Spanish photographer Samuel Aranda has won the top prize in the 2012 World Press Photo Awards with an image of a Yemeni mother holding her wounded son during the Arab Spring uprisings.
"It is a photo that 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," said World Press Photo jury member Koyo Kouoh.
Aranda was born in 1979 and began working as a photojournalist for El Pais and El Periodico de Catalunya at the age of 19. A few years later, he traveled to the Middle East to cover the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the Spanish agency EFE. In 2004, he joined Agence France-Presse, covering multiple conflicts and social issues in Spain, Pakistan, Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestinian Territories, Morocco and Western Sahara. He was working in Yemen on assignment for The New York Times and is represented by Corbis Images.
Now in its 55th year, the annual World Press Photo contest draws entries by professional press photographers,
photojournalists and documentary photographers from around the world,
with 5,247 photographers from 124 countries participating this year with
101,254 pictures submitted by the mid-January deadline.
Samuel Aranda. World Press Photo of the Year. Samuel Aranda,
People in the News, 1st prize singles: A woman holds her wounded son in
her arms, inside a mosque used as a field hospital during clashes in
Sanaa, Yemen.
Yuri Kozyrev, Spot News, 1st prize singles. On Revolution Road: For
weeks, rebels held out against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi with the
hope that the world would come to their aid.
Rémi Ochlik, General News, 1st prize stories. Battle for Libya: An
opposition fighter rest under a rebellion flag in the middle of the
battlefield oil town Ras Lanouf in Libya.
Alex Majoli, General News, 1st prize singles. Mubarek Steps Down:
Protesters cry, chant and scream in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, after
listening to the speech in which Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said
he would not give up power.
David Goldman, Arts and Entertainment, 1st prize singles.
Afganistan: Canadian Forces soldier Cpl. Ben Vandandaigue plays the
drums on Forward Operating Base Sperwan Ghar in Afghanistan.
Damir Sagolj, Daily Life, 1st prize singles. North Korea: A picture
of North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung, decorates a building in the
capital Pyongyang.
Koichiro Tezuka, Spot News, 1st prize stories: The Fury of the
Tsunami: A powerful tsunami surges toward the Japanese coastline,
swallowing business and residential areas in Natori City, Miyagi
prefecture.
Yasuyoshi Chiba, People in the News, 1st prize stories. Tsunami: Aftermath of the tsunami, Japan, March - April.
Laerke Posselt, Portraits, 1st prize singles. Danish and Iranian
Culture: The 27-year-old Iranian-born actress Mellica Mehraban grew up
in Denmark, but debuted as an actor in Iran in 2011.
Brent Stirton, Contemporary Issues, 1st prize singles: Maria, a drug
addict and sex worker, in between clients in a room she rents in Kryvyi
Rig, Ukraine.
Donald Weber, Portraits, 1st prize stories: Interrogation Room: Inside interrogation rooms, Ukraine.
Stephanie Sinclair, Contemporary Issues, 1st prize stories. Child
Brides: Child marriage is outlawed in many countries and international
agreements forbid the practice yet this tradition still spans
continents, language and religion.
Alejandro Kirchuk, Daily Life, 1st prize stories: Marcos, 89, and
Monica, 87, have been married and living in their apartment in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, for 65 years. In 2007, Monica was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease. Since that moment, her husband devoted all his time
to take care of her.
(Rob Hornstra, Arts and Entertainment, 1st prize stories: The
Russian city of Sochi lies on the Black Sea and attracts predominantly
Russian holidaymakers. Every restaurant employs a regular live musician
blasting popular Russian songs.
Jenny E. Ross, Nature, 1st prize singles: Cliff-climbing Polar Bear
Atempting to Eat Seabird Eggs: A male polar bear climbs precariously on
the face of a cliff above the ocean at Ostrova Oranskie in northern
Novaya Zemlya, attempting to feed on seabird eggs.
Brent Stirton, Nature, 1st prize stories. Rhino Wars: Rhino horn is
now worth more than gold on the international market. South Africa alone
has lost more than 400 rhino to illegal poaching incidents in 2011.
Alexander Taran, Sports, 1st prize stories. Strelka: In the amateur
street fighting tournament known as Strelka in Russia, fighters compete
on sand with no time limit, breaks or rounds, and the fight only stops
with a knockout or a fighter’s surrender.
Donald Miralle, Jr, Sports, 1st prize singles: Ironman World
Championships: Triathletes swim over a school of fish at the start of
the 2011 Ford Ironman World Championship.