PRNewswire — First prize in the 2010 CGAP Microfinance Photography Contest goes to Mohammed Rakibul Hasan for "The Tannery Industry." Hasan took the photograph, in which hundreds of hides turn golden in the sun, in his hometown of Dhaka, Bangladesh, where there are many small tanneries. This is the third time Hasan has been a finalist in the Contest, but the first time he has won the top prize. Hasan works as a freelance photographer while he studies for a post graduate diploma in photojournalism at Adeneo de Manila University in the Philippines.

Hasan's entry won out over nearly 2,000 entries from professional and nonprofessional photographers around the world in the 2010 CGAP Microfinance Photography Contest.

South Asian photographers dominated the top three places, but the other 20 winners come from all regions of the world. And for the first time this year, photographs from China featured strongly among the winners.

Second Place winner "Jute Monster," by Jashim Salam, shows an unusual perspective of the reviving jute industry in Bangladesh. Salam is studying for a diploma in photojournalism at the South Asian Institute of Photography in Bangladesh, and this is the first time he has entered the Contest.

The judges commended four photographs for Special Mention, all of which resonated for their narrative and mood, as well as technical composition. "Rickshaw Puller," by Joy Mukherjee from West Bengal, shows microcredit client Ibrahim helping people cross the Matla River at low tide. "Food Workshop," by Chinese photographer Tian An, captures the light and heat pouring through as the owner of a small food store griddles Chinese pancakes.

Sudipto Das' photograph of a grandfather telling tales to his grandchildren in West Bengal was commended by the judges for catching a unique moment.

Huaxin Hu also warranted Special Mention for "Selling Geese," an amusing portrait of a farmer and his son carrying geese to market in Zhejiang province in China.

"Whether it's the milk seller in Pakistan who nervously awaits the results of tests on a sample of milk she's selling, the tofu vendor who's set up a makeshift shop at a building site in China, or the fish trader in Muscat, Oman, handing over a whopping tuna to the butcher, these photographs are startling portrayals of people's ingenuity," said Jeanette Thomas, CGAP's Head of Communications. "From Madagascar to Madhya Pradesh, from a candlemaker in the Philippines, to the clothes seller on the streets of Breslau, Poland, these images show the entrepreneurial spirit and energy of human enterprise the world over."

A slideshow of the winning photographs and details of the winners appear at http://www.cgap.org.

The 2011 CGAP Microfinance Photography Contest will open for entries 15 June 2011.