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Crowds of people reach to grab discount coupons and jewelry in a merchant's giveaway in the central shopping district of Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.

A tiger skeleton stands in a vat of tiger wine at the Siberian Tiger Park in Haerbin, Heilongjiang Province, China. The wine is said to imbue drinkers with various health benefits such as strength and virility. The wine sells for 780 renminbi (about US$110.00) per half kilogram of liquid. The Siberian Tiger Park is described as a preserve to protect Siberian tigers from extinction through captive breeding. Visitors to the park can purchase live chickens and other meat to throw to the tigers. The Siberian tiger is also known as the Manchurian tiger.

A public service film about medicine, health, and hygiene, plays on a temporary screen in a park in Hekou, Yunnan Province, China, on the Vietnam border.

A public health notice in Kunming, Yunnan, China, depicts an airplane representing the AIDS virus running into a skyscraper which is protected by a condom.

Women shop at a market in Pangzhihua Village, Yuanyang County, Yunnan Province, China.

A boy stands in the muddy streets of Sheng Cun, in Yuanyang County, Yunnan Province, China, while workers unload a truck full of concrete to be used to improve roads in the area. "Sheng Cun" is translated as "Successful Village" in local tourist brochures.

People argue with a policeman on the night of Lunar New Year celebrations in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. The policeman confiscated fireworks and tore up lanterns. The man in a parka and beanie (right) was seen to speak with the policeman after the confrontation, likely an undercover policeman. Lunar New Year is also known as Chinese New Year. 2009 is the Year of the Ox, the Year of the Cow, or the Year of the Bull, according to the Chinese zodiac. Niu is the Mandarin word for ox/cow/bull.

An imam speaks at a small mosque in Pingliang, Gansu, China.

Workers wait in line at the border to take goods into Vietnam from Hekou, Yunnan Province, China.

Li Bing Feng, a migrant restaurant worker from Gansu Province, rides his bicycle through the streets of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. Shoot was directed. Clothing (pants by Diesel Black Gold, shirt by J Crew, shoes by Converse Jams, hat by New Err) provided by Fader magazine. Model release available on request.

Mannequins display clothing for sale in a window display in the Bund area of Shanghai, China.

A man's hat rests on a fence post during work outside a small house in Pangzhihua Village, Yuanyang County, Yunnan Province, China.

Rescued dogs gather for feeding time at Ha Wenjin's animal rescue farm outside of Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. About 1000 animals, both dogs and cats, live at the no-kill shelter where they have spacious indoor and outdoor living areas. At times other than feeding time, the animals are not as crowded as this picture depicts.

People ride a sleeper train in Shandong Province, China.

Spanky Spangler comes up short on a 200-foot daredevil jump at the culmination of Evel Knievel Days in Butte, Montana, USA. Spangler survived the crash.

The dunes of the Gobi Desert at night near Dunhuang, Gansu, China.

Crowds wait for their trains at the Shanghai Railway Station in Shanghai, China.

Tourists ascend the Great Wall at Badaling outside of Beijing, China.

A small boat travels on the Jialing River between Langzhong city and the surrounding agricultural areas in Langzhong, Sichuan, China.

Bride Ren Jing and her friends walk toward the mosque for Ren Jing's wedding to Da Fen in Pingliang, Gansu, China. The newlyweds are members of the Hui ethnic minority, a Muslim ethnic group in northwestern China.

Black Angus beef cattle graze on land outside of Fairfield for the Malek Angus Ranch operation. The Malek Angus Ranch operates Big Sky Montana Beef, a high-quality jerky and other processed meat business.

Young Hui minority Muslims sing karaoke songs in a KTV room in Pingliang, Gansu, China.

A family lights sparklers and other fireworks in the crowd gathered in Stalin Park on the banks of the Songhua River during Lantern Festival celebrations in central Haerbin, Heilongjiang Province, China.

Buddhist pilgrims walk among the guesthouses surrounding the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe, Gansu, China. Xiahe, home of the Labrang Monastery, is an important site for Tibetan Buddhists. The population of the town is divided between ethnic Tibetans, Muslims, and Han Chinese.

Young Tibetan Buddhist monks and Chinese military soldiers wait for an attendant in an internet cafe in Xiahe, Gansu, China. Xiahe, home of the Labrang Monastery, is an important site for Tibetan Buddhists. The population of the town is divided between ethnic Tibetans, Muslims, and Han Chinese.

Workers construct a building in Xiahe, Gansu, China. Xiahe, home of the Labrang Monastery, is an important site for Tibetan Buddhists. The population of the town is divided between ethnic Tibetans, Muslims, and Han Chinese.

Crowds gather on a hillside to watch a motorcycle performance during Evel Knievel Days in Butte, Montana, USA.

Men fish in the Yangtze River as barges pass by Chongqing, China. Increased river traffic and nearby manufacturing in the area has threatened the river's long-term ecology.

Seen through a bus windshield, a man and dog walk down a road in mountainous rural southern Yunnan Province, China, near the Vietnam border.

