By Anand Holla

Usually, photographers portray working class heroes such as watch repairmen in conventional light – think weary men hunched over a tiny table, peering laboriously at the innards of a wristwatch.
Qatar-based Filipino expat Oscar Rialubin, however, chose to compose a spectacular portrait devoid of false pity, elevating a regular subject to a superhero level. The striking black-and-white photograph has the watch repairman stare at the viewer with one eye, while the other is fitted with a magnifying glass, and in his one hand is a tool and in his other a watch.
This image of a watch repairman at work in Doha, titled Xyclops, has won Rialubin the prestigious CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year competition, besting more than more than 21,000 entries from 113 countries.
The annual competition invites amateur as well as professional photographers to capture the essence of the urban environment through the brief of ‘Cities at Work’. Rialubin told Community, “To be named as the CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year is a great accolade. I have been passionate about street photography for a number of years. I knew my shot of a watch repairman in the middle of his work, fitted the brief fantastically. The urban environment is a fascinating subject as it is one of constant change and activity, and capturing that one perfect moment is a great feeling.”
The entrants provided a rare insight into urban life through a variety of pictures such as a glorious New York intersection taken from a Manhattan skyscraper, cramped commuters at Japan’s busiest station, and window cleaners scaling great heights. “Competition pushes us to have a more imaginative thinking and inspires us to develop additional skills,” Rialubin said. The top prize is a luxury trip to a destination of the winner’s choice.
Martin Samworth, CEO, EMEA, CBRE, which is the world’s leading commercial real estate services and investment firm, said, “The competition constantly provides us with new perspectives on working environments within cities. This year was no exception and Rialubin’s intimate portrait of a watch repairman gives insight into a universal trade. Urban life is constantly changing and the beauty of the competition is that it has captured this every year through the winning images. This year’s competition is our largest most successful to date, however we have never lost focus on capturing the intricacies of everyday life that makes the competition special.”
For the first time, the 2015 competition – the largest and the most successful edition till date – included a mobile category. “Technology’s continual advancement has meant that photographs taken on a mobile device, particularly those snapped in the moment, are as serious contenders as the ones taken by more traditional means,” said CBRE Group, in a note on the event.
Rialubin, whose shots get regularly featured in Community, took to photography seven years ago. In Qatar, his favourite haunts for snapping some cool pictures are Souq Waqif and Katara for travel and culture-themed pictures and street photography, while West Bay is “a haven for shooting Qatar’s modern architecture and cityscapes.”
“If you have been shooting for a year or two in Qatar, you will realise that a lot of shooting opportunities are all around; street, people, and culture. We have Souq Waqif, Katara, West Bay, Al Zubara Fort, modern architecture, cityscapes, landscapes, rock formations, and even seascapes on the outskirts,” Rialubin explains, “As for those who have been shooting in Qatar for many years together, finding different photo opportunities or subjects is, of course, challenging. But then that presents us with the opportunity to think outside the box and explore other ways to shoot.”
Rialubin has a simple word of advice for budding photographers – read, shoot and have fun. “Focus on your composition and basic camera techniques, rather than looking for the best and the latest camera out there,” he said, “As Chase Jarvis says; The best camera is the one that you have with you.”