The three winners of Okaz Photography Contest have been announced. Their pictures were chosen from over 2,000 photos submitted from across the Kingdom. The first prize was awarded to Hasa'an Mabrook Abdullah Al-Otaibi from Taif, second prize went to Abdullah Dhaifallah Saeed Al-Hoot from Jeddah and third prize went to Thamer Yousef Muhammad Al-Tasan from Riyadh. The photography competition was held to highlight the integral part photography plays in creative journalism. The Director General of Okaz Organization for Press and Publication, Dr. Waleed Kattan, said: “It is no longer an aesthetic element. Photos are self-expressive. They can tell you about an event without talking about it.” He said Okaz held the contest to improve photography in the Kingdom and called on every newspaper to give more attention to photography, as it is one of the most important elements in news. The Director of Technical Department in Advertising and Supervisor of the Contest, Salem Basab'een, said the large number of photos sent proves the success of the contest. He said in a bid to ensure impartiality the judging committee number-coded the photos without mentioning the photographer's name. “All art works reflect cultural and artistic dimensions, which indicates the big stride photography has taken in the Kingdom over the past few years.” He also announced that an exhibition for the best 40 photos will be held between January and February. It will be attended by the photographers, a group of artists and photo enthusiasts. “During the exhibition, awards will be distributed to winners and certificates will be given to participants,” Basab'een said. The Okaz Photography Contest judges were Saud Mahjoub, Head of Photographers' committee, Adel Shakir, Director of Digital Background Studios, Saleh Shabraq, Editor of Visual Arts page of Okaz, and Husham Al-Hussaini, a representative of Canon (Al-Quraish Trading Company) which sponsored the event. __
