Beach scene comes out tops in #ShareTheBay competition

Uzbekistan-born photographer Khurshid Dustmurodov closed off tourism month with a bang after being announced as the overall winner in the #ShareTheBay competition organised by Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism.

The announcement was made by NMB Tourism board member Shaun van Eck during World Tourism Day on Friday at the Donkin Reserve.

Dustmurodov said he was excited about the recognition and hoped it would open doors for him.

“It feels awesome.

“It’s always nice to be recognised and to get acknowledged because [photography] is a passion of mine and sometimes we wake up very early to get that perfect shot,” Dustmurodov said.

Dustmurodov’s photograph, showcasing two pillars at Humewood Beach, was one of 29 entries that made the cut for the #ShareThe Bay competition.

Herald chief photographer Eugene Coetzee, who was one of the judges, said the quality of pictures received for the competition was outstanding and they depicted the most beautiful scenes that the Eastern Cape had to offer.

“With creative use of low light, and beautiful nature scenes from game parks in the area, it was difficult to select a winner.

“The top five images that were selected through the reader participation helped narrow down the field.

“Four out of the top five images depict various scenes, at low light, of the coastal region,” Coetzee said.

Van Eck, a fellow judge, said that visuals were very important in tourism.

“We’re looking for something unusual, something that will surprise people a bit and also something that will make them look longer than two seconds,” he said.

The third judge, Glenn Pappin, said he was looking for something that they had not seen before.

“I was looking for something different because we’ve all seen pictures of the pier, pictures of elephants and the Donkin.

“The entries were all beautiful and sold the city remarkably, but I was looking for something we had not seen before,” Pappin said.

Economic development, tourism and agriculture acting executive director Anele Qaba said they used the sector as a springboard to create jobs.

Speaking on #ShareTheBay, Qaba said in September they started off with 37,627 images, which had now reached more than 40,000 images.

“We need content created by locals that we can use to promote this city for the benefit of the city and the tourism industry.

“We want to congratulate the winners and hope that going forward you can continue being the ambassadors for the city that you are.

“Going forward we want to see how we can further enhance the campaign to include video and possibly a little film week,” Qaba said.

On Friday, the city’s 30 tourism ambassadors and cleaners met at the Donkin Reserve for a Heritage Trail route cleanup programme that was followed by a Route 67 Amazing Race.

• This article is in sponsorship with Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism. For more information, visit www.nmbt.co.za