Majed Sultan Al Zaabi is a computer engineer with an extreme passion for photography. He is active on social networks, providing photography-related content and showcasing how to produce content across social networks. For over 20 years, he has devoted his talent at excelling in the field of wildlife photography and documenting charitable projects in Africa.
Majed is especially passionate about sharing knowledge and providing in-depth details by recording videos on YouTube. He started his channel in 2007 to explain the basics of photography, use of various equipment and photo editing; carrying it through to today’s fast-paced world of social media.
Majed has won many international awards and achievements. In 2021, he won in the ‘Animal Portraits’ category of the Natural History Museum’s ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ competition in London. The competition which is held yearly is considered to be one of the largest wildlife photography competitions in the world.
Many of his works have been published in the National Geographic magazine, as well as participating in special photography programs on National Geographic Abu Dhabi. Majed is a brand representative of Nikon Middle East and North Africa. He has organized more than 30 tours for photographers from the Gulf to go to photograph wildlife in Africa – and many of them have achieved global achievements from his tutelage.
Majed has hosted numerous photography courses both in person and online, from the basics to advanced photography workshops, including photo editing, wildlife photography courses and lectures documenting charitable projects in Africa. His last course was about the secrets of Instagram, which is how to create professional content for social networks. Making content daily has become part of his life. His goal is to create a great impact on those around him and spreading positivity and happiness through these networks.
This deserved Award places Majed in the circle of inspiring influencers that invest their talent and creativity in spreading knowledge; engaging with the community on the quality and simplicity of the content they provide. Majed is on his way to world fame with confident steps.
Kurt Mutchler is an editor-at-large at National Geographic magazine. He was awarded the 2021 Magazine Picture Editor of the Year by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). He was also presented with the Magazine/Media Visual Editor of the Year in Pictures of the Year International (POYi), and Magazine Picture Editor of the Year by the NPPA for his work in 2018.
His work has been recognized by the Overseas Press Club of America, The Association of Magazine Media, Society for News Design, and The Society for Publication Designers.
Kurt has worked at National Geographic magazine since 1994 where he has held many positions, including photo editor, deputy director of photography, executive editor of photography, and senior science photo editor. He is a former adjunct professor at the Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington, DC, where he taught photojournalism. Prior to joining the magazine, he was the photo and graphics editor of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, Louisiana.
With more than two decades of photographic contribution, Kurt has deservedly earned The Photography Appreciation Award. His body of work has produced more than 130 stories including 30 cover stories. He is an eminent example of the pivotal role that behind-the-scenes workers add to the photography industry; a role that rarely gets the spotlight.