From the grit and grime of everyday life to the towering spectacular heights of the Petronas Towers, the CBRE's 2013 Urban Photographer of the Year Competition has brought together a collection of thoughtful true life images taken by some of the most talented photographers.
British photographer, Mark French has been named as the winner of CBRE’s 2013 Urban Photographer of the Year competition, beating over 12,500 entries from around the globe with his striking Hong Kong image titled ‘Looking good at work’.
WINNER: Mark French, UK - Looking good at work, Hong Kong
The annual competition run by CBRE, the world’s largest property advisor, is now in its sixth year and is the largest global photography competition of its kind. This year’s competition received over 12,500 photos, a record number, with entrants hailing from 118 countries from the Chilean coast to the deserts of Saudi Arabia.
The theme for the competition is ‘Cities at Work’, challenging entrants to capture the essence of urban life at different times throughout the day. The main prize is a luxury photography safari from a range of destinations across the globe. French’s winning entry depicts a solitary tram driver amongst a crowd of advertising, taken at 9am during Hong Kong’s rush hour.
2nd Place - Glenn Surtees, UK - Fly's eyes, Singapore
The runner up for this year’s competition is British photographer Glenn Surtees, with his 7am photo of a worker inspecting the rooftop of a theatre in Singapore.
3rd Place - Rui Pedro Moura Barbosa Dias, Portugal - Life for life, Portugal
The third prize went to Rui Pedro Moura Barbosa Dias, with his image of firefighters putting out a factory fire in his native Portugal.
A student competition was run in parallel with the main competition, which attracted 1,236 entries from educational institutes around the world. The winner of this year’s student competition is Tom Pepper from Kings College London, with his picture ’Waiting for the train’ portraying the New York Subway.
Michael Strong, Executive Chairman, EMEA, CBRE said: “This year’s competition attracted a record amount of interest and number of high quality entries, making the judges’ jobs even more difficult. However everyone agreed that the winning image by British photographer Mark French is a stunning masterpiece. This competition is a unique one - showcasing the lives of city workers, whilst highlighting the diversity and beauty of cities across the world.”
This year’s winner, Mark French, said: “I am thrilled to have been crowned ‘CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year’, particularly given the high number of inspiring entries in this year’s contest. The image was taken shortly after I had relocated to Hong Kong and I was struck by the immensity and quantity of advertising on display. As I watched closely, I noticed that the advertising images on the side of the trams made an interesting contrast between the passengers’ expressions and faces, and in this case with the driver who seemed to be checking his reflection during the morning rush hour.”
See the images from the other entrants in the below gallery...