Australian photographer Jasmine Carey’s shot of a humpback mother sleeping beside her twoweek-old baby – taken near the Kingdom of Tonga – has won her the US$120,000 grand prize at this year’s (ninth) Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) in Dubai.

This year’s competition was themed Water. Water, said HIPA organisers, was man’s oldest friend on the planet.

“All the inhabitants of Earth know water, but some fear it. The relationship of a fisherman with water is not like that of someone who does not know how to swim. It is completely different from the relationship of the scientific researcher, who is concerned about the frightening acceleration of the melting icebergs. We watch today how the creators of the world see water through their lenses. Water is a major issue that concerns us all and touches our lives. It’s about the survival of our planet.”

The HIPA competition was launched in 2011 by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai.

For more information about HIPA contact Saad Hashmi at saad.hashmi@hipa.ae