Saudi Photographer Hesham Humaid Wins “I Am A National Geographic Photographer” 2018 Competition

Young Saudi photographer Hesham Humaid beats fellow contestants from across the region to win the coveted ‘I am a Nat Geo Photographer’ top accolade in a final show of talent and dedication to the art, National Geographic Abu Dhabi announced today.

Clearing the board over the four episodes, Humaid, a health management technician, beat fellow contestants, Emirati explorer Obaid Al Budoor, Lebanese artist Cynthia Ghoussoub and Egyptian photographer Amina Sabry in the latest series.

Commenting on his experience, winner Humaid said, “This was a tough competition. Each one of us approached the challenges in our own creative ways. Waiting for the results was nerve racking but I appreciated all the feedback I received from the judges and from my fellow contestants that helped me improve with each new challenge. This has been an incredible experience.”

Hosted by media personality, Saudi National Tarek Edrees, ‘I am a National Geographic Photographer’ drew million of viewers from across the Arab World who closely followed the story of the four young talents, week on week.  With Dubai as their backdrop, the photographers needed to tell a captivating story curated in 5-8 photos, which captured the challenge and was of best value for the industry targeted – from fashion to graffiti painting and to martial arts, thus earning them the most points to take them to the top of the leader board. 

The series final episode was the deciding factor where contestants were challenged to create a photo essay using the combination of techniques used in previous episodes including light, lens, movement, emotion and portrait photography.

Emirati photographer Obaid Al Budoor, who was the winner of the fourth challenge, received a lot of praise from the judges for his creativity and unusual take on his photography subject displayed throughout all the challenges.   

Contestants benefited tremendously from Nikon’s partnership in the series, which gave them access to expert technical mentoring at the prestigious Nikon school in the UAE as well as the opportunity to use the most advanced photography equipment and technology.

Sanjay Raina, general manager Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan, National Geographic Channel Networks, commented on the series: “The success of ‘I am National Geographic Photographer’ reflects the appeal of photography to the region. Executing the show in a reality-TV format enabled us to reach youth in one of their preferred format, while providing them with access to our brand of edutainment, entertainment that has an educational value.”

In partnership with Nikon, Humaid’s prize includes an all expenses-paid life-changing National Geographic photography expedition to Tanzania worth over USD 10,000, Nikon camera equipment worth USD 7,500, and his photograph published in the National Geographic Arabia Magazine which means his first published photography credit on the international stage.