The 57th annual World Press Photo Contest has announced the winner American photographer John Stanmeyer of the VII Photo Agency for his image ‘Signal’ as the World Press Photo of the Year 2013.¦ Signal shows African migrants on the shore of Djibouti city at night. They are raising their phones in an attempt to catch an inexpensive signal from neighboring Somalia. Djibouti is a common stop-off point for migrants in transit from such countries as Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, seeking a better life in Europe and the Middle East. In addition, the picture also won 1st Prize in the Contemporary Issues category. For an overview of all images visit: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/awards/2014

The prizes were categorized in nine themes; Spot News, General News, Sports Action, Sport Features, Contemporary Issues, Daily Life, Observed Portraits, Staged Portraits and Nature to 53 photographers of 25 nationalities from: Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the USA. All images were submitted 98,671 by 5,754 photographers, 132 nationalities. All prize-winning pictures are presented in an exhibition visiting more than 100 cities in over 45 countries. And the first 2014 World Press Photo exhibition will be shown in Amsterdam in De Nieuwe Kerk on 18 April 2014. For more information about the exhibition in Amsterdam, please visit: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/exhibition/2014_Amsterdam

About the winner John Stanmeyer; photographer, USA

John Stanmeyer, born in Illinois, is a founder member of the VII photo agency.

More than a decade, Stanmeyer has worked nearly exclusively with National Geographic, producing more than 12 stories for the magazine. Between 1998 and 2008, John was a contract photographer for Time magazine, during which time he photographed the war in Afghanistan, the fight for independence in East Timor, the fall of Suharto in Indonesia, and other significant world news events. His years with Time resulted in 18 covers of the magazine.

Know him more at http://www.stanmeyer.com/

Credit: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/

Image courtesy of "John Stanmeyer"