National Geographic Abu Dhabi announces winners of photo contest

An image by Barakat Khaled, winner of the newly added Youth Category.

National Geographic Abu Dhabi recently announced the winners of its “Moments” photography competition, a regional competition set up by the factual entertainment channel in 2010 to support photography enthusiasts in the Middle East and North Africa.
Aspiring photographers from Palestine and Egypt have been named winners of this year’s competition, which received more than 19,000 entries across three categories.
From dramatic portraits of a Palestinian bride before her wedding day to special moments showing children playing in the street, this year’s winners were praised by the judges for the originality and photographic quality of their images as well as their creative interpretation of this year’s competition theme, “Celebration in the Arab World.”
The award for the Adult Single Image Category went to Mohamed Mahdy, a 20-year-old photography lover from Egypt, for his image of a young boy playing with his chick under the watchful eye of his brother in the old Egyptian town of El Borg.
In the Photo Documentary Category, 19-year-old Fatima Shbair from Palestine scooped the award for her series of images depicting the cultural traditions of a bride before her wedding day. The pictures show joy and celebration as well as highlight the heritage and meaning of Palestinian weddings.
The winner of the Youth Category is Barakat Khaled, aged 17 from Egypt, whose image of children playing impressed this year’s judges. The new category, which was open for participants aged 17 and under, welcomed a range of images, from horsemanship in the Maghreb to cultural ceremonies and celebrations.
The 7th edition of the competition, which is supported by Almarai, a leading dairy brand, was significantly expanded compared to 2016 to include new awards categories such as the Photo Documentary Category and the Youth Category. This year’s competition, which is also supported by Nikon, saw the introduction of the People’s Choice Award, which gives the public the opportunity to vote for their favorite image across all three categories.
The judging panel included Rena Effendi, a National Geographic photographer, Hussam Abdulqader, head of corporate communications and public relations at Almarai, and Chitra Shergill, a professional photographer who also runs the Nikon School of Photography in Jebel Ali.