The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) has concluded the July edition of the Instagram Photo Contest themed ‘Blue’. Ten winners were announced for the competition which received submissions under the hashtag #HIPAContest_Blue. The contest winners hailed from; UAE, Oman, Turkey, Indonesia, India and Iran. July’s ‘People’s Choice Award’ winner will receive a brand new SONY Alpha a6300 Mirrorless, courtesy of SONY Middle East.

HIPA Secretary General, His Excellency Ali bin Thalith said, “The colour blue, like all colours is personal and opens itself up to a variety of interpretation. Blue can inspire the tranquility of a summer vacation with endless blue skies and blue waters. The calibre of entries for this edition were outstanding and simple breathtaking. As always we congratulate our winners and encourage our community to continue participating.”

July’s winner of the ‘People’s Choice Award’ was Salim Sabah Alwhibi @salim_bin_sabah from Oman and he said, “The photo was taken on the island of Masirah, Oman, seven months ago, when a young girl with eye-catching eyes walked pass. This is the first time I’ve won in the competition after numerous entries. I hope that Omani photographers will have greater opportunities for international outreach to introduce their creativity to the world and to be well-known photographers internationally. This win will help me spread and market my business.”

The Indonesian winner, Elizabeth Jenny Taner @jenny_taner said, “The picture was taken in an ice cave during the winter season in Iceland, in the period before the snow melted with the onset of spring. This is my first win on a social media platform, and has given me greater self-confidence because of the calibre of competition. It gives me motivation to develop my skills and future work. I always aspire to make images that are aesthetically pleasing to the viewer and reflect my enjoyment of taking them."

Full list of winners:

Instagram @	Name	Country
salim_bin_sabah	Salim Sabah Alwhibi	Oman
aizarouni	Ahmad Ibrahim Al Zarouni	UAE
jenny_taner	Elizabeth Jenny Taner	Indonesia
andiahalil	Andi Abdul Halil	Indonesia
mfh_photo_gallery	Muhammad faishol husni	Indonesia
andika_jumper	Andika Putra	Indonesia
ibranmurat	Murat İBRANOĞLU	Turkey
erdal.baykara.52	Erdal Baykara	Turkey
abhipurohits	Abhishek Purohit	India
mehdi.adibiii	Mehdi Adibi Sedeh	Iran