These Are The Best Urban Photographs Of This Year's Agora's Urban Contest (50 Pics)

By @hadangkhoa (Vietnam)

By @henrydo (USA)

The majesty of Rome's iconic symbol was perfectly captured by @henrydo: "Rome has been completely urbanized but they still kept many historic sites to preserve the history. I think it fits quite well with the hashtag. This shot was a composite of 2 separate images taken at a different time in the same location. Many people thought a drone is capable of capturing the lit-up night sky but the technology isn't that advanced, yet. If I win, I will donate part of my prize to a charity to fight plastic pollution in the ocean and save marine wildlife."

By @borsch (Russia)

Russian photographer @borsch entered the competition with a foggy aerial view of his hometown, Moscow.

By @marcelvanbalken (Netherlands)

Dutch photographer @marcelvanbalken said: "It was very bad weather, a lot of rain. So I had to take this picture with my camera in one hand and an umbrella in the other. The urban space in a play of light and shadow form shows an almost surrealistic decor. Pure black-and-white, in which the photography of architecture begins to take on abstract forms, reinforced by the apparently disproportionate addition of the man. If I win, I want to purchase a drone to be able to photograph urban spaces from a height."

By @johandroneadventures (Belgium)

Brussels-based photographer @johandroneadventures snapped this aerial shot of the Home of Arts (HOTA) in Gold Coast, Australia: "Urban for me isn't only about cities and skylines, it's also about the integration of urban and nature. This is a beautiful example of a structure that was well designed and integrates seamlessly with the environment."

By @karaemurphy (USA)

With this photo, @karaemurphy declares her love to the Windy City: "Chicago is one of the best cities in the world. The architecture, alone, makes it a must-visit destination. The food is wonderful and the people are friendly. Because the photo is a bit eery, it lends itself to the grit that big cities are known for. I wanted to capture this building (Two Prudential Plaza) at dusk. Since it was cloudy, I was able to capture a moody, Gotham City-type feel to the photo. Since Chicago is an urban hub, it's important to calibrate your compass outside the city so there's little to no signal interference when flying a drone. I was able to find a secluded spot near the building so I could keep the drone in sight. If I win, I would use part of it to donate to charitable organizations such as SF Camera Works which supplies young, underprivileged children with gear and education so that they get a head start on something they're passionate about. The rest I would use for a destination trip with my drone."

By @øystein (Norway)

@øystein spotted this flower growing through asphalt while driving back from work: "I was driving this quite heavily trafficked road when I saw this lonely flower standing strong among all the concrete buildings. Later that evening I brought my kit and hoped that it still was standing there. I think this flower symbolizes how strong an individual can be if they have to. An urban setting that depicts the struggle and strength of both nature and man, and how this can lead to growth and success."

by @angiolomanetti (Italy)

Italian photographer @angiolomanetti waited for the nighttime to photograph these residential buildings in Odaiba, Tokyo: "When I saw these buildings, I was immediately struck by the genius of the architecture and the ability to make a building in something satisfying to the eye. I had just begun to mount the tripod when it started to rain heavily, which made me nervous because I wanted to ponder the scene well and look at the ideal point, but the situation had become complicated. I was about to give up shooting when I regained self-control and started thinking about how I could still get a satisfying shot. I hope I succeeded! If I win the contest, I'd like to go back to where I took the photo and try to do even better!"

By @notanothermica (Belgium)

@notanothermica snapped this impressive shot while exploring the urban area of Charleroi, Belgium: "This is one of the most famous spots in Belgium for urban exploration. The door to enter this power plant is sometimes closed, which makes it not easy to get in. On that day, I was lucky because the door was open and there was some good light, which caused the cool glow on the metal of the powerplant. I wanted to place a person inside the power plant to had a reason for the viewer to relate to the photo."

By @wunderbilder (Germany)

@wunderbilder captured this photo on a trip to Rome: "During our visit, we stayed in a flat in this building and I found the staircase geometrically very interesting. There was no elevator in the building."

