2022 Winners & Shortlists

Cultural / Context information for the jury

Saudi Arabia is a large country with vast deserts. Nearly 50% of it is uninhabited, unseen, and unreachable by foot. In Saudi, the camel is an icon, historically labelled as the ship of the desert and is always venerated for its looks and grace. Sarha is “Rahala – in Arabic” a strong breed that is known and well-fit for journeying and covering long distances in the desert. This breed also has a higher endurance to extreme weather conditions. Furthermore, the chosen camel was a female, as this gender is known for their ability to wander the desert during the day and return home during the night. The project was launched in a time when Saudi Arabia opened for tourism for the first time, and in line with the country’s vision of unveiling its beauty to the world.

Translation. Provide a full English translation of any text.

Shot by Sarha. The First Content Creating Camel. On the biggest network and widest coverage.

Tell the jury about the photography. Do not name the photographer.

The photos where captured by photographers from around the world through the eyes of Sarha, our content-creating camel. With a camera system rigged on its hump, Sarha took the photographers on a journey to lands no human have ever set foot on, giving them full control to take beautiful high-definition images in real-time from the comfort of their homes. The photographers logged in to the specially designed and developed control center on their laptops at home. The control center gave each photographer a different time slot, allowing them to control the camera remotely using the CamRanger. They could move the camera in 360 motions, as well control all the camera settings from shutter speed, ISO, aperture, focus, zoom, and so on… All the photographs were taken in RAW format to ensure the upmost quality is delivered. The camera was a DSLR, with a 28-135 Lens installed on a motorized rig.