A five-member international jury has whittled down the nominees for the EUR 50,000 REAL Photography award to six finalists. The overall winner will be announced at the inauguration of the REAL Photography Award exhibition in Rotterdam next March. Sponsored by ING Real Estate, the new bi-annual award focuses on the themes of 'nature, development and architecture' and is designed to encourage and promote contemporary photography.

A five-member international jury has whittled down the nominees for the EUR 50,000 REAL Photography award to six finalists. The overall winner will be announced at the inauguration of the REAL Photography Award exhibition in Rotterdam next March. Sponsored by ING Real Estate, the new bi-annual award focuses on the themes of 'nature, development and architecture' and is designed to encourage and promote contemporary photography.

Three of the finalists are German: Julian Faulhauber, Hans-Christian Schink and Thomas Weinberger. Also in the running are Abelardo Morell of the US, Livia Corona Velazquez of Mexico and China's Danwen Xing. 'As a group, the jury was conscious of wanting to produce not just a selection of the best, but a coherent exhibition that would serve as a benchmark of contemporary photography's engagement with the shifting metropolis and the ever more delicate balance of the environment,' said jury chairman Roger Hargreaves in a statement. He is curator of the UK's National Portrait Gallery.

After opening in Rotterdam, the exhibition - which will involve the works of all 30 nominees - will travel on to other as-yet-unnamed locations before closing on 4 May 2008.