Sometimes there are too many words. As any writer who works regularly with photographers will tell you, pictures sometimes speak louder than words.

Having spent my time at World Travel Market thinking about how many words I can generate from commissioned stories in 2011, I found myself this week at the World Press Photo exhibition thinking about how redundant many of them are.

It’s a perfect example of the way – no matter how purple my prose – visual impact is vital for storytelling.

Hit the North was intrigued to see that the region we celebrate made the final cut with Simon Roberts taking third prize in the Daily Life Stories category for an image of Ladies’ Day at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool.

It combines perfectly the glamour, pathos and underlying violence of the event.

My favourite image, however, was  by Michael Wolf of Germany in the Daily Life Singles category. His image of a woman travelling at rush hour on the Tokyo underground was both haunting and beautiful.

As I plan my next year of assignments over the weeks up to Christmas, this exhibition will inspire me to think more visually.

For a full list of this year’s winners, see the link here.