​1,046 photos from around the world took part in the “City and nature” photo contest held by Sweco and Tierra Grande. The five winners will soon travel to China to take part in a photo workshop with Mattias Klum in the Swedish pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai.

“We humans need to understand and respect the fragility and extraordinary power of nature. This fragility is visible in the scars left by mankind’s overexploitation. The power of nature becomes clear where people step back and provide scope for regeneration. Many of the entries in the City & Nature photography contest symbolise this dualism in an exciting way,” says jury chairman Mattias Klum.

From among a total of 1,046 entries, a jury consisting of Mattias Klum, Professor Bob Lee from Konstfack (University College of Arts, Crafts and Design), Annika Rembe, Sweden’s Commissioner General for Expo 2010, and Eva Nygren, President of Sweco Sweden, selected five winners: Wu Yongsheng and Liu Shen-Chao from China, Kimball Andrew Schmidt from the USA, Ashkan Shafaati from Dubai and Daniel Johansson from Malmö.

“I do a lot of photographing in my free time. When I read about the photo contest I immediately thought of this picture, which I then sent in and won with. It was taken in Bangkok and perfectly illustrates the theme of the contest – the meeting between the city and nature,” says Daniel Johansson.

The prize ceremony will be held in the Swedish pavilion on 16-17 September. The five winning entries will then have the chance to take part in a photo workshop together with Mattias Klum, where one assignment will be to document the Swedish pavilion. Selected contest entries and pictures from the photo workshop will also be exhibited at the Museum of Architecture in Stockholm during November.