The Contest Designed by Photojournalists for Photojournalists

Compete with the very best in still and television photojournalism, in picture editing, and Web editing. Now in its eighth year, the Best of Photojournalism (BOP) is the world's leading digital photojournalism contest.

BOP is a project of the National Press Photographers Association.

1st Place, Local Portrait and Personality

Katharina Hesse/Grazia Neri for Vanity Fair Italia

BANGKOK, FEBRUARY-24 : Ann, 25, hides her identity in a short-time hotel. Ann has a foreign boyfriend who is not supposed to know that she still works in prostitution. She initially worked as a maid , then as a gardener, but found ” her lifestyle” when she discovered Bangkok’s redlight districts.

Thailand has an estimated 2 million prostitutes, 70-80 percent of whom are infected with HIV. Yet to the women working the streets or bars, most of whom have little to no eduction and work simply to survive, these numbers do not deter them from leading such a risky life. The fact that prostitution is a profitable sub branch of Thailand’s booming tourism industry, many women do not seek a different lifestyle, and harbor the hope that they will be lucky and find a foreigner who will take them to their country.

Judging for the Best of Photojournalism is sponsored this year by:

On-site Still Photography judging was powered by Aperture.