Julian Colaz lived four years in the interior of Brazil.

While many Brazilians want to leave the interior of Brazil looking for more opportunities in big cities, an American decided to do the opposite. Julian Colaz left New Orleans, state of Louisiana, and toured the interior of northeastern Brazil. Dust and intimidated not kill the American who fell in love with and the Carnival in Bahia Pelourinho. He expressed that love in photos, and has even been awarded.

Now back to the United States, specifically in North Carolina, he prepares his first photo exhibition as having large open interior of Brazil. The exhibition is scheduled to take place between 5:26 day of July in United Arts Council (MJH Gallery) in downtown Raleigh, but still relies on sponsorship.

AUSA - Tell us a little about their origins.

Julian Colaz - I was born and raised in the city of New Orleans. I currently live in the city of Raleigh, North Carolina. In the photography world I am known by the nickname Ramyky, I decided to take the sound.

AU - Because you been to Brazil?

JC - I wanted to study Portuguese. A few months after arriving in Brazil I received the Certificate CELPE-Bras, single certificate granted to foreigners who speak Portuguese.

AU - Why study Portuguese in Brazil and not in Portugal?

JC - Brazil is a big country and I have always been passionate about Brazilian music. Before living in Brazil I started learning Portuguese alone, just listening to the music of Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and groups like The Tribalistas. Decide to learn Portuguese.

AU - Have you ever liked to photograph, before going to Brazil?

JC - Before embarking on my international travel I have loved photography. When I was a teenager, always traveled on vacation with my grandfather. A camera accompanied us and we took photos of our trips. Also my grandfather introduced me to the photographic work of Gordon Parks, I learned to admire, and Sebastião Salgado. Learned gradually. I have no formal study of photography. I am self-taught.

AU - In Brazil, what places where he lived and where have you traveled?

JC - I traveled in the states of Sergipe, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio and São Paulo. I lived in Salvador and Prado.

AU - What towns or areas to photograph the most beautiful in Brazil?

JC - Must be in places less visited and spoken. From afar, such as The Tribalistas said. On the cities, like the charm of small towns. But not walked in Brazil taking pictures in every small town we traveled. I think that these places should be photographed by people who live in these communities. If an outsider, like me, so the photographer must spend enough time there. I think this is the only way to respect the community and further enhance the work of the photographer.

AU - You said it was a prize winning photo. What was the competition and what the picture?

JC - My photo call in "Pelô Carnival #" 2 won a national competition in Brazil. It was published in Reader's Digest. I took the photo during carnival in Pelourinho.

AU - After four years in Brazil, what is your opinion about the Brazilian people and lifestyle in Brazil?

JC - The Brazilian people are a patient and friendly people who always encouraged me. Through these qualities I became fluent in Portuguese. I liked the style of life in the extreme south of Bahia. It was a quiet and homey and intellectually stimulating. I learned a lot there. Years later I received my college degree, with honors, in Portuguese. This is only the fruit of my life with the Brazilian people. Anyway, it is a people that do not give up.

AU - You said you're looking for sponsorship for their exposure. What kind of sponsorship?

JC - Yes I am looking for sponsorship to complete the production of the exhibition. So it would be a financial sponsorship. My proposal is already prepared. Any person, company or institution concerned may receive one or two pictures signed and / or a limited edition. It would be a good opportunity to publicize the name of your company or institution in downtown Raleigh (North Carolina) during the summer.

© Andrea Gjestvang, Norway, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards

Norwegian photographer Andrea Gjestvang has captured the coveted Photographer of the Year title in the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards. The 32-year-old Gjestvang won out over 122,000 entries from 170 countries, capturing the grand prize of US$25,000 along with Sony photography gear, which were presented to her at a ceremony in London.

Here's how it was described in a news release about the Photographer of the Year award:

"The judges voted unanimously for Gjestvang’s powerful series of portraits of children and youths who survived the July 2011 massacre on the island of Utoeya, outside Oslo. Titled ‘One day in history’ the series captures the young survivors with immense sensitivity and honesty and are an enduring testament to the resolve of these young people in the face of this unspeakable tragedy.

