dramatic effect to the photograph.
The Huawei Mate40 Pro has also done a fantastic job of identifying the subject’s hair and only applying the blur effect to the background.
The UAE also has a runner-up winner in the sport category. Christopher C. Comeso’s photograph of 10 basketball players on the court, with one of them making a lay-up to score a basket. The evening sky and setting sun provide a bright orange backdrop for the silhouettes of the players.
