The most famous - and widely disseminated photos - ever taken with a Hasselblad camera are those documenting the moon landings of 1969.

But there have been hundreds of thousands of fascinating images caught with this much-loved technology, some of which are entered into the biennial Hasselblad Masters Photo competition.

Worldwide tour

The cream of these award-winning photos from 2012 can now be seen in Shanghai as part of a worldwide tour that has also taken in Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Berlin and London.

And although the vast majority of snaps on show have been taken with a Hasselblad, since 2008 participants have also been able to submit photos taken with other large- and medium-format cameras.

The snaps are all on show at the gallery space inside the Elite Photography Organization in Huangpu district.

The competition constitutes 11 categories for entries: architectural, editorial, fashion/beauty, fine art, general, landscapes and nature, portraiture, products, up and coming, wedding/social, and wildlife. The theme of the 2012 competition was the simple word, "Evoke."

French photographer Denis Rouvre's two works hung by the gallery entrance instantly grab visitors' attention. With a black background, these half-length portraits capture every detail of their male subjects in light and shadow that evoke an oil painting. As a long-time fan of the Hasselblad, Rouvre is a renowned portraitist whose recent awards include third prize in the Portrait Single category at the 2012 World Press Photo for the series Tsunami Survivors, taken in quake-hit Japan in 2011.

This year, Danish photographer Ken Hermann won the "general" category for City Surfers, a series depicting people involved in parkour and other free-running sports. "I took the images using a Hasselblad H2 and studio lighting to freeze the subjects and to make them stand out from their surroundings," he said in an introduction to the show.

The works from German photographer Frank Meyl saw him triumph in the "architectural" section. Both photographs of buildings present unusual angles and intriguing compositions. To Meyl, photography "is almost like alchemy; you try to turn something ordinary into something special by searching for its magic," he said.

Great images

The show features 22 photos from the 11 winners, with half of the snaps currently on show, and the other half earmarked for display after Spring Festival.

Hailing from Sweden, the first Hasselblad camera, the 1600F, was launched onto the market in 1949.

"Hasselblad's goal is as simple today as it was when the company was first founded: to produce great cameras that help photographers produce great images," notes the introduction to the exhibition.

Date: Until March 31, 10 am to 7 pm

Venue: Elite Photography Organization 

Address: Bldg 2, 116 Nantangbang Road 南塘浜路116号2号楼

Admission: Free

Call 6303-5066 for details