For the third time in succession, the event of the Sheikh Saud Al-Thani Competition for Photography has taken place under its new name Al-Thani Award for Photography. The opening of the competition for participants living in the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council has increased both the number of participants and the quality of the pictures. It was decided that in 2004 the participation will be extended to the entire Arabic Homeland, with the competitions’s subject “Traditional clothes and jewellery” (means of beauty). If we briefly look back to the competition itself, it was announced for the first time in 2001 as an initiative of Sheikh Saud, in cooperation with the Qatar Photographic Society. First of all participation was restricted to members of the society only, then, in the second year, the event was opened to all citizens of the State of Qatar. In 2003 it was announced for the first time as an international competition for the Gulf area, however, this time aimed at people living in countries on the Gulf. There were eight winners in each of these award events, and those in first place were able to take proud possession of a Limited Edition of 15 LEICA M6 TTL, orange coloured, bearing the signature of Sheikh Saud. The number of photographers participating in the competition has risen steadily since 2001.
Without any question the Al-Thani Award has since become one of the major photo events, and not only in and around Qatar. “Flora” was the theme of the first competition. In 2002 the participants were asked to express their photographic ideas on the topic of “Architecture”. Our publication presents the results of this year's third competition on the topic of “Landscape” – a classic subject, as old as photography itself, yet repeatedly subject matter of a photography that wishes to unfold the unique features of something that is considered commonplace. 25 works are presented in the Leporello accompanying an exhibition. The eight winning pictures form part of a strictly limited portfolio. The artistic approaches are extremely diversified. Stringent form studies alongside a nature portrayed with a more romantic eye, wherein for most of the artists the very unique beauty of the desert was the starting point of their photographic recherche. The Al-Thani Award has been planned for an overall period of fifteen years. We wish you a lot of success for it.
http://al-thaniaward.com/english/ http://www.blaugrau.at/supercircuit/al_thani.cfm
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