Zak Kostura

This 4,000-lb stainless-steel structure, called Sky Reflector-Net, will help orient passengers as they walk through the Metropolitan Transportation Authoritys Fulton Center, its refurbished transit hub in lower Manhattan.

The determination to capture a perfect image is on display in the work of the participants in ENR’s 2013 Images: The Year in Construction Photo Contest. From squeezing into a tiny aluminum cart strung across the Colorado River Gorge to dangling in a lift basket high above a fabrication yard, these photographers show what it takes to get a great shot. This year, ENR is awarding cover photographer Thiel Harryman with an official grand prize: a construction site time-lapse camera housing, donated by sponsor photoSentinel.

Finalist Paul Turang says the contest provides the industry with a platform—and a prize—for photos that might otherwise never see the light of day. He says the best shots are often passed over because they don’t show enough of a project to help the marketing department tell a story. One example is his photo on page 36.

Incredible things happen every day in the construction industry. Other facets of life, such as sports, news and entertainment, are heavily documented with shared photos. But the art and beauty of the construction industry can be overlooked and not given the credit it deserves, says Harryman, a mechanical engineer and a repeat finalist. “It is important to capture construction moments not just for basic documentation but to allow an opportunity to share and remember what we do,” he says. We agree and hope you enjoy the photos that follow.