UPR One Day · Saturday 21 November · 11:00-14:00
Photographs © Annemieke Tonnaer, Saskia van Gelderen, Harry Wijsbroek and Helder Ferreira
One theme, three hours and three photographs, in daylight.
UPR One is the concentrated form of the race. One theme at the start, three hours in the city, one series of three photos at the end. The three are judged as one work: one idea, one visual line, in an order that makes sense. Every frame has to earn its place.
This is the first of two separate races this winter, three weeks apart: UPR One Day on 21 November, UPR One Night on 12 December. Each has its own theme, its own jury round and its own winners. Enter one, or both.
Not far from the start stands Zadkine's figure with a hole in its chest, arms up to the sky. Rotterdam did not cover the hole. It held on and built around it. That is what a series asks of you: one idea, and you hold on to it for three frames.
Your camera, your idea, your race.
Two checkpoints, the start and the finish. The theme and the finish are revealed at the briefing.
- 10:30-11:00CP1Look for the UPR beach flag
- 13:30-14:00CP2 · Finish
From ticket to winners, in seven steps.
Register and pay
Buy your ticket online: Day, Night, or both. Race details are sent one week before each race, a final reminder two days before.
Arrive and check in
Check-in opens 30 minutes before the briefing, 10:30 to 11:00. Scan the code at the UPR beach flag to check in.
Briefing
5 minutes at 11:00. The theme and checkpoint 2 are revealed, and everyone starts together.
Race the city
Three hours, one theme, one series. Decide your idea early, shoot frames that add to it, then put the three in order. Check in at checkpoint 2 within its 30-minute window: that is your finish, and it keeps your series in the race.
Submit your photos
Three photos, in the order you want them seen, through the UPR web app, the same day before 23:59.
Jury
The jury reads every series as one work: visual thread, one idea from three angles, and order. The strongest series is the one that loses most when one frame is taken away.
Winners
Announced on Friday 4 December, on the UPR website and Instagram. Prize money is transferred within one month of the announcement. All submissions are verified, for a fair and transparent result.
Anaïs
López
The juror of this race, she looks at how the three frames work together: one idea, held across three photographs, in an order that means something.
Photographer Anaïs López is, first and foremost, a storyteller. She creates long-term multimedia projects that exist at the intersection of fiction and documentary. She is considered a pioneer in her field and has received numerous awards. Her work has been exhibited worldwide in museums and at festivals.
What the winners take home.
Best Series
Prize by the Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam. From 20 November 2026 to 28 February 2027, the museum presents Violette Cornelius Rediscovered.
nederlandsfotomuseum.nl- 1st place€150 from UPR, plus a one-year Friend membership of the Nederlands Fotomuseum
- 2nd place€50 cashOne UPR ticket for a 2027 race of your choice
- 3rd placeUPR race ticketOne UPR ticket for a 2027 race of your choice
Violette Cornelius Rediscovered
Prize by the Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam. The winner of UPR One Day gets €150 from UPR, plus a one-year Friend membership of the Nederlands Fotomuseum, with a year of visits to the museum. From 20 November 2026 to 28 February 2027, the Nederlands Fotomuseum presents Violette Cornelius Rediscovered. More than 200 works bring together the life and work of photographer and resistance fighter Violette Cornelius (1919–1998). Much of her work remained hidden for decades and, following extensive research into her archive, is now being shown on this scale for the first time.
One theme Three hours Three frames
- 21 NovUPR One · Day · 11:00-14:00Rotterdam, NetherlandsThis race
- 12 DecUPR One · Night · 18:00-21:00Rotterdam, NetherlandsSee the race