2012 Photo Contest winners

First place. Shot outside Kisumu, Kenya. Says Benson, “This photograph, of a little child trying to get fresh water for the family, is unpretentious and poignant and tells an important story. You know exactly the situation and are moved by the look of expectation in her eyes, as if she’s asking for help. It is an image you stop and look at, and that is the main criterion for good photography.” Darryl Brown, Rotary Club of Boulder, Colo., USA

W hen Harry Benson was in the Royal Air Force, he was not allowed into the camera club. Other servicemen said his photos were not good enough. That didn’t deter Benson from becoming a photojournalist, but it did make him sensitive to those who are starting out. After judging our 2012 photo contest, he said: “Choosing was a difficult task. Congratulations to all the photographers who entered.” Darryl Brown snapped the winning shot in Kenya. “A trickle of water was coming out of an out-of-business brewery,” Brown recalled. “What a difference clean water will make in the community.” Rotarians have since teamed up on projects there. See the winner and honorable mentions in the gallery above, plus a web extra Best of the Rest.