Travel Photographer Asia 2016 - A Synopsis

Travel Photographer Asia is my hubby’s baby (technically that makes it my baby too, so I will take the liberty to use 'we' sometimes as I talk about it :D). This photography festival is a product of his passion and love for photography. And I am so proud to see him working hard to live his dream. Travel Photographer Asia is not just a contest, there is a lot more to it and there is something for everyone. You will see what I mean as you read further. 

TPA was launched in 2015. And in its inaugural year, though we were shaky, it was very well received and was a huge success. We were stunned that it attracted 86 different nationalities in just a few months who submitted around 2700 photographs. We received amazing and premium quality work from professional and amateur photographers. Each entry was beautiful and was quite a challenge for the judges to choose winners. I remember how impatiently I waited to see who will win. The judgement is anonymous and jury scores independently without getting influenced by other jury members. This results in a very fair selection! 

This year we received 3445 entries. Keeping its tradition, the top 50 photographs selected by the jury will be printed and presented in an exhibition.This is the coolest part of the contest that it does not just end with announcement of results. We go beyond the contest, results, prizes and honour the winners and entries we receive by providing an opportunity where the world can see them printed and mounted in full glory. This year the exhibition will be held at MapKL, one of the poshest art gallery in Kuala Lumpur. The exhibition will be a beautiful display of colours of Asia; different countries, customs, traditions, faces and scenic beauty all in one place.This exhibition is also an excellent networking platform for photographers who can meet other fellow photographers, photography enthusiasts and also the gurus and giants of photography. TPA arranges to fly the winners (as a part of their prize) and Jury making it a star studded night in the true sense.  

This year the jury comprised of Dr. Shahidul Alam, Tewfic El-Sawy, Huang Wen, Vignes Balasingam, Gwen Lee, Che' Ahmad Azhar, Drew Hopper, Nadia J. Mahfix and KG Krishnan. Read in detail about all these amazing photographers here. 

On the 29th April, TPA announced the winners for 2016 contest. Here are the winners: 

Winner by Alex Varani Copyright ©

1st Runner up – Md.Khalid Rayhan Shawon Copyright ©

2nd Runner Up – Sanjay Ramani Copyright ©

Beautiful Home- Special Prize Kajan Madrasmail Copyright ©

Merit Prize 1 – Steve Reynolds Copyright ©

Merit Prize 2 – Etienne Bossot Copyright ©

You can see the top 50 here and if you want to see all the breathtaking photographs (which I recommend you must), visit their website here and the Facebook page here. 

You'd think that the activities for 2016 will end here but no! TPA gives you back by arranging workshops, talks and master classes for those who want to polish their skills and learn from gurus. This year they have arranged a master class and workshops conducted by 

• Dr. Shahidul Alam - Advisor to National Geographic Society, renowned photographer and social activist who set up Drik Picture Library. He is conducting the master class titled Storytelling in the Digital Age. This class aims at exploring story telling dynamics using photography as a medium. 

• Tewfic El-Sawy - The Travel Photographer. He is passionate documentary-travel photographer. He teaches street photography and multimedia storytelling. He will be teaching How to Shoot for a Documentary Story in the workshop for TPA. 

• Khaula Jamil will teach Basics of Photojournalism in a 4 day fun workshop. Khaula has done many projects but she gained popularity through Humans of Karachi (inspired by Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton) Here is her own Facebook page. 

If you are interested to read about the workshops, you can check all the details here. 

If you don't want to attend the workshops but love photography you can simply attend the PhotoTalks that will be held on 28th May 2016. These talks are absolutely free. You just need to register by sending an email at the address provided. 

I did say earlier that TPA has something for everyone, right? So.... the exhibition is open to public. You can drop by to this visual treat if you have no interest in master classes or PhotoTalks. Here is the invitation card for you. Please note the timings :)

See ya!