Guardian readers February 3, 2009

Been there photo competition January 2009

This month's theme – The Future – got us some very imaginative and varied entries where our photographers read different things in to the theme. Here are some of the best

Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Dave Brown: "The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Looking pretty futuristic, with a turn of the zoom to create the long lines." Photograph: Dave Brown/guardian.co.uk

Birmingham, UK — Andrew Kerr: "Already Birmingham's most iconic building, the Selfridges building at Birmingham's bullring is a photographer's dream." Photograph: Andrew Kerr/guardian.co.uk

Keflavik airport — Dave Meredith: "Taken Outside Keflavik airport, this is a very unusal sculpture to see it has a very futuristic look to it, makes you wonder what is hatching!" Photograph: Dave Meredith/guardian.co.uk

Disc sighted in Austria — Stephen Farley: "Hypnotic, futuristic disc sighted in Austria" Photograph: Stephen Farley/guardian.co.uk

Hertzog and de Meurons Prada store in Aoyama — Les Sturch: "Chic retail. Hertzog and de Meurons Prada store in Aoyama." Photograph: Les Sturch/guardian.co.uk

Snowdon — James Whitaker: "In December I went up Snowdon for a bit of mountain air and a trip along Crib Goch. Unfortunately the thought of potential redundancy when I returned to work in the new year hung with me all day, and so it was a real treat when I got home to discover that in the brief moment while I had stopped to have my lunch I had captured a perfect day in the hills, which wouldn't be there moments later because of the approaching clouds, but would be back again." Photograph: James Whitaker/guardian.co.uk

the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne — Jamie Lafferty: "A shot looking out of the main entrance of the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne with spindly alien figures next to their human counterparts... or future slaves." Photograph: Jamie Lafferty/guardian.co.uk

Buenos Aires, Argentina — Sophie-Collard: "This is a picture of the Floralis Genérica, by Eduardo Catalano. It's metallic petals open and close depending on how much sunlight hits them. If we lose our bees, this might be our future" Photograph: Sophie-Collard/guardian.co.uk

Space Needle in Seattle — Lola Akinmade: "The iconic Space Needle in Seattle takes on an otherworldly, futuristic feel in this photograph shot at dusk." Photograph: Lola Akinmade/guardian.co.uk

Futuristic satellite dish in China — Duncan Harte: "The Buyi are one of China's 56 ethnic groups. The juxtaposition of traditional clothing, housing and farm tools with the huge, futuristic satellite dish is symptomatic of the vast changes being experienced throughout China." Photograph: Duncan Harte/guardian.co.uk

Georges Pompidou museum — Louise Hercules: "This shot from the Georges Pompidou museum symbolizes the cyclical nature of life in terms of the end of one glorious moment in time which roles into the dawning of a new chapter" Photograph: Louise Hercules /guardian.co.uk

Street lamps in Rotterdam — Jennymay Logan: "Some architecture in Rotterdam seems as though it's come to us from the future. These are street lamps." Photograph: Jennymay Logan/guardian.co.uk

Chennai, India — David Molyneaux: "New Arrival: Passenger on motorcycle carrying new bike. Taken in Chennai, India in 2008" Photograph: David Molyneaux/guardian.co.uk

New Parliament House in Canberra, Australia — Chris Chilton: "When on a trip to Australia in summer 2006, I visited Canberra and took this photo of the futuristic-looking New Parliament House. Its unique design and the reflections it casts in the pool in front of it gives it an unusual presence on the landscape and it really stands out as a result. The unusual building shape and the people standing in front of it almost give the impression that the photo is one of those computer-generated architectural images but it is real in every sense" Photograph: Chris Chilton/guardian.co.uk

Paris' shopping district — Jamie Skella: "This was a quick snap I took in Paris' shopping district - it's in a walkway between buildings. Primteps is the specific shop (one of France's most prestigious). The twilight mood and gritty dark texture of the architecture presents an almost post-apocalyptic feel... picture scenes from the movie "Dark City" or the Matrix's "real world". I felt it suited this "futuristic" theme well, even if it's a very dark future. Photograph: Jamie Skella/guardian.co.uk

Fijian crested iguana — Matthew Capper: "Thanks to habitat loss resulting from forest clearing, burning and grazing, the future for this intriguing and colourful creature, found only in Fiji, will be the confines of photographs such as this. An estimated 98 per cent of the total population survives on one small, uninhabited island in the Fiji island group. The Fijian crested iguana is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List 2008." Photograph: Matthew Capper/guardian.co.uk

Downtown Beirut — Jason Pemberton: "This photo was taken in downtown Beirut as workmen put the finishing touches on three different tower blocks. A cityscape for the future emerging from the troubled past." Photograph: Jason Pemberton/guardian.co.uk

Palm reader in Shinjuku, Japan — Les Sturch: "Telling the future. High tech ultra modern life needs a little help from traditional street palm reader in Shinjuku, Japan." Photograph: Les Sturch/guardian.co.uk

The Fernsehturn — Fiona Lydon Watson's winning photo: 'The Fernsehturn in Berlin'
Guardian travel assistant picture editor, Karin Andreasson: "This is a beautiful picture, perfectly balanced and composed. The soft winter light adds a timeless quality. The Fernsehturn, itself once a futuristic symbol, is now a memory of Berlin's past and is seen hemmed into the contemporary sculpture. This picture shows the idea of future as a moment in time as important as past and present.” Photograph: Fiona Lydon Watson/guardian.co.uk

Leave a Comment Cancel comment