Govt, IPF announce nominations for 'Photographer of Year' award

Hyderabad: As part of the Swatantra Bharata Vajrotsavalu, the Telangana government along with Indian Photo Festival (IPF) on Wednesday announced nominations for the ensuing IPF Photographer of the Year award and the entries of the contest would be showcased at the State Art Gallery at Madhapur from August 19 to September 19.

This was disclosed by the Municipal Administration Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar and Director of Indian Photo Festival Aquin Mathews at a press conference here on Wednesday. The MAUD secretary said that the event would showcase Hyderabad and people would get to know more about the city. The government wants to make it an annual event and during the next year this would also have a State specific category, he said.

Arvind Kumar said, "Hyderabad has marked itself on the global map with regards to IT, infrastructure, entertainment etc. But the city is so much more than this. Our rich heritage and culture getting showcased at distinguished international artistic platforms like IPF and IPF Photographer of the Year award, helps us take Hyderabad beyond the geographical boundaries."

In the first edition, IPF selected five nominations each, across eight categories. The final winners would be announced in a gala event to be held in Hyderabad on September 17. "Receiving 4,200 entries from 85 countries for our first edition was an overwhelming response. The submissions were outstanding and did pose a challenge for the jury to select nominations as some of the works submitted were simply remarkable. Initiatives like these not only bring the community together but also give photographers a larger platform and exposure while adding credibility and validation to their works," said Aquin Mathews.

The entries were called in for eight categories including Photojournalism, Documentary, Travel and Nature, Wildlife, Street, Portrait, Wedding and Mobiles. Submissions were made by professional and non- professional photographers. The nominees were selected via a blind selection process where none of the photographer names were revealed to the jury making the selection absolutely unbiased and fair.

The jury included some of the most sought-after photographers and editors from National Geographic like Raghu Rai, widely known as the father of Indian Photography, Dominique Hildebrand, a photo editor at National Geographic and others. The winner would get a cash reward of Rs one lakh.