One photo, 2.5 crore taka: Bangladeshi banker wins one of the world's top photography prize

Bangladeshi amateur photographer Pinu Rahman has won the $200,000 Grand Prize at the 15th Hamdan International Photography Award (HIPA) in Dubai, becoming the first Bangladeshi to claim the competition's highest honour.

Pinu, a banker by profession, received the award for his photograph Under the Same Sky, capturing a family of five sleeping amid the ruins of their home in Dhaka's Korail slum after a devastating fire.

The photograph shows the family lying within the concrete walls left standing after the blaze, which destroyed more than 1,500 homes in one of the capital's most densely populated informal settlements.

Their possessions and shelter are gone. The family remains together.

The image won the Grand Prize at a ceremony held at Dubai's Museum of the Future on Tuesday evening, where Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presented Pinu with the $200,000 award.

The prize is worth approximately 2.5 crore taka, making it one of the largest cash awards received by a Bangladeshi photographer.

"I have always loved telling people's stories," Pinu said after receiving the award.

"Representing Bangladesh on such a prestigious international platform and winning this award is an immense source of joy and pride for me. This achievement has further strengthened my visual journey and my commitment to storytelling through photography."

Pinu works as an Assistant General Manager in the Cyber Security Department of Rupali Bank.

He grew up in Pirojpur and completed his postgraduate studies in Botany at the University of Dhaka.

Despite working outside the photography profession, Pinu has established himself in international photography competitions.

Earlier this year, he won Bangladesh's National Award at the Sony World Photography Awards 2026.

He also secured first prize at Italy's Siena Creative Photo Awards 2026 for The Golden Burden, a photograph showing an elderly jute worker carrying a bundle of jute on his head.

Another photograph, Bad Morning in a Burnt Valley, received Highly Commended recognition at the Siena International Photo Awards.

The Dubai award marks his biggest achievement yet.

The 15th edition of HIPA was held under the theme "Family", inviting photographers to explore relationships, shared experiences and connections extending beyond conventional definitions of family.

The organisers said the theme reflected the UAE's designation of 2026 as the "Year of the Family".

A total of $1 million was distributed across the competition's categories and special awards.

Alongside the main Family theme, the competition featured Sports Photography, Portfolio, General and a new category, Dreams Through AI.

Emirati photographer Hamid Obaid Al Ali won first place in the Family category, followed by Saudi photographer Nawaf Alosaimi and Indian photographer Subhajit Datta.

Pinu's Grand Prize was the competition's overall highest honour, separate from the individual category awards.

HIPA Secretary General Ali Khalifa bin Thalith said the competition's photographic archive had grown to more than one million images, submitted by a community of over half a million photographers from 209 countries.

The organisation has also conducted more than 230 training programmes benefiting over 10,000 photographers, he said.

French photojournalist Véronique de Viguerie received the Photographer of the Year Award for her work documenting people affected by war, oppression and conflict.

Japanese photographer Kazuyoshi Nomachi received the Appreciation Award, while Syrian photographer Dr Ali Mohamad won the Content Creator Award.

Bangladeshi photographers have previously won recognition at HIPA, but none had secured the Grand Prize.

In 2017, photographer KM Asad won first prize in the competition's "The Moment" theme. At least 13 other Bangladeshi photographers have received awards or special recognition over the years.

The Grand Prize at the previous, 14th edition went to Italian photographer Gianluca Gianferrari for an image of a volcanic eruption in Sicily.

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