Every year I like forward to the announcement of the World Press Photos of the Year.

One reason of course is that the images are so striking and so thrilling, whether it be Peter Crouch’s starfish soccer shot … or the swirl of starlings

The are also full of humanity, and it’s often a stark reminder of the contradictions between wealth and poverty and the brutality of war.

But I also think of that moment when, as the photographer, you look at your photos of that day and you see the one or two which - amongst all the others - have captured something magic, something that transcends all the other good-but-not-great shots.

It’s also a reminder to me that, in the quest for Great Work, you need to keep practicing. Like Hilary climbing Mt Everest, you don’t get to the top in a single, considered bound… but rather, you get there in a series of steps, back and forth, getting closer and finally reaching the summit.

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