In just a few years, Andrea Gjestvang has established herself as one of the world’s most exciting young photographers. Her work has been published in Newsweek, M Le Monde, Stern and D Republica, and exhibited worldwide. In 2010 she participated in the Joop Swart Masterclass, and in 2012 she was named one of PDN's 30 New and Emerging photographers to watch. Most recently she was awarded the Photo of the Year prize at the 2012 Norwegian Picture of the Year competition for her portrait of Utøya survivor Ylva Helen Schwenke. Gjestvang winning series ‘One Day in History’ was published as a book in Norway in 2012."

The professional category winners in the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards were also announced along with several other notable prizes including Open Photographer of the Year, and the student winner. Last month, Sony announced the winners of the Open, Youth and 3D categories.

Galleries of all the winning images can be viewed at www.worldphoto.org. Some of those winners and finalists can also be seen at the bottom of this post

Here's the breakdown on the rest of the Sony World Photography Awards from the news release:

"Open Photographer of the Year - Hoang Hiep Nguyen, Vietnam

Also at the awards, a twenty-one year old amateur photographer from Hanoi, Vietnam, who incredibly only bought his first digital camera one year ago, was announced as the Open Photographer of the Year.

Hoang Hiep Nguyen was presented with a Sony α77 camera plus $5,000 (USD) for his winning image of a young girl in a storm. The photograph beat entries from around the world in a competition that sought to find the world’s single best image taken by an amateur photographer or photography enthusiast.

Presiding Chair of Judges for the Open competition, Damien Demolder, Editor of Amateur Photographer magazine in the UK, comments: “Nguyen's picture is the standout image of the Open competition with its intense romantic atmosphere and its sense of mystical fantasy. It is a delightful image that really sums up the amazing level of creativity and skill that today's amateur photographers are capable of, and a supremely worthy winner of this globally prestigious competition.”

Professional category winners and finalists

The winners plus the 2nd and 3rd placed photographers of the Professional competition were also revealed at the awards ceremony. All 15 Professional winners – from Australia to Peru - were flown to London to collect their award and received a Sony α99 camera.

The wining series of works showcase the very best in international contemporary photography, from stunning black and white portraits of the Matterhorn mountain to a witty set shot in the back of an Argentinian limousine to a wry look at the secret life of the people of North Korea. The winners are:

• Architecture - Fabrice Fouillet, France

• Arts and Culture - Myriam Meloni, Italy

• Campaign - Christian Åslund, Sweden

• Conceptual - Roman Pyatkovka, Ukraine

• Contemporary Issues - Valerio Bispuri, Italy

• Current Affairs - Ilya Pitalev, Russia

• Fashion - Klaus Thymann, Denmark

• Landscape - Nenad Saljic, Croatia

• Lifestyle - Alice Caputo, Italy

• Nature & Wildlife - Satoru Kondo, Japan

• People - Andrea Gjestvang, Norway

• Portraiture - Jens Juul, Denmark

• Sport - Adam Pretty, Australia

• Still Life - Vanessa Colareta, Peru

• Travel - Gali Tibbon, Israel

The full list of winning, 2nd and 3rd place photographers are in the notes to editors.

Outstanding Contribution to Photography – William Eggleston

Iconic American photographer William Eggleston was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Photography prize. Collected by Winston Eggleston on behalf of their father, the award was presented to William Eggleston for his influence on colour photography and, in turn, the influence he has on many of today’s most revered working photographers.

To mark the award, rarely-seen images from Eggleston are published in the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards book and a further selection at on show at Somerset House from 26 April -12 May. The Outstanding Contribution Award has previously been given to William Klein, Eve Arnold, Bruce Davidson, Marc Riboud and Phil Stern.

Student Focus Photographer of the Year - Natalia Wiernik, Poland

In a programme that now includes over 230 universities worldwide, the Student Focus award is the largest of its kind. Polish photographer Natalia Wiernik, who competed for the Student Focus Photographer of the Year title on behalf of her university, the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow, Poland, was announced as the winner and presented with €35,000 worth of Sony digital imaging equipment for her university.

Youth Photographer of the Year - Alecsandra Dragoi, Romania

A striking image of a New Year festival in Romania won nineteen year-old Alecsandra Dragoi the title of Youth Photographer of the Year. From Romania and currently at university in the UK, Dragoi image was chosen as the single best photograph taken by a photographer under the age of 20."

When the planes are in the sky, far away, we can hear their noises, see its lights and the plane itself very small.

