First Place
Louie Palu, ZUMA Press
Bloody Hand: From under a blanket the blood stained hand of a man is seen after he was assassinated in a drug related killing in the city of Culiacan, Sinaloa state the cradle of drug trafficking in Mexico, on March 10, 2012.
Second Place
Jim Lo Scalzo, European Pressphoto Agency
Snow Geese: A flock of snow geese 30,000 strong takes off from the Middle Creek Reservoir near Kleinfeltersville, Pa., on March 7, 2012. The snow geese stop at the reservoir to feed on marsh grass before continuing their migration north to their breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic.
Third Place
Astrid Riecken, freelance for The Washington Post
Federal: Commuters leave Federal Triangle metro stop on Oct. 24, 2012.
Award of Excellence
Jonathan Newton, The Washington Post
Discovery Arrival: On its final flight, the space shuttle Discovery arrives in Washington where it will become a permanent installation at the Smithsonian’s annex in northern Virginia on April 17, 2012.
Award of Excellence
Jahi Chikwendiu, The Washington Post
Bigger Dreams For His Village: On the rooftop of 101 Constitution Ave, the closest commercial building to the U.S. capitol, Jean Kabre, the building’s concierge and party coordinator, casts his shadow on the scarred windows of a party tent that overlooks the seemingly continuous development of one of the world’s most powerful cities on Nov. 13, 2012, in Washington. In this place, he’s far removed physically from his dusty Sahel home village called Tintilou in northwest African country of Burkina Faso. His bigger dream, however, is to spark and sustain development back in his birth village, where there is currently no running water or electricity.
Award of Excellence
Jahi Chikwendiu, The Washington Post
Fruitless March, Closing Guantanamo: A metro bus rider looks out at the passing activists from Witness Against Torture, Amnesty International and other organizations who are protesting the continuing use of Guantanamo Bay to detain prisoners without trial and the use of torture on Jan.11, 2012, in Washington.
Award of Excellence
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Marines Bow In Prayer: Marine Corps Officer Candidates School graduates bow their heads during the invocation during their commissioning ceremony at the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Aug. 10, 2012 in Triangle, Va.
Award of Excellence
Patrick Smith, freelance
Midtown: On a rainy afternoon, a passerby makes their way up the street in midtown Manhattan, in New York City on Feb. 16, 2012.