I was doing my usual weekly great photographs on the web search, when I came upon this year recently awarded His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Photography Awards (HIPA) for 2014-2015, and really they kind of “knocked my socks off.” Picking a favorite was very difficult. The World of Color images were truly a retinal delight, but then I came upon a beautiful black and white of three women laughing an drinking tea by Chi Hung Cheung, which was the third prize winner in the Faces category.  From my perspective this has everything that a great black and white photograph, especially a portrait, should have: great tonal range, luscious blacks, deep whites, great composition and it tells a wonderful story. I never quite agree with the judges aboutr what should be number one.  But hey, we’ve all got our own perspective. That’s what makes photography so personal and magical.