Water—this was the theme of this year’s HIPA photography contest. The awards were announced on June 7 and the Grand Prize of 120k dollars went to Jasmine Carey from Australia for her stunning and ethereal photo of a mother Humpback whale sleeping beside her 2-week-old baby. Carey took the photo while underwater in the Kingdom of Tonga, in the South Pacific.
“When the clouds started to roll in, it really softened the light and the mood in the water. It almost felt like what could be an out of body experience, floating on the surface looking down, observing the mum and calf being so comfortable, raw, and true towards each other. They obviously were aware of us but did not let that inhibit their bond. Watching it unfold, I knew it was magic and I just hoped that I would be able to do it justice. It definitely hard al the makings of a beautiful image,” Carey told Bored Panda about how she took the magnificent photo.
“Being close to whales is the ultimate wildlife experience. To have an animal the size of a bus acknowledge your existence and be curious of you and genuinely interested is like nothing else. All your emotions what to erupt all at once and yet you feel cleansed of all life’s ‘problems,’ all the heaviness on our soul just melts away. They really put things into perspective and give you so much joy.” Read on for the rest of our interview with Carey and for our chat with HIPA. Scroll down to have a look at Carey’s amazing photo, as well as the other best photos from this year’s photography contest. And remember to upvote your faves and let us know in the comments which pics were your favorites and why.
More info: JasmineCarey.com | Facebook | Instagram | HIPA.ae
#1 Water: Grand Prize, Jasmine Carey
Image source: Jasmine Carey
#2 General (Color): 1st Winner, Fahad Al Enezi
Image source: Fahad Al Enezi
#3 Mobile Photography: 2nd Winner, Budi Gunawan
Image source: Budi Gunawan
#4 General (Black And White): 3rd Winner, Sujan Sarkar
Image source: Sujan Sarkar
#5 General (Black And White): 1st Winner, Talal Al Rabah
Image source: Talal Al Rabah
#6 General (Color): 3rd Winner, Rashed Al Sumaiti
Image source: Rashed Al Sumaiti
#7 Water: 5th Winner, Yousef Shakar Al Zaabi
Image source: Yousef Shakar Al Zaabi
#8 General (Black And White): 2nd Winner, Anna Niemiec
Image source: Anna Niemiec
#9 Water: 1st Winner, François Bogaerts
Image source: François Bogaerts
#10 Mobile Photography: 1st Winner, Apratim Pal
Image source: Apratim Pal
#11 Mobile Photography: 5th Winner, Navin Kumar
Image source: Navin Kumar
#12 Mobile Photography: 4th Winner, Fahad Faraj Abdualhameid
Image source: Fahad Faraj Abdualhameid
#13 Water: 3rd Winner, Buchari Muslim Diken
Image source: Buchari Muslim Diken
#14 General (Color): 2nd Winner, Yose Mirza
Image source: Yose Mirza
#15 Mobile Photography: 3rd Winner, Abdullah Alshathri
Image source: Abdullah Alshathri
#16 Water: 2nd Winner, Shanth Kumar Samba Shivam Laila
Image source: Shanth Kumar Samba Shivam Laila
#17 Water: 4th Winner, Sourav Das
Image source: Sourav Das
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