(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – A Qatar resident was named as the National Award winner in the country for the Sony World Photography Awards 2021.
The National Awards program is an initiative set up by the World Photography Organisation and Sony to support local photographic communities around the world, with 61 countries taking part this year.
Over 340,000 images from 211 territories were submitted to the Sony World Photography Awards 2022 and over 170,000 were entered in the Open competition of the awards, from which the National Awards winners were selected.
Amal Prasad
Amal Prasad, a Sri Lankan expatriate working in Qatar, was anonymously selected by judges for his photograph “Struggle of Life,” which entered the Lifestyle category of the Open competition, as the National Award Winner from Qatar.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the photo, he said: “It’s a unique kind of fishing happening in Sri Lanka so I wanted to show it in an artistic way to the world.”
He further mentioned that the photograph was taken using a drone to capture “Ma Del” fishing which took place in an early morning in Tangalle, Colombo.
“It takes place in the morning, so I came from Colombo to Tangalle, went directly to take this photo,” Prasad narrated.
He further said: “But on that day, unfortunately, the fishing net was green and there was not much fish caught where I was not satisfied with the photos I took.”
At 5 o’clock in the morning the next day, Prasad went back to the same location and photographed the scene where the fishermen was able to catch more fish, this time using a red net.
“To my extreme satisfaction, the weather was also good, they had more fish than the day before and, finally, I had a successful photograph,” he told The Peninsula.
As Qatar’s National Award winner, Prasad received a Sony digital imaging equipment and will be included in the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition and book.
Speaking about what he hoped to convey through the photograph, Amal Prasad said: “I named this photo a ‘struggle of life’ because the life of village fishermen is not easy. It’s a constant struggle for survival.”
“I think I have given the audience what I want to express in this photo,” he concluded.
The overall winners in the Student, Youth, Open and Professional competition of the Sony World Photography Awards 2022 will be announced on April 12 and will go on display as part of the exhibition at Somerset House, London from April 13 to May 2.
