British photographer Tim Hetherington won the top prize at the 2008 World Press Photo awards, with the image above of an unidentified US soldier resting in a bunker in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. The valley is infamous as the site of downing of a US helicopter and has seen some of the most intense fighting in the country. Hetherington’s photograph is part of a picture story that was also awarded 2nd Prize in General News Stories.

‘This image represents the exhaustion of a man - and the exhaustion of a nation. We’re all connected to this. It’s a picture of a man at the end of a line.’

Jury chairman Gary Knight

I was lucky enough to catch the 2006 exhibition on a visit to Amsterdam two years ago and recommend that you visit the 2008 exhibition if you can. The diversity and quality of photography is excellent and you are left with a sobering feeling—many of the images make you realise how lucky we are; our daily lives are not filled with peril and terror like those photographed.

This year there was a record 5,019 entries from 125 countries, with over 80,000 photos submitted in total.
Visit the World Press Photo website for further information