World Press Photo 2012: the winners

Congratulations to Spanish photographer Samuel Aranda who has just been awarded the Press Photo of the Year prize for a poignant and moving shot taken in Yemen of a burqa-clad woman holding a wounded relative. The image was shot in October last year and, according to judge Koyo Kouoh, "speaks for the entire region. It stands for Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, for all that happened in the Arab Spring. But it shows a private, intimate side of what went on. And it shows the role that women played, not only as care-givers, but as active people in the movement."



It's powerful stuff, as are the many winning photos of the devastation that followed the Japanese tsunami back in March. Three Chinese photographers made the list of 57 winners who between them represent no fewer than 25 nationalities – they were Li Yang, Shaofang Xu and Huimin Kuang.

Taking third place in the Spot New category, Li's image, Saving the Desperate Bride captures the moment when a young woman jilted by her lover attempted to take her on life by jumping from a seven floor residential building in Jilin province. Happily, she was caught, making for a dramatic, surreal and ultimately very sad image.



Another Chinese winner this year was Shaofang Xu who earned Honorable Mention in the Contemporary Issues category for his shot of a protester scaling a high voltage electrical tower in Chengdu, demanding government compensation in the face of recent housing demolitions. Similarly death-defying, it's also pretty dizzying thanks to an altogether Chinese backdrop of highrise after highrise...



Finally, Huimin Kuang took place third prize in the 'Stories' section for a fascinating glimpse into the many ways Chinese citizens continue to Mao Zedong in Hunan province. Some are more subtle than others, and we love the shadow play at work in this particular shot:



It's all pretty interesting stuff and well worth a look. For a full list of winners, check the official website Read on

May 16, 2012