Dubai
In 2016, Google ranked the UAE as number one in global smartphone penetration at 73.8 per cent.
If there is a smartphone in every hand, there is a fabulous opportunity for budding photographers to showcase the world as they see it.
However, according to Katie McEnaney, who writes for US-based Digital Photography School, photographers often fall into the habit of shooting everything they see from eye-level, or sometimes, tripod-level.
It is a rut that aspiring photographers need to get out of, through a change in perspective.
In November, our reader photographers took their lens right to the ground, to show the blooming of violet crocuses and the flurry of ostrich chicks scampering to their mum. Getting down low, according to McEnaney, can change the way your viewer feels or reacts to your subject. It can make the subject appear taller and more imposing, or even disorient the viewer, by bringing the subject into total focus – a study in colour and texture.
We asked Gulf News’ Instagram followers to pick their favourite reader photograph of the month of November. They selected the picture they liked best, by responding to a poll on Instagram Stories. Here, we present the winners.
Editor’s note: Do you want to participate in our monthly Reader Picture Competition? Send us your best photographs, with captions, at readers@gulfnews.com.
FIRST PLACE
Gaanesh Prasad is a project director, based in Dubai.
He uses the instagram handle @gp_canon, and took this silhouette shot of the Taj Mahal, in Agra, India. Prasad said: ‘The incredible Taj. The more you see it, the more you love it.’ The Taj Mahal is now the second-best Unesco World Heritage site, according to a new survey conducted by travel website, Trip Advisor.
His picture received 1,610 votes in our poll on Instagram, landing him in first place.
SECOND PLACE
Najmus Saqib is a photojournalist, based in Srinagar, India.
He uses the instagram handle @najmus1000, and sent in a picture essay of how saffron is harvested in the town of Pampore, in India. He said: ‘People often add saffron to kahwa – a traditional cup of tea that we drink in Kashmir.’
His picture received 1,513 votes in our poll on Instagram.
THIRD PLACE
Soma Mukherjee is a maths teacher, based in Dubai.
Before she moved to the UAE in September, Mukherjee went on a safari at Nairobi National Park, in Kenya. This is where she took her winning picture of an ostrich tending to its family. Established in 1946, this national park is Kenya’s first, and it is one of the only national parks on Earth bordering a capital city.
Her picture received 1,034 votes in our poll on Instagram.
