This Whale Photo Just Won $120,000 PetaPixel

HIPA has announced this year’s winners of its prestigious international photography contest. This year’s theme was “Water,” and Australian photographer Jasmine Carey won the $120,000 grand prize with an ethereal photo of a mother humpback whale sleeping next to her two-week-old baby.

Carey was underwater off the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific when she captured the beautiful moment.

The Other Winning Photos

This is what HIPA gave as its brief for the theme of “Water” this year:

Water may be the oldest and the perfect companion of humankind. Not only [are] our bodies predominantly made of water, but water is a necessity within our daily lives. From nature to nurture to science and discovery; water is central to our universe.

Photography not only photographs the present, but in time creates a rich archive of the past and even inspires the imagination for the future. Water as a theme provides an endless and provocative subject that captures the photographer’s imagination and inspires an opportunity for photographic brilliance and storytelling.

Here are some of the other photos that won top prizes in this year’s contest:

1st winner of “Water.” François Bogaerts of Belgium.

2nd winner of “Water.” Shanth Kumar Samba Shivam Laila of India.

3rd winner of “Water.” Buchari Muslim Diken of Indonesia.

4th winner of “Water.” Sourav Das of India.

5th winner of “Water.” Yousef Shakar Al Zaabi of the UAE.

1st winner of “Mobile Photography.” Apratim Pal of India.

2nd winner of “Mobile Photography.” Budi Gunawan of Indonesia.

3rd winner of “Mobile Photography.” Abdullah Alshathri of Saudi Arabia.

4th winner of “Mobile Photography.” Fahad Faraj Abdualhameid of Saudi Arabia.

5th winner of “Mobile Photography.” Navin Kumar of India.

1st winner of “General (Color).” Fahad Al Enezi of Kuwait.

2nd winner of “General (Color).” Yose Mirza of Indonesia.

3rd winner of “General (Color).” Rashed Al Sumaiti  of the UAE.

1st winner of “General (Black and White).” Talal Al Rabah of Kuwait.

2nd winner of “General (Black and White).” Anna Niemiec of Poland.

3rd winner of “General (Black and White).” Sujan Sarkar of India.

HIPA, officially the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award and put on by the crown prince of Dubai, is in its 9th year and is the most lucrative photography contest in the world — a total of $450,000 was given out this year to the top photographers.