Al Ain Zoo has honoured the winners of its Photography Competition; "Zoography 2017: Through the Lens. Professional and amateur photographers from inside and outside the UAE competed in the colored and B/W lenses categories, aiming to capture the wonders of wildlife.

The top 6 received a combined total of AED100,000 in cash prizes. The first prize went to Jefferson Turado, the second went to Jason Gil Burgos and the third went to Nishar Nambiyathayil Mohamed within the B/W lens category. As for the colored lens category, the first cash prize went to Lal Nallath, the second went to Musallem Al Darei and the third went to Mohammed Naif. Recognition awards were also presented to the top participants who did not make it to the Top 3, the panel of judges and organizers.

In its 6th year running, the competition enjoyed major turnout, where the total number of contributions reached 3,000 photograph submissions from 576 national and international photography enthusiasts, amateurs and professionals from the GCC, Europe, East Asia and Africa. Through a standards and conformity assessment, 734 colored lens submissions and 586 B/W lens submissions were found compliant.

This year, the Zoography 2017 Competition brought new innovations to the table; with all-new photography categories, a panel of judges and awards. Firstly, the photography categories focused on the wildlife theme through colored and B/W lens categories. Secondly, the panel of judges consisted of three photography enthusiasts working on Al Ain Zoo’s social media accounts: Abdulla Al Buqaish, Omran Al Shamsi and Badder Al-Qasim. Thirdly, this year’s cash prizes offered AED 25,000 for first prize, AED 15,000 for second prize and AED 10,000 for third prize in the categories of colored and B/W wildlife photography.

Omar Al-Blooshi, Director of Marketing and corporate Communications at Al Ain Zoo, said, "The competition’s continuous run for its 6th year in a row, is a testament to the success and turnout it met from different societal factions and nationalities from inside and outside the UAE. This was apparent in the amount and diversity of the submissions, which increases by the year. This is what we aim to support and reinforce in the upcoming years through developing the competition and raising the quality and competitive level of performance between the runners-up."