While laying out the 42 winning images and eight honorable mentions on the following pages, ENR senior art director Scott Hilling says he was struck by “a real visceral sense of mood and emotion conveyed through many of the photos this year. It was palpable. Intense lighting, dramatic shadows and an elevated sense of composition were the keys to achieving this.” As you flip through the pages and focus on each individual photo, Hilling hopes that you will consider perspective—whether that means the viewpoint (literally or figuratively) of the photographer, or your own frame of reference brought to the viewing experience. “Studying a photo and really taking in the entire shot can allow you to see an angle or intended path the photographer wanted to take you down that you might not have seen with just a quick glance,” he says. After considering the photo, he encourages readers to study the caption to see if it changes your point of view. “The caption is integral to having the perspective of the photographer or subject of the shot at the time it was taken,” Hilling contends. “That context can bring a whole new perspective to your interpretation of the shot.”

While each of this year’s 40 winning photos were evaluated individually on their photographic merits by a panel of six judges, ENR’s senior art director Scott Hilling spotted a common theme that unites the winners. “As I reviewed all of them, something was standing out across many of the images, but I just couldn’t put my finger on directly what it was” says Hilling. “As I continued my review, it finally hit me. More so than in past years, these images show a similar beauty in their geometry, with symmetry, harmony, bold lines or shapes.” Each subject has been captured with an eye towards that visual appeal, such as “the shape of a bridge or pipe at a certain angle, the energy or force in a worker’s action, the angle of a shot or the direction of shadows, each frozen in an image that is visually stunning,” he adds. The judges assessed more than 1,000 entries to make this year’s selections.

With this year’s 40 photo contest winners appearing here and throughout the magazine, senior art director Scott Hilling curated the images to take the reader through a visual narration of the ups and downs many in the industry experienced in 2021. “Many of us started the year off stuck at home, facing dreary times and tough roads,” Hilling says. “We faced isolation, with difficult and rough environments to navigate our way through. At times it felt like we had the weight of the world on our shoulders. So many unknowns left us overwhelmed. Figurative and literal walls were erected to protect ourselves, and sometimes we were left just staring at them. But as we struggled, people started to come together to help each other out. Gray skies lifted. Life felt a bit more normal. People were back together, supporting each other. Beautiful work carried on, and while things still can get dark again, we know how to persevere. At the end of the day, we can stand there knowing we can get through anything.”