Photographer John Schabel, with a lens mega super telephoto (500mm reflex lens and a 2x tele, zooming 1000mm), captured monochrome images that depict passengers looking through small windows.

The series entitled Passengers (PAX, in free translation), shows in great detail, clicks still produced in the 90s, of such peculiarity surrendered to the production of a book.

The photographs, combining the melancholy of a black and white, depict the different types of people and their looks sincere and thoughtful through the small window of the plane. Follow below.

"John Schabel’s series of photographs depicting anonymous airline passengers effectively captures the curious blend of impersonal efficiency and poignant humanity that pervades the experience of contemporary commercial air travel.

Like products on an assembly line, the planes carrying Schabel’s subjects churn down the runway; and with the same regularity the individual passengers emerge, identically framed, from his camera and onto the gallery wall.

Interestingly, it is precisely this mechanized process that lays bare the active, but often overlooked, emotional and intellectual relationship between human beings and flight.”

 
— Laura M. Andre

UNITED PHOTO PRESS

Media technology manufacturer Transcend has released a new Wi-Fi SD memory card that allows for wireless transfer of images from your SDHC-compatible digital camera. Like other Wi-Fi-capable SD cards we've reviewed in the past, Trancend's card works in either a direct share mode to a mobile device or in Internet mode using a free app for iOS or Android devices. 

November 8, 2012 -- Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend®), a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, today proudly announced the release of its exciting new Wi-Fi SD memory card that instantly adds wireless capability to an SDHC-compatible digital camera. With the Wi-Fi SD card and the exclusive Wi-Fi SD App, users can take advantage of the high resolution of their digital camera and the versatility of their smartphone or tablet to easily share beautifully shot photos to the world as soon as they are taken.

The Wi-Fi SD card operates in two modes: Direct Share or Internet Mode. Ideal for use on outdoor photo shoots and vacations, Direct Share Mode is automatically activated as soon as the camera is powered on, allowing peer-to-peer connections between camera and mobile device in any location. Thanks to the convenient Wi-Fi SD App, users can quickly switch to Internet Mode, which allows the Wi-Fi SD card to connect to a nearby Internet hotspot or even use the personal hotspot feature of smartphones and tablets. When connected via Internet Mode, users can browse and download photos from the Wi-Fi SD card and instantly email to friends or upload to their social network profile.

Developed specifically for iOS (iPhone/iPad/iPod touch) and Android devices, the free-to-download Wi-Fi SD App automatically organizes Wi-Fi SD card data into intuitive categories. The convenient, easy-to-use design of the App allows users to effortlessly browse photos, watch videos, download content, and share via Facebook or email. Besides smartphones and tablets, Wi-Fi-enabled desktop computers and notebooks can access media with a similarly user-friendly interface by using a web browser.

Instant Shoot & ViewThe Wi-Fi SD App’s Shoot & View feature takes advantage of the advanced capabilities of digital cameras and the large screen of mobile devices for a more efficient post-production process. First, simply capture a stunningly detailed picture using a high-megapixel camera, which then appears immediately on the smartphone or tablet. Next, download the image to local memory and manipulate in creative ways using today’s sophisticated photo editing apps before sharing with friends and family.

Featuring the SDHC Class 10 speed rating, Transcend Wi-Fi SD cards provide higher transfer speeds and greater stability than currently available Class 6 cards. Combining excellent performance with a generous 16GB (US$69) or 32GB (US$99) capacity, each Wi-Fi SD card provides plenty of space and support for extremely high-resolution digital masterpieces.

To the surprise of many a Chevrolet 1931, painted in the colors characteristic of a taxi in Buenos Aires, through the streets of our town in its path causing people rush to take your camera.

With the flag of "Free" in the old wind-up clock on "Taxi Latino" slowly passes the Avenida del Libertador, is impossible not to stop and contemplate, and as it steals the smile from those who do not stop express accolades recognizing good status of this piece of history.

The owners stand proudly with the Taxi and have fun while taking pictures all around the vehicle to photograph, they call them "paparazzi".

Ruben Ramirez (Argentina), tells us that he inherited from his grandfather (as he settles behind the wheel on the right side) and then decided to restore it with your partner (Portuguesa), make a historic trip to Ushuaia joining Alaska, an adventure to travel a long history that charge to his credit, including, Ruben tells us, toured Europe in a Citroen 13V and knew every corner of Brazil by motorcycle.

