Dubai
The weather has been kind to UAE residents over the past few weeks.
Rain, fog, pleasant breeze and cloudy skies were common in the country, in December.
However, while the UAE is enjoying moderate temperatures, places like Michigan, US, were not so lucky. Just last week, they faced a ‘whiteout’ situation, a dangerous condition where snow and clouds change the way light is reflected so that the horizon actually seems to disappear. It caused a 40-car pile-up on a highway as motorists braked at the last moment, skid and crashed into the vehicles ahead of them.
But not everything spells gloom and doom in winter. Our reader photographers decided to capture its beauty, with pictures of the theme: ‘Winter is here’.
We posted the editor’s pick of top five images on Gulf News’ instagram page and asked our followers to vote on the picture that they thought best captured the theme.
The picture competition was also, as usual, opened to voting by our Facebook readers, and they hit the ‘like’ button on the picture they preferred. Here, we collect the results and present the winners with the most cumulative votes.
Editor’s note: If you would like to participate, log on to Gulf News’ Facebook page and send in your submission for January’s Facebook Reader Picture Competition.
FIRST PLACE
Thulasikrishnan’s picture is of the Dubai skyline on a foggy winter day.
He said: ‘I had wanted to take a shot of a foggy morning from a building on Shaikh Zayed Road for a very long time. During the foggy season this year, I contacted the building management and requested for permission and at last, got it. So we went to the top of the building at around 6am and started clicking.’
His picture received 2,911 votes on instagram and 32 likes on Facebook, landing him in first place.
SECOND PLACE
Somil Bhandari took this picture with his Nikon D5100 at Interlaken, Switzerland. He said: ‘Feeling small over the Alps.’ Can you spot the helicopter?
His picture received 2,384 votes on instagram and 18 likes on Facebook.
THIRD PLACE
Zakir Hussain’s picture took this photograph in Ohio, US. He captured it with his Samsung S4 and said: ‘Winter wonderland.’
His picture received 2,194 votes on instagram and 46 likes on Facebook.
FOURTH PLACE
Hazem Mansour’s picture shows cable cars descending in Lucerne, Switzerland.
He said: ‘The splendid discrepancy between the green, grey, white, and red, mixed with the cold silence, really gave me the feeling that Mother Nature is telling us: ‘Winter is coming’.’
His picture received 2,138 votes on instagram and 110 likes on Facebook.
FIFTH PLACE
Leila Boric captured this image in Blidinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
She said: ‘This is the largest mountain lake in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is 2.5km long, and 2.1km wide. People on quad bikes were roaming around freely on the lake when it froze. It was at the temperature of -15C!’
Her picture received 1,715 votes on instagram and 12 likes on Facebook.
