International Photography Festival Allocates Category For Government Staff, Says SGMB Director Allay

SHARJAH, Sharjah Government Media Bureau, Aug 29, 2018 –   Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB) has unveiled the details of the 2018 Xposure International Photography Festival, to be held from November 21-24, 2018 at Expo Centre Sharjah, with the addition of several new competition categories and attractive opportunities for photography professionals and enthusiasts.  

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, Xposure, the region’s first-of-its-kind and immensely popular International Photography Festival attracts globally-acclaimed and award-winning photographers, as well as amateurs and photography enthusiasts from across the region and the world.

Announcing the details, HE Tariq Saeed Allay, Director of Sharjah Government Media Bureau, said that the third edition of Xposure promises to be even more exciting with ten different categories in which photographers can take part by visiting the Festival’s official website xposure.ae. Participation is open until October 1, 2018.

“Xposure offers unprecedented global exposure to amateur photographers as well as professionals and photography enthusiasts in the UAE and the region, giving them a truly global platform,” Allay emphasised.  

He added: “The extraordinary response to Xposure International Photography Festival over the past couple of years has encouraged us to expand the scope and nature of the Festival offering several new attractive competitions in which both professional photographers and amateurs can take part. We are also launching several new categories.”

“The region’s first event dedicated entirely to photography has been gaining in strength and popularity year on year, attracting the best of talent and expertise in the specialised field of photography from around the world and encouraging photography enthusiasts and amateurs in the region to demonstrate their skills from a global platform for a global audience,” said the Director of SGMB.  

The 4-day long event not only features photography competitions and exhibitions featuring the best and the brightest from around the world, it is known for its world-class workshops, trade shows, lectures and peer review sessions by some of the biggest names in the business. 

New Categories

The new category ‘Short Film’ is an acknowledgement of the massive popularity and recent technical advances in video capabilities of smartphones and digital cameras.  Using these new devices, anyone can now shoot videos and short films to tell their own special stories. The ‘Short Film’ may be as long as 18 minutes and its scope can be documentary, drama, action, animation/ stop motion or even news. 

Another new category ‘Sharjah Government Open’ has been specifically created for the employees of Sharjah government to express themselves and showcase their expertise and talents with camera. Any socially accepted genre of photography is valid and the judging criteria remain similar to other categories. 

Other categories include Macro Photography, which involves extreme close-up photography, usually of tiny subjects and living organisms like insects, in which the size of the subject in the photograph is greater than life size. 

Photo Manipulation is the process of editing a photograph in such an extreme way that it takes on an entirely different look. Often using PhotoShop or other photo editing software and combining various elements from several photographs and other resources, Photo Manipulation blends reality with illusion to create something truly remarkable.

Architectural photography is the photographing of buildings and similar structures that are both aesthetically pleasing and accurate representations of their subjects.

The remaining categories are Travel Photography, Photojournalism, Street Photography, Best of the Emirates and Junior (Under 18) Category etc.  
Xposure has emerged as the premier photography and educational event in the region featuring exhibitions, workshops, seminars, screenings, competitions, photo walks and even a trade show.

The first two editions of Xposure International Photography Festival saw the participation of global giants, Canon and Sony, respectively as the main event partners.  The 2017 Xposure received over 10,000 entries from 98 countries around the globe and attracted visitors from across the UAE and the world.