The "Taxi Latino" is since a while now not only the means of locomotion, is also his home as a weapon in the roof of a tent awning makes ingenious way to enjoy a good landscape sitting on the chaise moreover, in the rear, has a field kitchen. Here we leave some pictures of this couple who have completed another stage in Taxi coming to Perito Moreno Glacier.

For those wanting to follow step by step this adventure, or want to know more of this interesting story this couple can contact through social network Facebook entering the "TAXI LATINO".

Check the video here

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela died Tuesday afternoon after a struggle with cancer, the government announced, leaving behind a bitterly divided nation in the grip of a political crisis that grew more acute as he languished for weeks, silent and out of sight, in hospitals in Havana and Caracas.

Close to tears and his voice cracking, Vice President Nicolás Maduro said he and other officials had gone to the military hospital where Mr. Chávez was being treated, sequestered from the public, when “we received the hardest and most tragic information that we could transmit to our people.”

In short order, police officers and soldiers were highly visible as people ran through the streets, calling loved ones on cellphones, rushing to get home. Caracas, the capital, which had just received news that the government was throwing out two American military attachés it accused of sowing disorder, quickly became an enormous traffic jam. Stores and shopping malls abruptly closed.

As darkness fell, somber crowds congregated in the main square of Caracas and at the military hospital, with men and women crying openly in sadness and fear about what would come next.

In one neighborhood, Chávez supporters set fire to tents and mattresses used by university students who had chained themselves together in protest several days earlier to demand more information about Mr. Chávez’s condition.

“Are you happy now?” the Chávez supporters shouted as they ran through the streets with sticks. “Chávez is dead! You got what you wanted!”

Mr. Chávez’s departure from a country he dominated for 14 years casts into doubt the future of his socialist revolution. It alters the political balance not only in Venezuela, the fourth-largest supplier of foreign oil to the United States, but also in Latin America, where Mr. Chávez led a group of nations intent on reducing American influence in the region.

Venezuelans in Caracas after President Hugo Chávez’s death was announced. He had been out of public view since December. (Carlos Garcia /Reuters /United Photo Press)

Mr. Chávez, 58, changed Venezuela in fundamental ways, empowering and energizing millions of poor people who had felt marginalized and excluded. But his rule also widened society’s divisions, and his death is sure to bring vast uncertainty as the nation tries to find its way without its central figure.

“He’s the best president in history,” said Andrés Mejía, 65, a retiree in Cumaná, an eastern city, crying as he gathered with friends in a plaza. “Look at how emotional I am — I’m crying. I cannot accept the president’s death. But the revolution will continue with Maduro.”

The Constitution says that, since Mr. Chávez was at the start of a term, the nation should “proceed to a new election” within 30 days, and Foreign Minister Elías Jaua said in a television interview that Mr. Maduro would take the helm in the meantime. The election is likely to pit Mr. Maduro, whom Mr. Chávez designated as his political successor, against Henrique Capriles Radonski, a young state governor who lost to Mr. Chávez in the presidential election in October.

But in light of Mr. Chávez’s illness, there has been heated debate in recent months over clashing interpretations of the Constitution, and it is impossible to predict how the transition will proceed.

“We, your civilian and military companions, Commander Hugo Chávez, assume your legacy, your challenges, your project, accompanied by and with the support of the people,” Mr. Maduro told the nation.

Only hours earlier, the government seemed to go into a state of heightened alert as Mr. Maduro convened a crisis meeting in Caracas of cabinet ministers, governors loyal to the president and top military commanders.

Taking a page out of Mr. Chávez’s time-tested playbook, Mr. Maduro warned in a lengthy televised speech that the United States was seeking to destabilize the country, and the government expelled the two American military attachés, accusing one of seeking to recruit Venezuelan military personnel to carry out “destabilizing projects.” He called on Venezuelans to unite as he raised the specter of foreign intervention.

During the speech, Mr. Maduro said the government suspected that the president’s enemies had found a way to cause his cancer, a possibility that Mr. Chávez had once raised. Mr. Maduro said scientists should investigate the source of his illness.

Mr. Chávez long accused the United States of trying to undermine or even assassinate him; indeed, the Bush administration gave tacit support for a coup that briefly removed him from power in 2002. He often used Washington as a foil to build support or distract attention from deeply rooted problems at home, like high inflation and soaring crime.

