Preparations are underway for the final phase of Qatar University (QU)’s annual Photography Exhibition and Competition, which will be held on May 7-9 on the campus and culminate in a high-level prize giving ceremony on May 10 at the Sony Showroom at 51 East in Lagoona Mall.Sony is sponsoring this year’s competition, providing prizes for the top four winners.This would be the third edition of the competition since its launch in 2010 by the Photography Society of the university’s Foundation Programme (FP).That year, the event exhibited 24 photos submitted by 20 Photography Society members, and was hosted for three days in the Foundation Programme women’s building.Last year’s event saw 40 participants, with 42 photos exhibited initially for three days in the Women’s Food Court, and later for two days at a top designer mall.“Following the ceremony and its coverage by the media, many people in Qatar who were involved or connected to photography got to know about our Photography Society – which has been active for over five years – and about our annual Exhibition and Competition,” Foundation Programme lecturer and competition organiser Ahmad Hazratzad said.The theme of this year’s competition is “Qatar Through My Eyes”.Due to the success of the previous years and the competition’s growing popularity, organisers extended participation to include all Qatar University students.“In record time, we had about 68 participants, with about 400 photos, and this year, we had submissions from nine male students,” Hazratzad said.In the first phase of the competition, the top 60 photos were selected for exhibition on May 7-9 at QU.On May 10 at the prize-giving ceremony at Sony’s showroom, the first, second and third-place winning photos will be chosen by a professional judging panel comprising portrait and architectural photographer Lydia Shaw, head of creative design at the Art of Business Jorell Legaspi, and Qatar Museums Authority consultant Sylvie Van Roey.The fourth winning entry will be selected by the students themselves.“The students’ submitted excellent photographic work. I can imagine that choosing the winners will be a difficult job for the judges,” Hazratzad said.He thanked Foundation Programme director Khalid al-Ali, colleagues Claire Conroy and Allyson Young, and the QU External Relations Department the wealth of support received.