Street photography is all about noticing the moments that most people might walk right past, and the finalists of the 2026 URBAN Photo Awards have certainly shown an eye for them. This year, the competition received almost 20,000 images from around 5,000 photographers worldwide, with only a selection making it to the final stage.
The Streets category brings together a fascinating mix of fleeting moments, unexpected encounters, and everyday scenes captured in cities around the world. Today, we’re delighted to share the list of finalists with you, and if you’d like to follow the competition, the winners are set to be announced in September.
Scroll down to explore some of the shortlisted photographs from this year’s competition and see the moments that caught the jury’s attention.
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#1 Dallas, Texas By Perry Hall
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#2 Magnified By Forrest Walker
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#3 Just Another Everyday Moment By Gianpaolo La Paglia
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#4 Curiosity K*lled The Cat By Aude Delannoy Dib
A photography should not provide answers but raise questions. This scene clearly also puzzled me as I photographed it and my understanding of it came after a talk with this woman who only spoke Turkish to me, and to whom I answered in English not understanding a verbal world or what she was saying. It is only through her gestures that I grasped or invented a narrative to this uncanny moment.
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#5 Neighbours By Astrid Van Der Zijden
Two ladies in the wild streets of Ho Chi Min.
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#6 Mind Control By Anikitos Hadjicharalambous
An elderly man sits on a bench with a violin case on his lap, pausing in his daily routine, while behind him a gigantic movie poster shows a menacing figure reaching out as if to grab his mind. The outstretched hand on the advertisement aligns with the man’s head, creating an uncanny illusion of mental manipulation. This juxtaposition between quiet vulnerability and aggressive visual imagery reflects the invisible pressures, fears, and influences that surround us in the contemporary urban environment.
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#7 Monks By Sakulchai Sikitikul
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#8 The Melon Head By Jozef Macak
A street scene from Istanbul.
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#9 A Lady With A Dog By Janusz Jurek
In Mikstat, Poland, every year on August 16th, the feast day of St. Roch, a traditional blessing of animals takes place. This custom dates back over 300 years. The faithful bring horses, cows, dogs, cats, and other animals to church for the priest to bless them with holy water. The ritual, included on the national list of intangible cultural heritage, is intended to ensure the animals’ health and protection throughout the year.
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#10 Cats By Hadrien Jeanrichard
A boy and a cat on a rainy day.
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#11 The Trousers Man By Gianpaolo La Paglia
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#12 Sunset By Forrest Walker
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#13 Hermes And Company By Dmytro Geshengorin
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#14 Babysitting In Navotas, Philippines By Didier Vanderperre
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#15 Bingo! By Chantal Fortier
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#16 Walkers By Ajuriaguerra
Seen from below through a translucent surface, anonymous walkers become abstract silhouettes suspended between movement and stillness. The image transforms an everyday urban moment into a graphic composition of light, shadow, and rhythm, inviting the viewer to reflect on the fleeting presence of people in the city.
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#17 Breakfast Time By Vittorio Ricci
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#18 Fishing By Sakulchai Sikitikul
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#19 Line Dance By Mateusz Kuca
In a snow-covered urban space, dark railings create a rhythm of lines and movement. A lone cyclist passes quietly through the frame, turning an ordinary winter scene into a minimalist dance of form, silence and contrast.
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#20 Mark Zilberman
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#21 Encounters In The Third Dimension By Marie-Josée Gouëz-Dailey
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#22 Skaters By Luca Menotti
This photo was taken at MACBA in Barcelona. One rests, the other shows off his tricks. The presence of the tent adds to the narrative of this place. MACBA is a global gathering spot for the skateboarding community. Skaters from all over the world flock to Barcelona to experience MACBA firsthand. On any given day, you’ll find a diverse group of skaters, locals and travelers alike.
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#23 Goalie By Forrest Walker
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#24 Indifferenza By Enzo Toto
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#25 Douglas Ljungkvist
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#26 Ghat Of Kolkata By Dipanjan Chakraborty
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#27 Fearless By Dejan Mijović
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#28 Carrying Joy By Chris Mozyro
Captured in the London Underground, this street photo breaks the monotony of the daily commute with a spontaneous burst of celebration from a hen party. A group of young girls share laughter and fun, their joy spilling into the usually muted atmosphere of the metro. Around them, strangers smile, clap, and watch with curiosity, while others remain quietly unaware—a reminder that even in the most ordinary spaces, people need moments of laughter, joy, and celebration to feel connected.