American officials had hoped to improve relations with Venezuela under Mr. Maduro, with informal talks taking place last year. But more recently, the government has appeared to shift into campaign mode, taking sweeping aim at the Venezuelan opposition and playing up the opposition’s real or alleged ties to the United States.

“We completely reject the Venezuelan government’s claim that the United States is involved in any type of conspiracy to destabilize the Venezuelan government,” Patrick Ventrell, a State Department spokesman, said after the expulsion of the American attachés. He added: “Notwithstanding the significant differences between our governments, we continue to believe it important to seek a functional and more productive relationship with Venezuela.” 

Mr. Chávez’s cancer was diagnosed in June 2011, but throughout his treatment he and his government kept many details about his illness secret. He had three operations in Cuba between June 2011 and February 2012, as well as chemotherapy and radiation treatment, but the cancer kept coming back.

Then on Dec. 8, just two months after winning re-election, Mr. Chávez stunned the nation by announcing in a televised address that he needed yet more surgery. That operation, his fourth, took place in Havana on Dec. 11.

In the aftermath, grim-faced aides described the procedure as complex and said Mr. Chávez’s condition was delicate. They eventually notified the country of complications, first bleeding and then a severe lung infection and difficulty breathing.

After previous operations, Mr. Chávez often appeared on television while recuperating in Havana, posted messages on Twitter or was heard on telephone calls made to television programs on a government station. But after his December surgery, he was not seen again in public, and his voice fell silent.

Mr. Chávez’s aides eventually announced that a tube had been inserted in his trachea to help his breathing, and that he had difficulty speaking. It was the ultimate paradox for a man who seemed never at a loss for words, often improvising for hours at a time on television, haranguing, singing, lecturing, reciting poetry and orating.

As the weeks dragged on, tensions rose in Venezuela. Officials in Mr. Chávez’s government strove to project an image of business as usual and deflected inevitable questions about a vacuum at the top. At the same time, the country struggled with an out-of-balance economy, troubled by soaring prices and escalating shortages of basic goods.

The opposition, weakened after defeats in the presidential election in October and elections for governor in December, in which its candidates lost in 20 of 23 states, sought to keep pressure on the government.

Then officials suddenly announced on Feb. 18 that Mr. Chávez had returned to Caracas. He arrived unseen on a predawn flight and was installed in a military hospital, where, aides said, he was continuing treatments.

Over nearly a decade and a half, Mr. Chávez made most major decisions and dominated all aspects of political life. He inspired a fierce, sometimes religious devotion among his supporters and an equally fervent animus among his opponents. As many of his followers say: “With Chávez everything, without Chávez nothing.”

But that leaves his revolution in a precarious spot without its charismatic leader.

“In regimes that are so person-based, the moment that the person on which everything hangs is removed, the entire foundation becomes very weak because there was nothing else supporting this other than this figure,” said Javier Corrales, a professor of political science at Amherst College.

Mr. Chávez’s death could provide an opportunity for the political opposition, which was never able to defeat him in a head-to-head contest. Mr. Capriles lost to Mr. Chávez by 11 percentage points in October. But he has twice beaten top Chávez lieutenants in running for governor of his state, Miranda, which includes part of Caracas.

And Mr. Maduro is far from having Mr. Chávez’s visceral connection to the masses of Venezuela’s poor. Even so, most analysts believe that Mr. Maduro will have an advantage, and that he will receive a surge of support if the vote occurs soon.

But even if Mr. Maduro prevails, he may have a hard time holding together Mr. Chávez’s movement while fending off resistance from what is likely to be a revived opposition.

Mr. Chávez’s new six-year term began on Jan. 10, with the president incommunicado in Havana. In his absence, the government held a huge rally in the center of Caracas, where thousands of his followers raised their hands to pledge an oath of “absolute loyalty” to their commander and his revolution. Officials promised that Mr. Chávez would have his inauguration later, when he had recovered.

But the hoped-for recovery never came. Now, instead of an inauguration, Mr. Chávez’s followers are left to plan a funeral.

The foreign minister, Mr. Jaua, announced that on Wednesday Mr. Chávez’s body would be taken to the military academy in Caracas and lie in state there.

Mr. Jaua said that the government would hold a ceremony Friday with visiting heads of state and that officials would announce later where Mr. Chávez would be laid to rest.