By @leemumford8 (UK)

British photographer @leemumford8 snapped the incredible architecture of Hong Kong view from above: "Sometimes you don’t get the same sense of scale until you look at something from above. As the day turns to dark, I captured the hustle and bustle of the city streets. As the street lights turned on, the roads lit up in this bright yellow-orange which I like to call the cities veins. As the light was fading, a longer shutter was needed as I wanted to keep the ISO fairly low to help reduce noise. As this was an aerial shot, it was a fine balance before camera shake was an issue. The visibility on this particular was so clear, conditions I’ve been unable to replicate since."

By @leo.wies (Germany)

By @cunodebruin (Netherlands)

@cunodebruin never gets tired of shooting the busy streets of Tokyo: "It was raining for a couple of days when we were in Tokyo. I actually loved the moody vibes and started to capture that. It's so much more different than any other place I've been to. The vibe, people and streets are a special thing. This was one of my favorite shots from those days: it's always busy and there's always something going on in Tokyo. It's an urban vibe. The blue color, the neon, the tones, and rain make it a real urban shot. It almost has that Blade Runner feeling!"

By @paulaaranoa (Argentina)

Argentine photographer @paulaaranoa loved to explore the mysterious streets of Barcelona's gothic neighborhood: "The story behind the photo shows a character who is walking through a dark path, however, the light is wrapping itself around him. On this day, the light was perfect. I watched how the people walking by were wrapped by the light, I spent at least an hour in the same place until the light changed... it was a unique spectacle and I consider myself privileged to have witnessed it."

By @tom.bridges (UK)

@tom.bridges captured the beauty of Sweden's capital from high up: "I wanted to emphasize the center of the image, that represents the heart of Stockholm, portrayed in the warmer tones and colors. It is surrounded by an arctic environment, with the frozen lake encapsulating the boat in the foreground, to the flurries of snowmaking their way into the image in the background." even though he mentioned that "controlling a drone in temperatures of - 10 degrees wasn’t that fun!"

By @alicesukiasyan (Armenia)

@alicesukiasyan took this photo in the streets of Yerevan, the capital and largest city of Armenia: "The eyes of the man in the reflection actually are little stones which were in the water when I captured the photo. In my opinion, some emotions or moments can seem frozen due to photography - but at the same time, it can transmit strong dynamics. The eyes of the man in reflection are looking right into viewers' eyes, which somehow creates contact between the viewer and the photo."

By @laboussole.seon (France)

French expat @laboussole.seon took this photo of the legendary Yick Fat building in October 2017: "Hong Kong is the most exciting and most contrasted urban environment I know. With this photo, I wanted to transmit the feeling to be trapped in a city, in the middle of tall buildings with a high density of apartments, and the sky seems so far away. I took the photo at sunset so that the colors of the sky are an invitation to peace and warmth, to contrast with the main subject. It is challenging to take a photo in this place, as it is a famous spot, mostly for Instagram. I went a couple of hours before sunset secures a good spot. Shortly after this shooting session, the management of the building has added a sign forbidding photo taking as it became too disturbing for the people actually living in the building. unfortunately for them, it doesn’t seem to have stopped tourists."

By @msubirats (Spain)

@msubirats visited this popular sunset spot in Munich, Germany: "I was amazed by the number of people in this city who take a moment to watch the sunset at night."

By @azimronnie (Bangladesh)

@azimronnie shares some facts about this picture taken in his hometown, Dhaka: "The 500 enormous vessels used to transport bricks, sand and other goods, are either being built or are docked for maintenance work in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Shipbuilders in Bangladesh began exporting their ships to other countries in 2009, and it has since become a growing trade in the area."

By @jprphotos (UK)

@jprphotos captured one of the many trams that run through the busy streets of Budapest: "This image was all about making the tram stand out as much as possible, thanks to the contrast in colors against the color of the tram, and also the slightly experimental lighting. It took me over 3 hours to get this shot because the tram line wasn't in the center of the bridge. It was difficult to get a really good looking composition: it took me many tries trying to get the tram the right distance away from the camera in order to make it look more in the center than it was. Also, no tripod was involved..."