Digital imaging major Sony, leading Qatari enterprise Darwish Technology and online stock photography website FotoArabia have announced the winners of the Sony FotoArabia Picathon at the grand finale in Doha.
Running from November 1, 2015, to January 31, 2016, the competition was open to residents in Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan.
“We have selected the winners after reviewing over 750 submissions,” said Yuji Toyozumi, head of Digital Imaging, Sony Middle East and Africa.
Stating that the Middle East is filled with rich, visual stories waiting to be told, Charbel Najem, head of content acquisition at FotoArabia, explained that the aim was to help develop photography as an art form in the region.
Contestants could submit “stories” of up to 10 images that gave a compelling glimpse into their country and its lifestyle. These were assessed on aesthetic and technical merits.
The first prize winners were Shuaib Husham Khattab (UAE), Mohamed Nasr (Qatar), Deepak Sudhakaran (Bahrain), Salim Sulaiman Salim al-Adi (Oman) and Dimitri Alfredo N M Zarzar (Jordan).
The second prize winners were Beringuel Creer (UAE), Kris Anthony Romblon (Qatar) and Mustafa Abdulhadi A Nabi Kadhem Abbas Ali (Bahrain).
The first prize was Sony ß7R II, the world’s first back-illuminated 35mm full-frame CMOS image sensor with 42.4 megapixels image resolution, sensitivity (up to ISO 1024003) and speedy response.
The second prize was Sony ß6000, which has a quicker auto focus than a DSLR (0.06 seconds) and 24.3MP picture quality.
Sameer Kazi, consumer electronics manager, Darwish Technology, was also present at the award ceremony.
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