    Dennis Frates Penstemon sunrise

What the judges said:

"All of the judges thought this was the outstanding image from this year's competition. First and foremost, it is technically superb. The composition is wonderfully balanced, with its strong diagonal energy leading the viewer to experience this fantastic vista almost at first hand. The light on the rock is what creates the magic. The photographer has waited for exactly the right moment, on the right day and he has made a huge effort to be in the right place. The 'wildflower landscapes' category is all about plants in their natural enivronment, and this image is a fantastic example of the sheer tenacity and adaptability of plant life."

Philip Smith - International Garden Photographer of the Year Project Director

The international jury of the 56th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected a picture by Paul Hansen of the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter as the World Press Photo of the Year 2012. The picture shows a group of men carrying the bodies of two dead children through a street in Gaza City. They are being taken to a mosque for the burial ceremony while their father’s body is carried behind on a stretcher. Two-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and his older brother Muhammad were killed when their house was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike. Their mother was put in intensive care. The picture was made on 20 November 2012 in Gaza City, Palestinian Territories.

The jury gave prizes in nine themed categories to 54 photographers of 32 nationalities from: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Malaysia, Palestinian Territories, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, USA, and Vietnam.

The members of the jury announced the winners at a press conference held at the World Press Photo office in Amsterdam on 15 February.

Comments on the winners by the jury

Mayu Mohanna, jury member from Peru, said of Paul Hansen’s winning picture: “The strength of the pictures lies in the way it contrasts the anger and sorrow of the adults with the innocence of the children. It’s a picture I will not forget.”

Santiago Lyon, vice president and director of photography at The Associated Press, spoke of the selection of prizewinners: “When I look at the results, as chair of the jury, I think that the World Press Photo of the Year, and all the other photos that were given prizes, were solid, stellar examples of first-rate photojournalism that is powerful, that is lasting, and that will reach whoever looks at them.”

The judging was conducted at the World Press Photo office in Amsterdam. All entries were anonymously presented to the jury, who discussed their merits over a two-week period. The jury operates independently and a secretary without voting rights safeguards the fairness of the procedure. The contest drew entries from professional press photographers, photojournalists and documentary photographers across the world. By the mid-January deadline, 103,481 images had been submitted by 5,666 photographers from 124 countries.

2013 Photo Contest Jury

A group of 19 internationally recognized professionals in the fields of photojournalism and documentary photography convened in Amsterdam from 2 to 14 February 2013 to judge all entries. The first and second rounds of judging concluded on 7 February and the final rounds started on 8 February. Video interviews with the chairs juries, with observations from the early rounds, can be viewed in thevideo library.

The final rounds are judged by:

Chair: Santiago Lyon, USA, vice president and director of photography The Associated Press

• Elisabeth Biondi, Germany/USA, independent curator

• Bill Frakes, USA, photographer Sports Illustrated

• Staffan Widstrand, Sweden, photographer and managing director Wild Wonders of Europe

• Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Iraq, special correspondent The Guardian

• Mayu Mohanna, Peru, photographer and curator

• Véronique de Viguerie, France, photographer Reportage by Getty Images

• Anne Wilkes Tucker, USA, curator photography Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

• Gu Zheng, China, professor at School of Journalism, Fudan University, Shanghai

The first round in News and Documentary was judged by:

Chair: Santiago Lyon, USA, vice president and director of photography The Associated Press

• Monica Allende, Spain, photo editor The Sunday Times Magazine

• Jocelyn Bain Hogg, UK, photographer VII Photo Agency

• Rena Effendi, Azerbaijan, photographer

• Riason Naidoo, South Africa, director South African National Gallery, Iziko Museums of South Africa

The first and second rounds in Sports were judged by:

Chair: Bill Frakes, USA, photographer Sports Illustrated

• Anja Niedringhaus, Germany, photographer The Associated Press

• Pim Ras, the Netherlands, freelance photographer Algemeen Dagblad

The first and second rounds in Nature were judged by:

Chair: Staffan Widstrand, Sweden, photographer and managing director Wild Wonders of Europe

• Barbara Stauss, Switzerland, photo director and founding member Mare magazine

• Steve Winter, USA, contributing photographer National Geographic magazine

The first and second rounds in Portraits were judged by:

