• In an impoverished village in the West African state of Togo, a group of children play and run behind old motorcycle tyres in the red dusty dirt outside of an NGO clinic. Grand Prize - Happiness. © Antonio Aragon Renuncio (Spain).
    In an impoverished village in the West African state of Togo, a group of children play and run behind old motorcycle tyres in the red dusty dirt outside of an NGO clinic. Grand Prize - Happiness. © Antonio Aragon Renuncio (Spain).
  • The touching embrace of two old friends in Manama reveals that through the long years of a lifetime, even age cannot diminish the simple feeling of happiness. First Prize - Happiness. © Hameed Husain Isa (Bahrain).
    The touching embrace of two old friends in Manama reveals that through the long years of a lifetime, even age cannot diminish the simple feeling of happiness. First Prize - Happiness. © Hameed Husain Isa (Bahrain).
  • A late-afternoon family outing in Papua New Guinea sees boys jumping from trees into Lake Murray. Time for one more turn before the sun sets. 2nd Prize - Happiness. © Brent Stirton (South Africa).
    A late-afternoon family outing in Papua New Guinea sees boys jumping from trees into Lake Murray. Time for one more turn before the sun sets. 2nd Prize - Happiness. © Brent Stirton (South Africa).
  • Relief and joy for a refugee family that survive a perilous journey by sea that for many others has unfortunately ended in tragedy. 3rd Prize - Happiness. © Sergey Ponomarev (Russian Federation).
    Relief and joy for a refugee family that survive a perilous journey by sea that for many others has unfortunately ended in tragedy. 3rd Prize - Happiness. © Sergey Ponomarev (Russian Federation).
  • Fire and Lightning create a terrifying spectacle of fury during the eruption of Calbuco Volcano in Chile, awake after 40 years of inactivity. 1st Prize - General. © Francisco Negroni Rodriguez (Chile).
    Fire and Lightning create a terrifying spectacle of fury during the eruption of Calbuco Volcano in Chile, awake after 40 years of inactivity. 1st Prize - General. © Francisco Negroni Rodriguez (Chile).
  • Safety jackets strewn along the Coast of Lesbos Island in Greece are symbols of a journey of survival and death for more than 500,000 refugees. 2nd Prize - General. © Sandra Hoyn (Germany).
    Safety jackets strewn along the Coast of Lesbos Island in Greece are symbols of a journey of survival and death for more than 500,000 refugees. 2nd Prize - General. © Sandra Hoyn (Germany).
  • A creative combination of Wildlife and Astrophotography. A leopard and its prey are highlighted against the starry night sky. 1st Prize - Wildlife. © Steven Winter (USA).
    A creative combination of Wildlife and Astrophotography. A leopard and its prey are highlighted against the starry night sky. 1st Prize - Wildlife. © Steven Winter (USA).
  • Flying with flamingos over Lake Turkana in Africa's Great Rift Valley. A study in light, colour and contrast that evokes the feeling of a painting. 2nd Prize - Wildlife. © Lynn Emery (United Kingdom).
    Flying with flamingos over Lake Turkana in Africa's Great Rift Valley. A study in light, colour and contrast that evokes the feeling of a painting. 2nd Prize - Wildlife. © Lynn Emery (United Kingdom).
  • Water flows steadily from a reservoir, collecting all but the most determined in its dream-like stream. 3rd Prize - Wildlife. © (China).
    Water flows steadily from a reservoir, collecting all but the most determined in its dream-like stream. 3rd Prize - Wildlife. © (China).
  • A mesmerising black and white image, the face of a lion emerges from a thicket, catching our eye, ready to pounce. 4th Prize - Wildlife. © Min Ouyang (China).
    A mesmerising black and white image, the face of a lion emerges from a thicket, catching our eye, ready to pounce. 4th Prize - Wildlife. © Min Ouyang (China).
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World's richest photography prize

By Marc Gafen | 16 March 2016

The winner of the fifth season of the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) has just been announced in Dubai. The theme for this year’s competition, the richest in the world, offering a staggering US$400,000 in prize money, was “Happiness”.

Fire and Lightning create a terrifying spectacle of fury during the eruption of Calbuco Volcano in Chile, awake after 40 years of inactivity. 1st Prize - General. © Francisco Negroni Rodriguez (Chile).
Fire and Lightning create a terrifying spectacle of fury during the eruption of Calbuco Volcano in Chile, awake after 40 years of inactivity. 1st Prize - General. © Francisco Negroni Rodriguez (Chile).

The overall winner, taking out the Grand Prize in the main category, was Spanish photographer, Antonio Aragon Renuncio. His image, shot in the West African country, Togo, won him US$120,000. The winner of 1st prize in the Happiness category, Hameed Husain Isa, from Bahrain, won $US$25,000 for his image. The 1st prize winners in the other categories – General, Wildlife, and Father and Son – each took home US$15,000.

The touching embrace of two old friends in Manama reveals that through the long years of a lifetime, even age cannot diminish the simple feeling of happiness. First Prize - Happiness. © Hameed Husain Isa (Bahrain).
The touching embrace of two old friends in Manama reveals that through the long years of a lifetime, even age cannot diminish the simple feeling of happiness. First Prize - Happiness. © Hameed Husain Isa (Bahrain).

The overall quality of the work this year was an improvement over last year’s entries, and this was matched by an equally impressive line-up of judges, including Frans Lanting, Maggie Steber, and Michael Yamashita, amongst others.

A late-afternoon family outing in Papua New Guinea sees boys jumping from trees into Lake Murray. Time for one more turn before the sun sets. 2nd Prize - Happiness. © Brent Stirton (South Africa).
A late-afternoon family outing in Papua New Guinea sees boys jumping from trees into Lake Murray. Time for one more turn before the sun sets. 2nd Prize - Happiness. © Brent Stirton (South Africa).

The competition received 80,240 images from 32,712 photographers from 171 countries around the world, with 66% of entrants taking part for the first time. In terms of country of residence, those from the United Arab Emirates accounted for 3,922 of entrants with those from India at 3,294. Australians made up only a fraction of the entries. Almost 80% of those entering the competition are male, while the 25 -35 year demographic attracted the highest number of entries.

More information...
In an impoverished village in the West African state of Togo, a group of children play and run behind old motorcycle tyres in the red dusty dirt outside of an NGO clinic. Grand Prize - Happiness. © Antonio Aragon Renuncio (Spain).
In an impoverished village in the West African state of Togo, a group of children play and run behind old motorcycle tyres in the red dusty dirt outside of an NGO clinic. Grand Prize - Happiness. © Antonio Aragon Renuncio (Spain).