Dubai in bloom: See the photos that won the Flame Tree competition

Dubai: Iconic, vibrant red flowers blooming across the city, put Dubai’s people and buildings in a beautiful frame, during the Flame Tree season earlier this year. Now, three photographers have been awarded for capturing the most striking of these frames, as the winners of the Flame Tree Season photography competition were announced last week. Earlier this year , His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, spoke about how the Flame Tree, which begins to bloom in early summer across Dubai, brings life to every home, majlis, street and park. He also directed the expansion of Flame Tree planting across streets, homes, recreational spaces, and public parks in Dubai. Originally from Madagascar, the Flame Tree was introduced to Dubai decades ago as part of the emirate’s urban greening efforts. In June, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), in collaboration with the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA), announced the Flame Tree Season Photography Competition, inviting residents and visitors to capture the city in bloom, offering cash prizes worth a total of AED 30,000. Entries closed on July 31 and last week, Dubai Culture and HIPA announced the three winners of the competition, with the winning photograph capturing a female footballer suspended mid-air juggling a football as the Flame Tree’s branches fan out behind her. First place winner: Jaseel Peralasseri The photograph that won the second place focuses on the Flame Tree with the Museum of the Future in the background, with the red flowers in sharp focus. Second place winner: Louna Tanik Al Janabi The third-place winner captured a quiet, evening moment as a woman and girl walk along a promenade, with the sunset framing Dubai’s iconic skyline in the background and the Flame Tree in sharp focus. Third place winner: Anish Ashok Dubai Culture and HIPA said the competition celebrated images that captured both “the spirit of the season and the beauty of the Flame Tree” through the participants’ lenses.