The diversity of colors, lines, angles, textures and people in the construction industry is reflected in the winning images of ENR’s “2015 Year in Construction” photo contest. Ranging from bright-blue steel girders and the bizarre geometric forms of spooling cables to the array of workers toiling underground and high in the air, the pages ahead unveil a world of wonder on global jobsites.

ENR's annual photo contest gives recognition to construction photography, the crews, and the projects they work on together. They also shows appreciation for the people who often face uncomfortable conditions capture great images.

Some 1,500 photographers submitted images for the Year in Construction issue. This slideshow genuine talent both in front of and behind the camera.

Something is changing in construction photography. The pictures are getting strikingly better. That's the only conclusion we could come to after our panel of judges finished reviewing the 1,564 entries to ENR's 2012, The Year in Construction Photo Contest.

ENR's annual photo contest brings attention to inspiring construction photographs and the workers and projects they depict. But the contest is also designed to show appreciation for the people who take their cameras onto jobsites, often under difficult conditions, and capture great images.

ENR's Annual Photo Contest showcases memorable images from amateur photographers. These excellent photos offer a side of engineering that is not often seen.

When you look at the winners of ENR's Annual Photo Contest, you will notice that some are memorable images that come from amateur photographers. Selected by a panel of judges from 1,752 entries, those excellent amateur photos prove digital cameras have democratized high-quality photography to a degree never imagined by George Eastman, and the construction industry is a key beneficiary.

The process of construction is a work of art in itself, often covered up by the utility or beauty of the project's final form. Construction often starts out under conditions that are difficult, challenging and sometimes dangerous, as the following pages of ENR photo-contest winners demonstrate.

Of the three absolute requirements for life—water, air and shelter—only shelter depends on human ingenuity. This gallery celebrates the process of the intense communication and teamwork that modern construction requires of its participants to realize in metal, glass, wood and stone, the heights of design imagination.

Everything that is built begins with people and their minds and hands. People are the soul of construction, and we celebrate that with some of the best images of people at work you ever will see.