PICTURE PERFECT: The photo Transplanting Season by photographer Trịnh Ngân Liên, head of the Hà Nam Province’s Photography Association, won the gold medal in the travel category at the second HCM City International Photo Contest. Photo courtesy of HPA

HCM CITY — The HCM City Photography Association (HPA) is hosting the first-ever international photography festival from November 25-30.

The event includes different exhibitions showcasing thousands of photos taken by Vietnamese and international photographers who participated in the second HCM City International Photo Contest (HOPA) from July 17 to October 15.

The exhibitions feature a wide range of topics such as the world through a lens, Việt Nam’s beautiful landscapes and development, and HCM City – the dynamic city.

The festival will also offer talks on photography, meetings between Vietnamese and international photographers, and field trips to Việt Nam’s famous destinations to help photographers find inspiration.

Photography equipment is presented at the event as well.

In addition, the organiser launched a 24-hour photomarathon starting from 11am on November 25.

Each contestant can submit five photos for each topic at website http://marathon.hopaphotocontest.com by 11am on November 26.

The winners will be announced at 8pm the same day.

On November 30, the association will organise an awards ceremony for the international contest, giving away 56 top prizes for the categories of travel, portrait, and free style in monochrome and colour. The awards ceremony will be broadcast live on the HCM City Television.

The HOPA contest was sponsored by the Việt Nam Photography Artists’ Association (VAPA), the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), the Photographic Society of America (PSA) and Image Sans Frontière (ISF).

The organisers received more than 5,800 entries from 534 professional and amateur photographers from 36 countries and territories. The festival is taking place at the HCM City Youth Cultural House at 4 Phạm Ngọc Thạch Street in District 1. — VNS