Out of more than 96,000 photos by over 5,500 photographers from 124 countries, the international jury of the 52nd World Press Photo Contest had to make their selection of the very best. We are especially happy and proud that this year 13 photographers represented by laif and our partner agencies were among the 63 photographers who received prizes. Again, these photographers have all demonstrated their talent and professionalism as well as their ability not just to recognize what is special but also to capture it effectively with the camera. The prize winners in eight out of 10 categories are:

Sports Features
Berthold Steinhilber/laif, 2nd prize/singles, Mountain bike race, Les Deux Alpes, France, from the feature Nightmare in the Alps
We represent Berthold Steinhilber internationally.
Paolo Verzone, VU, 3rd prize/feature, Traveling with Michael Platini

General News
Davide Monteleone/Contrasto, 1st prize/feature, Abkhazia

People in the News
Justyna Mielnikiewicz/New York Times, 2nd prize/feature, Georgia Conflict

Sports Action
Vincent Laforet/Polaris, 1st prize/feature, Divers, Beijing Olympic Games

Contemporary Issues
Mashid Mohaderin/Reporters, 1st prize/singles, Coastguards + Refugees, Lampedusa
Guillaume Herbaut/Oeil Public, 2nd prize/singles, The new slaves
Massimo Siragusa/Contrasto, 3rd prize/feature, Messina slums, Sicily

Portraits
Yuri Kozyrev/Noor, 1st prize/singles, Russia
Pep Bonet/Noor, 2nd prize/feature, Spain

Arts & Entertainment
Roger Cremers/Hollandse Hoogte, 1st prize/faeture, Visitors at the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau

Nature
Carlos F. Gutiérrez/Patagonia Press/UPI, 1st prize/singles, Chaitén volcano erupts, Chile

Congratulations to all winners!
You can find more information about the World Press Photo Award at www.worldpressphoto.org