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.