Each month, the Associated Press management honors photographers for outstanding photo coverage while on assignment.  The winners for the December 2014 AP Staff Photo Contest are Mohammad Sajjad in the news category for his coverage of the Taliban School Attack and Manish Swarup in the features category for his essay, Disappearing Brass Bands. Congratulations to both photographers for their outstanding work. Below we feature some of the contest winning imagery. 

Taliban School Attack | Photos by Mohammad Sajjad

On December 16, 2014, nine gunmen affiliated with the Taliban conducted a terrorist attack on the Army Public School in northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. The militants, all of whom were foreign nationals, included one Chechen, three Arabs and two Afghans. They entered the school and opened fire on school staff and children, killing 145 people, including 132 school children, ranging between eight and eighteen years of age.

Disappearing Brass Bands | Photos by Manish Swarup

The wedding season is in full swing in India, marking what should be the busiest time of the year for the traditional brass bands that lead raucous processions announcing the arrival of the bridegroom to the bride's neighborhood, dressed in brilliant sequinned uniforms or long silken tunics and turbans. But the tastes of the young, wealthier Indians shift to more modern music, young couples increasingly choose DJs playing electronic music instead of live bands. The shift is leaving band owners and musicians struggling to find gigs, exacerbating an already difficult existence.  

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