Strange sights and eccentric compositions abound in this year’s Urban Photo Awards, the finalists of which have just been announced. Now in its 12th year, this unique photography contest showcases weird and wonderful visions of modern life.

The Urban Photo Awards is a broad but relatively simple photo contest. It spans four primary categories: Streets, People, Spaces and Creative.

Eduard Korniyenko

Although the contest generally focuses on modern city life, it does recognize how many different forms this can take in the 21st century. More traditional street photography of course features heavily, as do investigations of architectural geometries and odd creative experimentations.

Interestingly, and unlike many recent photography contests, the finalist selection does not heavily feature pandemic-influenced shots. Apart from a few images recognizing COVID-19, including one stunningly surreal shot of a trio of colorful horse-costumed characters, the majority of entries seem to focus on the oddball moments that arise in modern life.

Ingrid Gielen

These highlights include a moment of curious connection between a young girl and a camel, a beautifully timed visual analogy comparing a police SWAT team with a group of tourists, and a beachgoer who will seek out sand and sun at any cost.

An extra category called Projects & Portfolios focuses on collections of images grouped under a single theme. A particular highlight this year comes in Joseph Ford’s clever series Invisible Jumpers, featuring a number of images where clothing and background merge in exciting ways.

Joseph Ford

The winning images will be announced in late October as part of the Trieste Photo Days festival in Italy.

Take a look through our handpicked highlights from this year’s finalist selection, and checkout previous galleries featuring 2020 and 2019 highlights.

Source: Urban Photo Awards