Chair: Elisabeth Biondi, Germany/USA, independent curator

• Jérôme Bonnet, France, photographer

• Platon, UK, photographer CLM/David Maloney

Jury secretaries:

• Secretary for News and Documentary and for the second week of judging: Daphné Anglès, France/USA, European photo assignments editor The New York Times 

• Secretary for Nature, Portraits and Sports: Simon Njami, Cameroon, independent curator, lecturer and art critic

Awards

The jury awarded first, second and third prizes in all categories. First-prize winners in each category receive a cash prize of €1,500. Winners of second and third prizes and those awarded an Honorable Mention receive a Golden Eye Award and a diploma. The premier award, the World Press Photo of the Year, carries a cash prize of €10,000. In addition, Canon will donate a professional DSLR camera and lens kit to the author of the World Press Photo of the Year 2012. The annual Awards Days, a celebration of the prizewinners, takes place in Amsterdam from 25 through 27 April 2013.

Exhibition

The prize-winning pictures are presented in an exhibition visiting more than 100 cities in over 45 countries. The first 2013 World Press Photo exhibition opens in Amsterdam on 26 April 2013.

World Press Photo receives support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery and is sponsored worldwide by Canon.

Editors please note:

A press conference will take place at the World Press Photo office in Amsterdam on Friday 15 February 2013 at 10.00 a.m. CET. All information provided will be under embargo. If you wish to attend, please inform press@worldpressphoto.org by 13 February 2013 at the latest.

A selection of awarded images for publication will be made available at the press conference and on the international wire services (from 15 February 11 a.m. CET). The images may also be downloaded from our press download area atwww.worldpressphoto.org/downloads. Please register at the press download area before 14 February 2013.

Please contact Barbara Bufkens on press@worldpressphoto.org or tel. +31 (0)20 676 6096 for additional information and requests for interviews with jury members.

Pope Benedict stunned the Roman Catholic Church on Monday when he announced he would stand down, the first pope to do so in 700 years, saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to carry on.

Church officials tried to relay a climate of calm confidence in the running of a 2,000-year-old institution, but the decision could lead to uncertainty in a Church already besieged by scandal for covering up sexual abuse of children by priests.

The soft-spoken German, who always maintained that he never wanted to be pope, was an uncompromising conservative on social and theological issues, fighting what he regarded as the increasing secularization of society.

It remains to be seen whether his successor will continue such battles or do more to bend with the times.

Despite his firm opposition to tolerance of homosexual acts, his eight year reign saw gay marriage accepted in many countries. He has staunchly resisted allowing women to be ordained as priests, and opposed embryonic stem cell research, although he retreated slightly from the position that condoms could never be used to fight AIDS.

He repeatedly apologized for the Church's failure to root out child abuse by priests, but critics said he did too little and the efforts failed to stop a rapid decline in Church attendance in the West, especially in his native Europe.

In addition to child sexual abuse crises, his papacy saw the Church rocked by Muslim anger after he compared Islam to violence. Jews were upset over rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier. During a scandal over the Church's business dealings, his butler was accused of leaking his private papers.

In an announcement read to cardinals in Latin, the universal language of the Church, the 85-year-old said: "Well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of St Peter ...

"As from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours (1900 GMT) the See of Rome, the See of St. Peter will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is."

POPE DOESN'T FEAR SCHISM

Benedict is expected to go into isolation for at least a while after his resignation. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Benedict did not intend to influence the decision of the cardinals in a secret conclave to elect a successor.

A new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics could be elected as soon as Palm Sunday, on March 24, and be ready to take over by Easter a week later, Lombardi said.

Several popes in the past, including Benedict's predecessor John Paul, have refrained from stepping down over their health, because of the division that could be caused by having an "ex-pope" and a reigning pope alive at the same time.

Lombardi said the pope did not fear a possible "schism", with Catholics owing allegiances to a past and present pope in case of differences on Church teachings.

He indicated the complex machinery of the process to elect a new pope would move quickly because the Vatican would not have to wait until after the elaborate funeral services for a pope.

It is not clear if Benedict will have a public life after he resigns. Lombardi said Benedict would first go to the papal summer residence south of Rome and then move into a cloistered convent inside the Vatican walls.

The resignation means that cardinals from around the world will begin arriving in Rome in March and after preliminary meetings, lock themselves in a secret conclave and elect the new pope from among themselves in votes in the Sistine Chapel.

