It could be you… $450,000 to be won in world's richest photographic awards

HIPA 2021
(Image credit: HIPA)

With a staggering $450,000 prize fund, the Hamdan International Photography Awards are open for entries. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the theme for this year's HIPA contest is Humanity - with the Grand Prize winner receiving a cash award of $120,000 for the best overall picture on the subject.

Founded in 2011 under the patronage of crown prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid bin Mohammed al Maktoum, the HIPA awards are not only open to any photographer, professional or amateur, they are also completely free to enter. 

Alongside the Humanity theme, there will also be a special category for architectural images. And as usual, there will be portfolio, color, and black-and-white awards to be won too. 

Entries to the competition must be submitted before 31 January 2021. To see the full details and to enter the competition, see the HIPA 2021 website.

2020: Grand Prize Winner won Australian photographer  Jasmine Carey  $120,000 for her touching underwater image of a mother humpback whale with its calf . (Image credit: Jasmine Carey)

2019: Malaysian photographer Edwin Ong Wee Kee won the 2019 Grand Prize on the theme of Hope. (Image credit: Edwin Ong Wee Kee)

2018: HIPA 2018 Grand Prize Winner Mohamed Alrageb won the $120,000 Grand Prize with a shot showing a fellow photojournalist running with an injured child in the aftermath of a car bomb in Aleppo, with his camera still in hand.  (Image credit: Mohamed Alrageb)

Read more
HIPA 2020 winners announced
HIPA 2019 winners announced
HIPA 2018 winners announced

Chris George

Chris George has worked on Digital Camera World since its launch in 2017. He has been writing about photography, mobile phones, video making and technology for over 30 years – and has edited numerous magazines including PhotoPlus, N-Photo, Digital Camera, Video Camera, and Professional Photography. 

His first serious camera was the iconic Olympus OM10, with which he won the title of Young Photographer of the Year - long before the advent of autofocus and memory cards. Today he uses a Nikon D800, a Fujifilm X-T1, a Sony A7, and his iPhone 15 Pro Max.

He has written about technology for countless publications and websites including The Sunday Times Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, Dorling Kindersley, What Cellphone, T3 and Techradar.