UAE-based Filipino wins at Sony photography awards

That who welcomes suggestions for self-improvement and utilises discovered latent talents properly and rightly so, shall profusely benefit well in due time.

Take the case of Donell Gumiran into the artistic design industry for years.

He recently added another feather in his cap – so to speak – having been “anonymously selected by judges” as the “United Arab Emirates National Award” winner at the Open Competition of the 18-year-old “Sony World Photography Awards.”

The annual event of the UK-based 2007-founded World Photography Organisation, encourages the greenhorns and the veterans of the lens to ceaselessly broaden their talents in the area of “photographic culture.”

Thus, Gumiran’s black-and-white “A Timeless Tradition” – an abaya-clad Emirati woman, a crisp representation of the “rich heritage of the Arab culture” as the woman that “exudes a sense of pride and strength” contemplatively looks at the placid horizon with an old fisherman’s boat by the Abu Dhabi seaside – shall be among the exhibits at the Somerset House in London from April 17 to May 5, 2025; after the April 16 formal proclamation of the competition over-all winners in the Student, Youth, Open and Professional categories.

On Wednesday evening, Gumiran explained that through “A Timeless Tradition,” he wanted to sharply validate the interconnectedness of the locals to their land and their traditions that shape their Emirati culture.”

The 51-year-old recollected, “I was a newbie in Dubai when an acquaintance invited me to join him at photography workshops.”

“Easy convincing. I saw the opportunity that attending would help me become progressive in my job as the team leader of a design studio and agency that hired me direct from Metro Manila where I became a working student in the university. I looked at it as a way to much better encourage my colleagues in their respective tasks. That we help one another in our professional growth,” he continued, also saying that he saw that virtue tacitly in place in his workplaces back home, prior to his UAE adventure.

“I also saw it as a chance for additional income when I am already ready,” Gumiran quickly added.

Nearly 19 years in Dubai, the unico hijo of a father from the Northern Luzon province of Isabela and a mother from the Western Visayan province of Iloilo, took to the numerous weekend training-cum-workshops of two Filipino clubs under the auspices of the Philippine Consulate General-Dubai almost 18 years back, to assist overseas Filipino workers in continuing learning education and skills upgrade.

He learnt a lot from the Lightform Photographers’ Guild and OPPPs.

Extremely thankful for the weekend theories and exposures, Gumiran was among the graduates in 2010.

He reminisced: “While others concentrated on events, fashion shows, and landscapes for their catalogues, I pursued my desire to document every inch of culture I saw.”

“By so doing, I record and doing so, I create timeless stories and history. That is what I have been doing. I always have my camera with me,” he said.

From the press release of the awards which quoted Gumiran: “I am truly grateful to be chosen as the ‘UAE National Award’ winner for the ‘Sony World Photography Awards 2025. Photography allows me to tell stories and capture moments that matter. ‘A Timeless Tradition’ is special to me because it reflects the rich culture and heritage of the UAE. I am thankful to Sony and the World Photography Organisation for giving photographers like me a chance to share our work with the world.” Through Gumiran’s discovered latent talent in photography, his body of work, which include his own writings have been appreciated by the National Geographic Espana, Forbes, BBC News and Vogue. Art galleries and other international competitions in Abu Dhabi, London, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Madrid, New York, and Moscow became host to his productions. The Office of the President of the Philippines-National Commission for Culture and the Arts has quintuply honoured him by way of the prestigious “Ani ng Dangal” (“Harvest of Integrity”). In 2023, the design director was declared the “Emirati Futurism International Award in the Creative Design Category” winner.