There has been growing pressure on the Church for it to choose a pope from the developing world to better reflect where most Catholics live and where the Church is growing.

"It could be time for a black pope, or a yellow one, or a red one, or a Latin American," said Guatemala's Archbishop Oscar Julio Vian Morales.

The cardinals may also want a younger man. John Paul was 58 when he was elected in 1978. Benedict was 20 years older.

"We have had two intellectuals in a row, two academics, perhaps it is time for a diplomat," said Father Tom Reese, senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. "Rather than electing the smartest man in the room, they should elect the man who will listen to all the other smart people in the Church."

Liberals have already begun calling for a pope that would be more open to reform.

"The current system remains an 'old boy's club' and does not allow for women's voices to participate in the decision of the next leader of our Church," said the Women's Ordination Conference, a group that wants women to be able to be priests.

"GREAT COURAGE"

The last pope to resign willingly was Celestine V in 1294 after reigning for only five months, his resignation was known as "the great refusal" and was condemned by the poet Dante in the "Divine Comedy". Gregory XII reluctantly abdicated in 1415 to end a dispute with a rival claimant to the papacy.

Lombardi said Benedict's stepping aside showed "great courage". He ruled out any specific illness or depression and said the decision was made in the last few months "without outside pressure". But the decision was not without controversy.

"This is disconcerting, he is leaving his flock," said Alessandra Mussolini, a parliamentarian who is granddaughter of Italy's wartime dictator. "The pope is not any man. He is the vicar of Christ. He should stay on to the end, go ahead and bear his cross to the end. This is a huge sign of world destabilization that will weaken the Church."

Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, secretary to the late Pope John Paul, said the former pope had stayed on despite failing health for the last decade of his life as he believed "you cannot come down from the cross."

While the pope had slowed down recently - he started using a cane and a wheeled platform to take him up the long aisle in St Peter's Square - he had given no hint recently that he was considering such a dramatic decision.

Elected in 2005 to succeed the enormously popular John Paul, Benedict never appeared to feel comfortable in the job.

"MIND AND BODY"

In his announcement, the pope told the cardinals that in order to govern "... both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me."

Before he was elected pope, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was known as "God's rottweiler" for his stern stand on theological issues. After a few months, he showed a milder side but he never drew the kind of adulation that had marked the 27-year papacy of his predecessor John Paul.

U.S. President Barack Obama extended prayers to Benedict and best wishes to those who would choose his successor.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the pope's decision must be respected if he feels he is too weak to carry out his duties. British Prime Minister David Cameron said: "He will be missed as a spiritual leader to millions."

The Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the worldwide Anglican communion, said he had learned of the pope's decision with a heavy heart but complete understanding.

CHEERS AND SCANDAL

Elected to the papacy on April 19, 2005, Benedict ruled over a slower-paced, more cerebral and less impulsive Vatican.

But while conservatives cheered him for trying to reaffirm traditional Catholic identity, his critics accused him of turning back the clock on reforms by nearly half a century and hurting dialogue with Muslims, Jews and other Christians.

After appearing uncomfortable in the limelight at the start, he began feeling at home with his new job and showed that he intended to be pope in his way.

Despite great reverence for his charismatic, globe-trotting predecessor -- whom he put on the fast track to sainthood and whom he beatified in 2011 -- aides said he was determined not to change his quiet manner to imitate John Paul's style.

A quiet, professorial type who relaxed by playing the piano, he showed the gentle side of a man who was the Vatican's chief doctrinal enforcer for nearly a quarter of a century.

The first German pope for some 1,000 years and the second non-Italian in a row, he traveled regularly, making about four foreign trips a year, but never managed to draw the oceanic crowds of his predecessor.

The child abuse scandals hounded most of his papacy. He ordered an official inquiry into abuse in Ireland, which led to the resignation of several bishops.

Scandal from a source much closer to home hit in 2012 when the pontiff's butler, responsible for dressing him and bringing him meals, was found to be the source of leaked documents alleging corruption in the Vatican's business dealings.

Benedict confronted his own country's past when he visited the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. Calling himself "a son of Germany", he prayed and asked why God was silent when 1.5 million victims, most of them Jews, were killed there.

Ratzinger served in the Hitler Youth during World War Two when membership was compulsory. He was never a member of the Nazi party and his family opposed Adolf Hitler's regime.