ENR readers really responded to the call to submit photographic work that captures the spirit and action of building the built environment. Both longtime submitters and newcomers from around the world submitted more than 1,100 images for the annual edition of ENR’s Year in Construction Photo Contest. On these pages, you can study images taken by professionals with state-of-the-art equipment, from high-end DSLRs to drones to the latest in image processing, as well as those of project employees using only smartphones and a front-line connection for work assignments and challenges.
The formidable task of selecting just 42 winners and 16 honorable mentions fell to this year’s panel of judges, who met at ENR’s Empire State Building offices in December: Justin Grundfast, creative director and head of brand and design, STV; Carl Heinlein, Senior Safety Consultant, American Contractors Insurance Group; Josephine Minutillo, Editor-in-Chief, Architectural Record; Debra K. Rubin, ENR deputy editor, Global business and energy; and Laura Scarano, film producer, Mille Fleurs Media. Scott Hilling, Senior Art Director at ENR and I guided the proceedings.
“Serving as a judge for ENR’s photo contest was a blast,” says Grundfast. “What surprised me the most was how strongly the winning photos used a single image to tell a compelling story about the projects. Staying focused on craft and intent is what really made them stand out.”
Minutillo says that “the human aspect of these photos was the most striking to me. Even among heavy machinery, massive infrastructure and dangerous construction sites, what always stands out are the people.”
Heinlein was very impressed by “the variety of presentations and all the amazing things that construction companies around the world are doing to improve people’s lives.” He also played another important role: “keeping an eye on health and safety exposures to ensure employees were properly protected.”
Rubin, who has judged several photo contests over the years for ENR, says she is “still fascinated by the scope of the global projects captured” and the “amount of detail that many photographers know and share about them.” He adds that advances in portable photography technology “reinforce confidence” among professionals and hobbyists alike, and “extends their risk-taking to produce a never-before-seen view of project action, or an amazing close-up of someone on site working every day, unseen or unheralded, to make it happen.”
As you flip through this issue, Rubin hopes you’ll take note of the palette of builds on display, with their “wide variety of ever-changing shapes, colors, and movements that create such amazing art.”
