by Claire O'Neill

Since 1921, the White House News Photographers Association has helped facilitate press coverage of political events that traditionally had been restricted. It aims to ensure access and to bring local and international news to a wide audience. In 1941, the WHNPA started an annual contest to showcase the best work in photojournalism. Here's a selection of still photography winners from its 2009 WHNPA "Eyes of History" contest, in which NPR received 18 awards. Check out the WHNPA's Web site to view all contest winners.

  • Political Photo of the Year : Untitled. Barack Obama waits backstage at the U.S. Capitol moments before being sworn in as the 44th U.S. president on Jan. 20.
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    Political Photo of the Year : Untitled. Barack Obama waits backstage at the U.S. Capitol moments before being sworn in as the 44th U.S. president on Jan. 20.
    Charles Ommanney/Getty Images for NewsweekUN
  • Portfolio: Like Brothers. Hussein Abbas, 10, and Zaid Alaa, 12, cousins but more like brothers, know the rules to this Baghdad neighborhood. Never leave the compound, never walk alone and always come home before dark.
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    Portfolio: Like Brothers. Hussein Abbas, 10, and Zaid Alaa, 12, cousins but more like brothers, know the rules to this Baghdad neighborhood. Never leave the compound, never walk alone and always come home before dark.
    Andrea Bruce/The Washington Post
  • Presidential : All Tied Up. President George W. Bush gets tangled in police tape while wishing Ruth Harris a happy 91st birthday. He'd stopped his motorcade during a visit to Gates Mills, Ohio, last July 29.
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    Presidential : All Tied Up. President George W. Bush gets tangled in police tape while wishing Ruth Harris a happy 91st birthday. He'd stopped his motorcade during a visit to Gates Mills, Ohio, last July 29.
    Jim Watson/AFP
  • Portrait : Pain. Peggy Murphy, 57, complained of pain for years before doctors diagnosed a recurrence of breast cancer. Pain keeps her awake day and night. She's shown in Millersville, Pa., last Sept. 9.
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    Portrait : Pain. Peggy Murphy, 57, complained of pain for years before doctors diagnosed a recurrence of breast cancer. Pain keeps her awake day and night. She's shown in Millersville, Pa., last Sept. 9.
    Chiaki Kawajiri/The Baltimore Sun
  • Sports Action : Korea vs. Cuba Baseball. Teams from Korea and Cuba play in an international baseball competition.
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    Sports Action : Korea vs. Cuba Baseball. Teams from Korea and Cuba play in an international baseball competition.
    David Burnett/Contact Press Images
  • Feature : Iraq Commuter. Qasim Ali waits near Baghdad's Sadr City district on March 10, 2008. A minibus will take him and other government workers to the Ministry of Trade, where he has worked for 30 years.
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    Feature : Iraq Commuter. Qasim Ali waits near Baghdad's Sadr City district on March 10, 2008. A minibus will take him and other government workers to the Ministry of Trade, where he has worked for 30 years.
    Andrea Bruce/The Washington Post
  • Picture Story/Political : Armstrong. Civil rights leader James Armstrong of Birmingham, Ala., still works at the same barbershop where he once cut the hair of Martin Luther King Jr.
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    Picture Story/Political : Armstrong. Civil rights leader James Armstrong of Birmingham, Ala., still works at the same barbershop where he once cut the hair of Martin Luther King Jr.
    David Gilkey/NPR
  • Campaign 2008 : Untitled. The day before the Nov. 4 presidential election, then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) speaks at a campaign rally at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.
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    Campaign 2008 : Untitled. The day before the Nov. 4 presidential election, then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) speaks at a campaign rally at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.
    Charles Ommanney/Getty Images for Newsweek
  • Picture Story/Sports : Divers. At the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, the women's 10-meter platform diving competition featured tumbles and turns in the quest for gold.
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    Picture Story/Sports : Divers. At the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, the women's 10-meter platform diving competition featured tumbles and turns in the quest for gold.
    Jason Reed/Reuters
  • Pictorial : Pant Suit Light Check. Hillary Rodham Clinton's jackets are checked against stage lights before Day 2 at the Democratic National Convention last August in Denver.
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    Pictorial : Pant Suit Light Check. Hillary Rodham Clinton's jackets are checked against stage lights before Day 2 at the Democratic National Convention last August in Denver.
    Mark Wilson/Getty Images
  • Sports Feature/Reaction : Mother's Pride. Michael Phelps hugs his mother, Debbie, after winning his fifth Olympic gold medal. It was for the U.S. victory in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay on Aug. 13.
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    Sports Feature/Reaction : Mother's Pride. Michael Phelps hugs his mother, Debbie, after winning his fifth Olympic gold medal. It was for the U.S. victory in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay on Aug. 13.
    Doug Mills/The New York Times
  • On Capitol Hill : Stares Back. Richard Fuld Jr., chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers, stares down protesters while leaving Capitol Hill. He was at an Oct. 6 hearing focused on his company's collapse.
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    On Capitol Hill : Stares Back. Richard Fuld Jr., chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers, stares down protesters while leaving Capitol Hill. He was at an Oct. 6 hearing focused on his company's collapse.
    Alex Wong/Getty Images
  • Picture Story/Feature : Female Circumcision in Iraqi Kurdistan. Girls gather at an Iraqi Kurdistan home for what they're told is a party. In reality, their mothers have brought them to a midwife who will circumcise them to "cleanse" them of improper or sexual thoughts and actions.
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    Picture Story/Feature : Female Circumcision in Iraqi Kurdistan. Girls gather at an Iraqi Kurdistan home for what they're told is a party. In reality, their mothers have brought them to a midwife who will circumcise them to "cleanse" them of improper or sexual thoughts and actions.
    Andrea Bruce/The Washington Post
  • Political Portfolio Long Shot In a rare display of emotion, Barack Obama acknowledges that his grandmother had died earlier in the day, on the last day of his campaign.
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    Political Portfolio Long Shot In a rare display of emotion, Barack Obama acknowledges that his grandmother had died earlier in the day, on the last day of his campaign.
    Linda Davidson/The Washington Post
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All images courtesy WHNPA