Photojournalists make a career of being in the right place at the right time to capture an iconic image that can sum up an event like the Olympics, or a conflict such as the civil war in Syria.
This exhibition on display in the National Theatre recognises the depth, skill and courage of photographers with the most powerful and captivating images from 2011 and 2012.
As you'd expect, conflict figures heavily in this display including flaming cars from the London riots and members of the Free Syrian Army using crude catapults to attack President Assad's palace.
Some images are harrowing, including the bullet-riddled body of a Libyan rebel, a bloodied floor of a classroom in Kenya and a Japanese lady sat in the wreckage of her tsunami-hit home.
There are positive news stories here as well, and once again London figures prominently with the royal wedding, several images from the Olympics and the newly built Shard gleaming in the sunlight.
Works of purely artistic merit also feature prominently with the outline of a runner seen through the flames and heat haze of the Olympic torch, and a particularly eye-catching shot of a girl walking through the Barbican's popular Rain Room, where all is darkness and silhouettes except for the brightly coloured balloons she's dragging along behind her.
This free exhibition is full of breathtaking photographs, and serves as an excellent summary of recent global and local stories.
The Press Photographer's Year 2013 is on in the Lyttleton Theatre foyer, National Theatre, South Bank, SE1 9PX until 31 August. Admission is free