Omani wins international photography competition

Muscat: An Omani has won an international photography competition by capturing the beauty of Omani deserts.
Samir Al Busaidi was the only Arab to win the Palanga photo competition held in Lithuania, and did so by capturing the beauty of the Ibri desert.
"Winning the competition means a lot to me because it gives me the motivation to work toward other titles and to keep competing among professional photographers."
The Palanga photo salon is recognised by the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP) and the Photographic Society of America (PSA).
Al Busaidi’s awards include an FIAP gold medal in the Open Colour category and a PSA silver in the Nature category. Both photographs captured the beauty of the Omani desert.
"I work for Occidental, which means I spend a lot of time in the desert, and so naturally I fell in love with its beauty."
Highlighting his passion for photography, Al Busaidi said: "Photography has always been my hobby, but since I started taking photos with a digital camera in 2011, my passion heightened."
Al Busaidi was not born with a talent for photography, but had to work hard to get where he is. "When I decided to get serious about photography, a friend of mine taught me the basics and I had to keep practicing and learning."
Palanga had received hundreds of applicants for this years' exhibition.
"The application process was simple, I applied through their website after a few of my friends told me about it, but sadly, none of them won," said Al Busaidi, who was honoured with the title of "FIAP artist" by the International Federation for Photographic art.
He advised Omani photographers to "never underestimate themselves and keep developing themselves, by studying international photographers in order to learn ways to achieve distinctive angles. Because a picture could also send out a better message to the world about this (Oman) peaceful country."