Light was adopted as a key element in this year’s award because of its importance in the art of photography. Light can be the difference between a good picture and a wonderful image.
Our understanding of light and our ability to capture it through a camera lens would not have been possible had it not been for the efforts of the scholar Al Hassan Ibn Al Haytham.
His findings and principles in the field of optics, a century ago, helped lay the foundations for modern day photography.
To commemorate the anniversary of his contributions, the grand prize in this year’s Hamdan International Photography Award will be dedicated to the beauty of light in photography, which was greatly influenced by the findings of Ibn Al Haytham.
There shall be no restrictions on what photographers may choose to submit for this category, so long as the influence of light is clearly demonstrated. The winner of the award will be the photographer who successfully illustrates effective use of light in their submission.