For those of you who may not be familiar with World Press Photo, it’s one of the world’s most prestigious photojournalism exhibitions and has been running for 53 years!

Canon Australia is bringing the exhibition to Sydney for the 11th consecutive year and we are thrilled that we can announce to you the winners of the 2009 World Press Photo contest as well as local exhibition details. You’ll have the chance to see this international exhibition of professional press photography when it opens at the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney on 3 July 2010 and also at the Brisbane Powerhouse on 5 June 2010.

This year, the international jury gave prizes in 10 themed categories to 63 photographers of 23 nationalities.

The World Press Photo of the Year was awarded to Italian photographer Pietro Masturzo for his image depicting a woman shouting in protest from a rooftop in Tehran following presidential elections in Iran. He will receive a cash prize of 10,000 euro (approx AUD$15,267) and an EOS Digital SLR camera and lens kit donated by Canon.

And a big congratulations to the following three Australian photographers who took out awards!
•    Adam Ferguson was awarded 1st prize in the Spot News Singles category
•    Craig Golding was awarded 2nd prize in the Sports Action Stories category
•    Justin McManus was awarded 3rd prize in the People in the News Singles category

To find out more and to check out the winning images head to the World Press Photo site.