CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year – Winners Announced

he winners of the 2009 CB Richard Ellis Urban Photographer of the Year Awards have been announced, with first place awarded to Ralf Pascual from Madrid, Spain, whose photograph of a ‘Matador’-inspired window cleaner in the city of Madrid won the judges over. Ralf wins a Photo Safari for two to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan including accommodation and flights. There were two Hungarian winners in the “24 hour category”: Zoltan Balogh with his photo “Pressure” and Gábor Bagics with the picture titled ‘Works of Fire’.

The competition, which is designed to capture the essence of urban life, is now in its second year, and sets a brief for photographers to explore working life in towns and cities at any time during a 24-hour day.

An impressive 6,250 entries were received of images of more than 80 countries. The 27 winning images were from 20 different countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
 
Second prize was awarded to Jean-Marc Gargantiel from La Réunion (the island which is one of the overseas départements of France) who captured the tranquillity of an urban green paradise in the middle of bustling Paris. He wins a course of his choice with world famous photographers, Trevor and Faye Yerbury in the United Kingdom. Third prize was awarded to Gianocarlo Malandra, from Giulianova in Italy, whose image of gondoliers taking a break from the canals of Venice captured the wry side of an ancient city and its traditions. His prize is Studio Lighting from professional suppliers, Lastolite.
 
This year’s judging panel consisted of: Mike Strong, EMEA Chairman & CEO of CB Richard Ellis; Moray MacLennan, Worldwide CEO, M&C Saatchi; Derek Poulston, Sales Director, One Vision Imaging; Charles Garnett, CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year 2008; Oliver Jackson, Architectural Photographer, UAE; Stefan Sonntag, internationally renowned photographer based in Munich.