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#29 Kebab Feast Take Away By Burles Alan
This is the kebab and fish & chips takeaway restaurant at Clapham Junction. I noticed this reflection the evening before, and the next day I went down and asked if I could stand in the corner with my camera. After a while, the schools broke up, and I got this reflection. I also realised magic can happen in the most unlikely places.
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#30 Pet Monkey Holding A Dog’s Tail By Saneet Konduri
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#31 Nicola Maturo
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#32 Rhythm Of Survival By MD Enamul Kabir
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#33 Between Shadows By Mahdi Abarghouei
Three shadows share the same space, yet remain disconnected. A solitary figure emerges behind a fractured barrier, questioning whether we truly see one another—or only the silhouettes we leave behind.
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#34 Life At A Parking Lot By Magdaléna Straková
I captured this moment when walking back to a parked car at one of the old-town Delhi parking lots. This is a brief moment, showing street dogs and the shadows of black kites flying overhead.
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#35 Last Supper By Kadir Mumyakmaz
Last Supper Just a platform, a passing train, and a group of strangers—caught in a moment that feels oddly familiar.
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#36 Just Smile By Harun Özalp
Heavy rain and hail flood the streets of Ankara, disrupting traffic. A couple in a classic car amuse themselves by the situation and continue along their way.
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#37 La Portra By Francesco Nardi
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#38 Resurrection By Francesco Centore
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#39 Couple Kissing On Traffic Light By Felipe Toledo
Taken on Holloway Road, London, 2026.
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#40 Contemplazione By Elisabetta Tosi
Street photography in Norvegia
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#41 Gimme Shelter By David Jacobson
Visitors huddle in a seaside shelter on the promenade in Brighton.
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#42 Triangulaire By Cloé Vié
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#43 Between Giants By Chia-Chieh Yang
A vendor offers colorful umbrellas to tourists riding elephants at Amber Fort, Jaipur. Visible only through their shadows, the tourists become part of a scene that reflects the subtle relationship between tourism and daily livelihood.
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#44 Voices Of Grief By Bart Rubik
In the Italian city of Canosa di Puglia, the Desolata procession transforms the streets into a landscape of mourning. Led by Maestro Ezio Masotina, hundreds of black-veiled women chant the Stabat Mater, a medieval hymn of sorrows, turning a centuries-old Holy Saturday tradition into a visceral, collective expression of the Virgin Mary’s grief.
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#45 London By Orna Naor
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#46 The White Story By Olesia Kim
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#47 Where Wings Return By Mihail Onaca
Every morning without fail, he opens the window – and the world flies in. On the hidden alleys of bustling cities, life finds its own unhurried rhythm. An elderly man feeds pigeons with the devotion of a lifetime’s habit, a dachshund dozing at his side. The world feels softer through windows like these.
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#48 Facing You By Merja Varkemaa
Face of a young woman reflecting on a bus window in Rome.
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#49 Steel Birds And Street Dreams By Maya Mohan
In a world split between dreams and reality, this image captures the aspirations of children based in slums of Mumbai, India. The juxtaposition between the grounded lives of the children and the soaring jetliner overhead mirrors the coexistence of hope and hardship in urban landscape.
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#50 Maude Bardet
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#51 Joanna Mrówka
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#52 Playing Child By Farshid Ashkar
Playing with friends who grew up together in the old alleys since childhood.
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#53 Daniel Ramos
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#54 Chrysler By Charles Chojnacki
Night at Wildwood
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#55 Leap Of Faith By Azim Khan Ronnie
This black and white photograph captures a young boy mid-air as he leaps from one train to another during the annual global congregation in Tongi, Bangladesh. The striking silhouette against the bright sky highlights the daring nature of his movement, symbolizing both risk and freedom. The deep contrast between the dark trains and the open sky creates a dramatic and intense visual effect. The image not only reflects the adventurous spirit of youth but also speaks to the realities of daily life in bustling Bangladesh, where trains often become an unconventional playground for the fearless.
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#56 Building Tomorrow By MD Enamul Kabir
Workers move endlessly through dust and heat, shaping the foundations of a growing city.
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