Capital hosts int'l photo competition

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

The opening and award ceremony of the photo exhibition of the third International Photo Salon Georgian Drag 2019 competition has taken place in SOCAR ecological park.

The contest was co-organized by the Georgian Photographers Association with the support of the Azerbaijan Photographers Union and Ecopark Environmental Research Center.

The competition was held under the patronage of International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), Global Photographic Union (GPU) and Photolife Club.

President of the Georgian Photographers Association Kakha Pkhakadze, Ecopark director Tahir Shikhaliyev, deputy chairman of Azerbaijan Photographers Union, jury member Rauf Umud and Georgian photographer Nino Mgberishvili addressed the event, which aims to promote and develop photo art.

The competition received 4,733 works from 327 photographers from 52 countries. Of these, more than 50 photos were identified as the best by the international jury. Azerbaijani photographer Shahin Sarkarov was awarded the gold medal, Fargan Gasimli won the silver medal, while the bronze went to Aydin Mekhdiyev and Nadezhda Javad.

In conclusion, the participants and guests of the competition took part in planting of trees in the ecopark.

Azerbaijan Photographers Union is a public, creative, non-profit organization, based on the principles of open society, voluntaries and self-government. The Union was created in 1998.

The Union aims at promotion of the national photo art, popularization of its achievements in the country and abroad, preservation and creative use of photographic heritage.

The Union regularly holds exhibitions, competitions, festivals, master classes, conferences and symposiums with the participation of the Azerbaijani and foreign photographers, as well as promotes the amateur movement.

Many years passed from the APU's establishment. During this period the members of the Union have organized and taken part in more than 100 exhibitions, including more than 30 in foreign countries (the U.S., UK, France, Turkey, Germany, Belgium, Ukraine, Greece, Russia, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia etc.). The Chairman of the Board is Mirnaib Hasanoglu.

The Georgian Association of Photographers is a non-governmental organization, founded in November 2008 and dedicated to promoting both professional and amateur photography in Georgia. It is a membership-based organization.