RIYADH - The Sony World Photography Awards announced Nather AlAsyf as the winner of the 2018 Saudi Arabia National Award on Sunday. The photographer had been shortlisted in the awards’ Open Culture category.

AlAsyf, a Deputy Plant Manager who is passionate about photography and is based in Riyadh, won for his photograph titled "Bread Carrier". AlAsyf is particularly interested in capturing human expressions and cultural traditions. His work was selected by an expert panel of judges as the best single image taken by a photographer based in Saudi Arabia.

Produced by the World Photography Organization, the Sony World Photography Awards is the world’s most diverse photography competition. The 11th edition saw a record breaking 320,000 submissions by photographers from more than 200 countries and territories, presenting some of the world’s finest contemporary photography captured over the past year.

As a National Award winner, Nather AlAsyf receives the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony. His award-winning work will be showcased at the Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition in London from April 20 to May 6 and he will be published in the 2018 awards’ book.

Describing the winning work, AlAsyf said: “My photograph features a Kargily girl from Ladakh-Kashmir who is carrying bread for her family in the early morning. I took this image to capture this girl’s beauty and her noble duty towards her loved ones.”

He continued: “I love taking photos that showcase the beauty of people and how we are all very similar when it comes to being happy or sad, no matter what our cultural background is.” - SG