"Let us declare nature to be legitimate. All plants should be declared legal, and all animals for that matter. The notion of illegal plants and animals is obnoxious and ridiculous."- T. McKenna
80% or more are shots of victims of natural desater, war or crime...showing a cruel inhuman world...this really shocked me!
Is that what it needs to make a shot a 'Photo of the Year' ?
Frex - interesting point. The thing is, a photo of a person or people in extraordinary circumstance has impact. A photo of someone fighting to stay alive will instantly capture your imagination or trigger something in your head that makes you think and remember the photo much more than a pretty sunset ever will.
It's all about context and recording a moment. Also, that website is a news website - an amazing macro or a studio modelling set aren't right for that sequence of photos.