The past year has been a brilliant one for photography, and Dazed Digital has been on an constant look out for fresh talent, as well as the work of established geniuses. And boy, has there been plenty of well-known and iconoclastic photographers showing off their work in 2010! To mention but a few, Dazed Digital has spoken to Mick Rock about his rock star photography, let Ryan McGinley pick out his favourite photographer, investigated Gavin Watson's punk images, quizzed Richard Kern about his relaxed attitude towards clothing, checked out Rankin's exhibitions and showcased Hedi Slimane's obsession with Rolls Royce cars.

We have also looked closer at photo exhibitions at MoMA, the Brighton Photo Biennial, and smaller expos by both former models (Lina Scheynius) and street photography masters (Matt Stuart). But the Top Ten list below is a roundup of Dazed Digital's RISE pieces in the last year. We take pride in constantly checking out portfolios, websites, Flickr accounts etc, for young, new and fresh photography talent who we think deserves a bit of attention... Come back to us in the  new year for more of the same, only better!

BEZ UMA (clockwise from top left corner)
The Russian photographer tells us about childhood encounters with bears and why he won’t miss an opportunity to take a picture.

IVAN CAZZOLA
Italian-born Cazzola made a name for himself as a rock music photographer but his true passion lies with capturing the spirit of suburbia.

KATARINA SOPCIC
The Munich-based photographer captures spontaneous cinematic moments and creates her own reality.

YULIA GORODINSKI
Based in Israel, the English Litt student here talks to Dazed about self-portraits and her love of melancholic images

OSMA HARVILAHTI
The Finnish photographer rates Pierre Bourdieu's theories, prefers 35mm Nikon to digital and reckons his images can be sound tracked by 'silence'.

COLUMBINE GOLDSMITH
The transatlantic photographer has been shooting since the age of five, giving her plenty of time to perfect her brand of "romantic and weird" images.

JOSHUA DALTON
Using the web as artistic medium, this 22-year-old creative invents new photographic prints in ethereal colours.

ELIZABETH JOHNSON
From fashion magazine shoots to gritty newspaper jobs, Elizabeth Johnson has found her own brand of dark and moody photography.

SOFIA ARJAM
The Ontario-based photographer delves into her influences from the occult and French cinema.

JENNIFER ABESSIRA (no image in the collage, click on the link to see photos)
The Tel Aviv-based photographer uses a simple digital camera to capture moments as they come to her.