The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) has announced a total of seven winners for the November edition of the monthly Instagram Photo Contest, which focused on underwater photography. HIPA received submissions under the hashtag #HIPAContest_Underwater, through the official HIPA Instagram account @HIPAae. The seven winners hail from; Australia, Bahrain, Italy, Oman, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Winners will receive their respective ‘HIPA Recognition Awards’ in the coming days.
Commenting on the latest Instagram Photo Contest results, the Secretary General of HIPA His Excellency Ali bin Thalith said, “We are delighted to announce the winners for the November edition of the Instagram Photo contest, which touched on a theme which I myself am very passionate about. Photographers who plunge into the depths of the ocean with their cameras are very fortunate to be exposed to some of the most spectacular and wonderful looking creatures, which are often not known to the general public. Underwater conditions are often difficult and require patience and skill to capture good photographs. Our winners of this month’s competition should be particularly commended for their perseverance and talent in capturing these stunning images. Winners in this month’s Instagram Photo contest included Omani photographer Maisa Al Hooti @maisa_alhooti, who was a guest speaker at Dubai Photo Forum 2 held during the Dubai Photo Exhibition in March of this year. Al Hooti’s winning photograph of marine life in Anilao, Philippines is described by the photographer as her “favourite” and, “a small glimmer of light out of the darkness”. Al Hooti, who is a marine life advocate also stated, “Winning in this contest will greatly impact the awareness on the advocacy, and why I became involved in underwater photography in the first place. I am hoping to raise awareness in the protection of marine life and hopefully my message will spread to the thousands that follow HIPA.”
Another winner, Joe Daniels @j_1_daniels from the United Kingdom, revealed that his winning photograph of a large lion fish was, “shot beneath a working fishing Jetty in Ambon Bay, Indonesia”. Daniels described the photo as having a “cathedral like back drop” due to the light shafts between the docked fishing boats. Daniels, who is a first time winner in social media competitions, said that his, “aspirations are to continue making images and to win more HIPA competitions,” and hopes, “to raise his profile and make more people aware of his work.”
The theme for the December edition of the Instagram Photo Contest has been announced to be ‘Architecture’, with submissions being accepted under the hashtag #HIPAContest_Architecture.
Full list of winners:
Nuraan Al Hashmi (@Nawwara_al) of United Arab Emirates

Hani Bader (@hanibader) of Bahrain

Levente Rozsahegyi (@Levente.photography) of Australia

Maisa Al Hooti (@maisa.alhooti) of Oman

Joe Daniels (@j_l_daniels) of United Kingdom

Simone Caprodossi (@scaprodossi) of Italy

Marc Casanovas Felix (@Fotosub70) of Spain