Following Matt’s lead, I’ve collected a few of my favorite photos of mine from 2009. It was a relatively good year, with a few assignments, corporate shoots, other gigs, and an award and exhibition or two. Always room for improvement in that respect, and 2010 seems to be off in full swing. The work here is mostly from China, with a little bit from the northwestern United States thrown in. These aren’t necessarily the best photos I took, or representative of everything I photographed, but they’re favorites nonetheless for various reasons.

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A young man in the Stara Gazela camp.

Crowds arrive from around Nova Gazela to witness a house fire on the day before relocation. The suspected arson happened in an abandoned home in a remote part of the camp.

The famous black birds of Kosovo in flight over Mitrovica. Mitrovica, Kosovo - One-year anniverary of Independence - February 17, 2009.

Obama Inauguration train -- Wilmington, DE. Rally for President-Elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Biden.

The Inauguration of President Barack Obama. Washington DC, January 20, 2009. Police and military personnel direct pedestrian traffic along a crossing of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Obama Inauguration - Monday activities around the Capitol on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A young vendor sells Obama-themed merchandise and flags at dusk near the White House.

Obama Inauguration - Monday activities around the Capitol on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Washington Monument at dusk.

Landscapes in Northern Kosovo, near Lesak.

Inside the Stan Trg mine, part of the Trepca complex in Mitrovica, Kosovo. Once employing up to 300,000 people, the operation is on a skeletan crew after the war struggling to remain viable. International investment is approaching on the horizon, lending hope to the local populace that the once-thriving company could restart and jump-start the local economy.

An elderly man aboard a free public bus from Sarajevo to Srebrenica at 0500 during the 14th anniversary of the genocide.

Families of Srebrenica victims gather at the Potocari memorial to bury the remains of their loved ones.

A local bus from Kosovska Mitrovica to Belgrade.

On the road from Prishtina to Mitrovica. Large snow storms in Kosovo, 2/19/09.

Reshat Zatriqi, 48, sits in his home in Mitrovica with his son. He is worried about the violence that happens near his house in northern Mitrovica in one of the only Albanian neighborhoods. On December 30 2008 a nearby store was burned and on February 14 2009 there was a bomb or grenade explosion at a friend's house a few hundred meters away. Mitrovica, February 15, 2009.

Kosovars celebrate the one-year anniversary of independence along Mother Theresa Street in the center of the capitol, Prishtina. Prishtina, Kosovo - One-year anniverary of Independence - February 17, 2009.

Stojan, center, and friends smoke cigarettes in the shade on the hottest day of the year during the celebration for a baptism in the Nova Gazela camp.

A boy climbs on to the roof of his family's home in the Stara Gazela camp to jump into their inflatable swimming pool.

Boys play on top of a garbage pile behind their home in Nova Gazela.

A young man along the train tracks in Nova Gazela.

Smoke from a trash fire looms over the Nova Gazela settlement.

Mourners of Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Pavle in Belgrade. Pavle is laying in state at the Cathedral Church of St. Michael the Archangel in the center of the Serbian capitol during three days of national mourning.

2009 was my first real year of living and working in Serbia and it was wrought with more questions than answers. I’m still trying to figure out what last year was and what the next will bring, in terms of life and my photos. But I think these pictures may show some of what this was about for me, my relationship to friends and strangers, places and stories. These are not just my “best” pictures but include many more personal. A visual taste of my year. And I’m ecstatic to be back for another take.

Of course, I am a month past due with this in part to recovering from the holidays stateside and setting up everything here for 2010. I’ll have much more to share in the near future on what’s new these days, including projects, collaborations and websites. As always you can see my work at www.mattlutton.com and dig through my archive (and buy pictures!) at archive.mattlutton.com.

Thanks for keeping up with my work and supporting us here at Dvafoto. Happy New Year!

Johan Bävman - 2009 UNICEF Photo of the Year

The 2009 UNICEF Photo of the Year award goes to Johan Bävman for his photo of Tanzanian children playing in a school (above). Honorable mentions went to: Mads Nissen, Jacob Aue Sobol, A. K. Kimoto, Irina Popova, Todd Krainin, Eman Mohammed, Anna Jockisch, Christian Als, Thomas Lekfeldt, and Daniel Berehulak.

Anthony Suau - World Press Photo of the Year 2008 - US Economy in Crisis: Following eviction, Detective Robert Kole must ensure residents have moved out of their home, Cleveland, Ohio, 26 March

World Press Photo has just announced the results of the 2008 contest (text list of winners’ names), and Anthony Suau has won the Picture of the Year. His picture, of a detective sweeping a house to make sure evicted residents have vacated their Cleveland home, was one of my favorites of the year, and it and the story it’s from, which won 2nd place Daily life, captured the economic crisis in a way that little other journalism did this year. Simply beautiful work.

Haven’t gotten a chance to look through the rest of the results yet, but the 3rd prize Portrait story, by Li Jiejun, jumped out to me as strange and intriguing.

Update/Addition (by Matt): I’ll probably post more on this soon but be sure to have a look at Suau’s archive. Amazing, I could look for hours.
And a story that PDN ran on him (which really isn’t comforting): “World Press Photo Winner Struggling To Find Work”