Albino siblings Esthefany Caroline (L) and Kauan Fernandes (R) play with their cousin Taina (C) outside their home in the V9 slum of Olinda, in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, August 25, 2009. Three of five of the Fernandes family’s children are albinos, which according to genetics professor Valdir Balbino of the Federal University of Pernambuco is a very rare occurrence considering the parents and two children are dark-skinned Afro-Brazilians. REUTERS/Alexandre Severo-JC Imagem

A competitor slips off the “gostra”, a pole covered in grease, during the religious feast of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian’s, outside Valletta August 30, 2009. In the traditional “gostra”, a game stretching back to the Middle Ages, young men and women have to make their way to the top and try to uproot one of the flags to win prizes. From May to September in Malta, there is hardly any weekend when a town or a village is not celebrating the feast of its patron saint or other saints revered in different churches. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi

British matador Frank Evans, 67, practices before a bullfight in Benalmadena, near the Spanish southern town of Malaga, August 30, 2009. Evans, known on the circuit as “El Ingles” (The Englishman) quit bullfighting in 2005, but came out of retirement last year after enduring quadruple by-pass surgery and having a knee replaced. Evans moved to Spain in 1967 to learn about bullfighting and became a full bullfighter in 1991. Evans is currently Spain’s only English matador. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

A Los Angeles County firefighter walks through thick smoke during the Station fire in the Acton area of Los Angeles, California August 30, 2009. The heat-driven fire nearly doubled in size overnight and has now burned 35,000 acres (14,000 hectares) of thick, bone-dry brush in the mountains above five towns, a 10-mile (16 km) stretch from La Crescenta to Pasadena, the California Fire Department said.  REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Click here to view the complete Editor’s choice slideshow and here for further showcases of Reuters photography.

When you pack scores of journalists into a room and they're all trying to listen to, photograph, and film one person - like the head of a political party - it’s easy to get blocked by the people and things in front of you.

For a photographer, this is the kiss of death. It means not getting a picture. Next, your phone rings with an angry editor on the other end - a brief conversation is followed by a lengthy period of woe and despair. For this and other reasons, photographers go to great lengths to get a good photo position.

For Sunday’s Democratic Party of Japan election event, the first photographers arrived at 2 a.m. for an event that wasn’t expected to start until almost 8 p.m. - 16 hours later. Well before any big event photographers make a land grab vying for the best possible real-estate.

At popular events, once you’re in position it can be difficult to get out again with all the other photographers around. Waiting is just part of the job. Photographers also usually come armed with rolls of duct tape to mark out territory, stickers to place on chairs and tables, and ladders to see over those pesky tall people.

On the other hand, sometimes a little bit of obstruction can make a very interesting picture. Flags, people, and video cameras can be useful objects to “frame” a picture in order to concentrate the viewer’s eye on the subject.

When choosing a position, it’s a brave photographer indeed who, given the choice, purposely chooses a spot without a clear view. But sometimes the risk is worth it.

Photo credits: REUTERS/Toru Hanai, Yuriko Nakao, Issei Kato

Every summer the green hills of Rebkong are home to unique celebrations during which local Tibetans believe the mountain gods visit villagers — and each other — through human mediums.

Reuters photographer Christina Hu documents the celebrations in the multimedia presentation above. To read the full story click here.

Click on the window bellow to watch a multimedia "essay" on Ultra-Orthodox Jews protesting the opening of a parking lot in Jerusalem on the Jewish Sabath.