CBRE Hungary searches for Urban Photographer of the Year 2010

CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) today launched its third annual Urban Photographer of the Year competition across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), one of the largest competitions of its kind in the world.

The hotly contested prize, which last year saw over 6,000 entries flood in across EMEA, is designed to explore and capture the essence of urban life and is open to all amateur and professional photographers across the EMEA region.

The first prize for the 2010 CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year Award is a photography safari for two to Turkey (including accommodation and flights) and will give the winner the opportunity to photograph some of the world’s finest locations of ancient and modern history.

The competition sets a brief for photographers to explore working life in towns and cities at any time during a 24-hour day. There is a prize for the best photograph representing each hour of the day, as well as overall Grand Prizes to be won and one winner to be crowned Urban Photographer of the Year 2010. Entrants can submit up to 24 images under the ‘Cities at Work’ theme. This year, there will also be a number of additional country-level sub-competitions and prizes.

In 2009’s hotly contested competition, Zoltán Balogh from Hungary was commended for photo shooted at 5 am in Budapest, West Railway station. Past winners have drawn inspiration from a vast spectrum of city sights, from London commuters, to gondoliers enjoying a well-earned break in Venice, an urban desert storm in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to a city fireworks display in Budapest, Hungary. Last year’s overall winning image was taken by Ralf Pascual from Madrid, Spain.

The competition is now open to entries online (www.cbrephotographer.com) and entrants have until 31 January 2011 to submit their snapshots of urban life. The full list of winners, including the overall Urban Photographer of the Year 2010, will be announced in March 2011.

CB Richard Ellis, the world’s largest real estate services firm, created the competition to provide a new forum for urban photography and explore what makes towns and cities tick. Adrienne Konthur managing director of CBRE Hungary added: “The success of our Urban Photographer of the Year competition since its launch in 2007 has been remarkable, having become the largest competition of its kind in the world and last year receiving entries from more than 80 different countries.

“With over half the world now living in cities for the first time in history, the urban environment – a specialist area of expertise for CB Richard Ellis – is immensely relevant and clearly provides amazing scope as the subject matter of this competition. We look forward to welcoming this year’s entries and to further exploring the essence of working life in towns and cities all across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”