Congratulations to Paul-Anthony Delor, who has won the annual MPhil photo competition, with a photograph taken during his fieldwork in Morocco.

Paul-Anthony writes about the context of the photo:

"Having spent the summer researching Internet technology and its impact on economic development in Morocco, I was surprised by a well-established dualism within Moroccan societies. Traveling from one city to another, I felt a strong dichotomy between technology and custom, between modernity and tradition.

Having encountered different communities, I realized that a strong segment of society is holding onto the norms and practices that make them unique. The cosmopolitan elite of Rabat and Casablanca smile and raise their shoulders when I make mention of this. 'They are relics', they say, 'but they make the country look nice, so we like them'. 

This picture was taken along a riverbank near the center of Rabat. A few meters away the river is dissected by a modern and somewhat overbearing steel construction, cementing Rabat to its nearby neighbor. I can hear noise from the cars, bikes and trams commuting from one city to another, but the boatmen pay no attention to the disturbance. Every once in a while a traveller chooses the tranquility of the river to the thrill of the bridge, 'things are going too fast over there'.

In this rapidly developing society, how much longer will people have a choice?"

• See a large version of the photo here.
• See more of our fieldwork photos here.