Pictures of the Year Awards

I really enjoy looking at great photography, so this page was filled with all sorts of goodies for me.

The photo package I liked best was "Upstate Girls". That exposed me to a world I have never seen or experienced before. The situations of the women in the photographs is something completely alien to me. I think that is the point of photojournalism: to expose and capture a world that most people are unfamiliar with. I was amazed at how close the photographer got to the subjects in the piece and how she was accepted into their homes to capture this very personal stories.

I also really enjoyed "Final Salute", as I see most people who have posted before me did as well. This story is absolutely heartwrenching for the families involved and for the man who has to go tell families that their family member has died in the course of duty. The picture that really got me was the wife lying over her now-deceased husband's casket. I cannot imagine that I would react any differently if in this situation. Once again, I can't believe how the photographer was able to capture all these personal moments. I am completely in awe of their ability to capture the emotions of the situation.

Perhaps on a flipside, a picture that I was really shocked by was the picture of the child soldier in the Democratic Republic of Congo package. I have heard a lot about child soldiers through the 'Invisible Children' campaign and it is still shocking to me each time I see it. This is an incredible photo that shows something, which I think is wrong, that is a practice in our world with clarity and emotions.

I am floored by all the pictures and can absolutely see why they all won awards.