The 6^th edition of Xposure International Photography Festival has announced the names of 50contenderswho have been shortlisted for its annual International Photography and Film Awards under 10 diverse categories, spanning several genres and formats. Winners and runners-up in each category will be announced on Monday, February 14.

Organised by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), the 2021-2022edition of the global Xposure Awards attracted 14,988submissions from 126countries. The region-wise break-up of entries includes Asia, 10,282; Europe, 3,191; North America, 501; Africa, 695; South America, 174; and Oceanic, 155.

With 3,221 entries, the Portraiture category received highest number of submissions. Travel Photography came a close second with 3,080 entries while the Landscape category received 2,381 submissions.

Following are the nominees in the 10 categories who have been shortlisted for their exceptional, and high-quality images:

Travel category: Dajun Zhu (China); Nese Ari (Turkey); Amir Syamsuddin Al Arif (Indonesia);Bob Chiu (China); and Pye Moi Thu (Myanmar).

Portraiturecategory: Robin Yong (Australia); Akash Ghosh (India); Sulaiman Eid Al Hammad (UAE); Sujan Sarkar (India); and Seila Montes Gonzalez (Mexico).

Architecture category: Mona Hassan (Egypt); Patricia Soon (Malaysia); Tanveer Hassan Rohan (Bangladesh); Ali Zolghardi (Iran); and Xiaoying Shi (USA).

Drone category: Mehmet Aslan (Turkey); An Tran Thu (Vietnam); Alexey Nikitin (Russia); Peiwen Sun (China); and Naser Al Ameeri (Kuwait).

Junior category: Deep Bhatia (UAE, Dubai); Indigo Larmour (UAE, Fujairah); Tanisha Sharma (UAE, Dubai); Ishaan Shyjith (UAE, Sharjah); and NehmaNaji (UAE, Sharjah).

Landscape category: Houyu Liu (China); Julio Castro Pardo (Spain); Kelvin Sze Lok Yuen (Hong Kong); Jose D. Riquelme (Spain); and Art PH Chen (Taiwan).

Wildlife category: Wei Wang (China); Anuradha Muthukumar (UAE); Minqiagn Lu (China); Wei Fu (Thailand); and Petar Sabol (Croatia).

Photojournalism category: Ghaith Al Sayed (Syria); Aly Song (China); Sandile Ndlovu (South Africa); Fabrizio Maffei (Italy); and Syed Kader (Bangladesh).

Sharjah GovernmentOpencategory: Kim Ballesteros; Fahmi Alshalili; Abdullah Abdulhamid; Atef Shoair; and Abdul Kareem Ingintavide.

Short Film category: Hossein Darabi (Iran); MoemaUmann (USA); Hadeel Arja (Turkey); Maira Yasir(USA); and Antonio Aleixo (Portugal).

The winners will be announced on February 14, 2022during the 6th edition of Xposure International Photography Festival being held at Expo Centre Sharjah.

One winner and one runner-up will be chosen in each category. One overall winner will be chosen across categories based on the highest scores achieved. All shortlisted nominees will feature in the Xposure festival exhibition.

58 per cent growth in Xposure Awards

HE Tariq Saeed Allay, Director General of SGMB, said: “As the Xposure International Photography Festival moves into its sixth edition in 2022, we have streamlined the criteria for each of our award categories to align with our growth and stature as a coveted global award. Over 6 years, the Xposure Photography and Film Awards have seen a 58 per cent growth in the number of entries.The Xposure Awards recognise and celebrate the unique visions of talented artists from across the globe who are pushing the boundaries of the photography medium through their creative approaches and innovative techniques.”

Allay added: “The Xposure annual awards are a reflection of our goal to bring together not only those who are passionate about photography but also those who use the medium as a catalyst for change.”

The Xposure International Photography Festival has grown to establish itself as the most respected photography and imaging exhibition and event in the MENA region and is widely attended by the world’s leading photographers, top media and film professionals, photography enthusiasts, students, and educators.