Check out 10 pictures shortlisted for National Geographic Abu Dhabi competition

National Geographic Abu Dhabi and Almarai have revealed the images that have been shortlisted for the 2020 edition of the annual ‘Moments’ competition, one of the largest photography competitions across the Middle East and North Africa.

From the 10 pictures, three are from the UAE by Ahmed Al Shehi, Salem Sarhan and Safiaa Al Zaabi; two images from Saudi Arabia are by Hussein Ali and Afrah Saleh Al Harby; an image from Syria by Khalil Ashmawi; an image from Iraq by Ahmed Lazem; an image from Jordan by Ahmed Al Azam; and two from Palestine by Samar Abu Al Ouf.

Clever use of drones helped photographers get a unique perspective on everyday life.

The pictures were picked from more than 27,000 entries sent in from countries across the Middle East and North Africa.

The winner of the competition will receive a photography kit worth $10,000.

This year, the competition was held under the theme of ‘2020 Moments - A Year Lived Differently’, encouraging people to send in entries that reflected the challenging times we’re living through.

Many images reflected the reality of the pandemic and social distancing measures we all have to take. Some highlighted how children have been dealt a harsh blow as they come to terms with new way of living, studying and playing.

Continuing a trend from previous years, two thirds of the images were captured on mobile phones, while a third were taken with professional cameras.

The selections were made by the competition’s judging panel, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and National Geographic photographer Mohammad Muheisen and Hussam R Abdulqader, CMO of Almarai.

Since its inception in 2010, the competition has had over 250,000 entries.