HAPPY snapper Hisham A Razzaq walked off with a cash prize and a framed copy of his stunning photograph which captured the majestic giant equipment used at one of Bahrain’s biggest industrial operations, writes Stan Szecowka.
He took first place in the inaugural Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) Photography Contest 2014 at a special ceremony held recently at the company’s Oasis Hall.
Mr Razzaq, 43, who lives in Tubli and works in the engineering, instruments and process control, casthouse and maintenance section, said: “I’m thrilled and surprised as there were many wonderful entries and some of the images were taken by photographers with far more experience than me.”
Alba boasts one of the largest and most modern aluminium smelters in the world – renowned for its premium grade products, technological strength and innovative policies, strict environmental guidelines and excellent track record for safety.
Established in 1971 as a 120,000 tonnes per annum smelter, Alba today produces more than 912,000 metric tonnes per annum of the highest grade aluminium, with products including standard and T-ingots, extrusion billets, rolling slab, properzi ingots, and molten aluminium.
The contest attracted around 150 entries submitted by 31 employees and the winning images were chosen after three selection rounds. A jury team comprising of two external judges and one internal judge studied all the contest entries. They were Ali Al Marzooq, owner of Al Marzooq Photography, fashion and industrial photographer Mohammed Redha Al Asfoor, a professional photographer specialising in night shots and building photography and the founder of two local photography contests and galleries, and Hassan Haji, a leading photographer and graphic and design artist at Alba.
Mr Razzaq used his trusty Canon SX 50HS to capture his award-winning shot and only started developing his photographic prowess with the help of ‘a few courses and reading up on the subject’ over the past three years. In second place came Abdulla Adel from Reduction Line 5, Ahmed Al Balooshi from Power was third and fourth place went to Mohammed Al Rosani also from casthouse.
Organised by the human resources & public relations department, the contest was supported by the executive management, Alba Labour Union and the safety, health & environment department.
Alba’s chief operations officer Isa Al Ansari said: “It was an ideal platform for the employees to showcase their photography skills. The event was a great success and we aim to establish a community of skilled photographers in the company as well as encourage employees to continue to showcase their talents.”
