It’s judging time for a couple of the country’s biggest photo contests, and on a slow afternoon I like to cruise through the winners. The pictures offer fresh glimpses of news events, from the Olympics to the presidential campaign, and also a look at great work that hasn’t had a large circulation yet — stories like women victims of acid burning in Pakistan, female circumcision, and the story of people bringing their relatives’ body from L.A. to Mexico for burial. For me, it’s a reminder that there are a million stories out there to tell and that an individual vision can make a difference. When the daily grind wears me out, the contests offer both inspiration and a reminder that there is a larger photographic community out there and that the bar of excellence is high, and worth reaching for.

Pictures of the Year international (POYi) has already been judged and the winning images are posted here.

Best of Photojournalism (BOP) judging of still images will take place March 22-27. You can see this year’s winners after that date and until then, go to the BOP website for last year’s still image winners as well as this year’s video winners.

NPPA monthly clip contest is just kind of a nice way to see what daily newspaper shooters all over the country are shooting, month to month. We are region 11 and it’s also nice to check out what “local” photojournalists in Seattle, Portland, Wenatchee, Tri-Cities, and Spokane are up to.