The World Press Photo 2012 jury is out and as is to be expected, the imagery is stunning.

South African Brent Stirton flew the flag high by walking away with two first prizes. One for his series entitled ‘Rhino Wars’, a heart-rending picture story that took top honours in the Nature Stories category. The scourge of rhino poaching needs as much attention as it can get.

For his disturbing image of a drug addicted Ukrainian sex worker, Brent Stirton received first place in the Contemporary issues Singles category. Visit Brent Stirton’s website.

The darker side of South Africa fell under the spotlight with and image by Ilvy Njiokiktjien of the Netherlands entitled ‘Afrikaner Blood’ depicting a white South African ‘Kolonel’ Jooste, showing a group of young boys at a ‘kommandokorps’ camp in Carolina, how to use a gun. I suspect and hope ‘Kolonel’ Jooste will be receiving some unwanted attention in the near future.

Bad press aside, the 2012 collection of World Press Photo images is inspiring, hard-hitting, heart-breaking and beautiful, often all at the same time. Set aside an hour or two, get comfy and savour this amazing body of work at the World Press Photo website.