JEDDAH: From 126 countries and 101,000 photos, four entries from Saudi Arabia have been shortlisted for the Digital Camera magazine’s Photographer of the Year 2009 prize.

The images were chosen and split into several categories which include People and Portrait, This is Britain, Man-made and others. “La Defense” by Jeddah-based Faisal Al-Malki was one of the images chosen for the Landscapes category.

“La Defense is one of 22 photos I took this summer. La Defense is the prime high-rise office district of Paris, where many of the city’s tallest buildings are found,” said Al-Malki.

Following his passion for architecture, Al-Malki used panoramic photography, a technique that captures images with elongated fields of view, to take shots.

Fahad Bahada, who works in Riyadh, snapped a black and white image of an armchair standing in the corner of a room. His image, “Alone”, was shortlisted for the Black and White category.

“The photo is very simple. The focus element is the chair with the walls behind and the floor underneath,” said Bahada. As for his expectations whether or not he is going to win, he said that all of the selected photos are excellent and it would be very hard to predict. “But I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

“Hedgehog” by Abdullah Al-Hussayen was shortlisted for the Planet Earth category.

“Taxi” by Abdullah Al-Hasawi came under World in Motion category in which judges select images that capture the moment and have a sense of drama.

The competition, which is open to both amateurs and professionals, aims to reveal the most inspirational and imaginative photographers from around the globe. Category winners and the overall winner, as selected by a panel of judges, will be announced early in December.

The overall £10,000 prizewinner will be announced at the exhibition of winning and commended entries, taking place at Mall Galleries in London.

The exhibit will be open to the public from Dec. 9 to 13.