They say a picture paints a thousand words, so we've set out to discover what photography might be able to tell us about today's Europe and are pleased to announce the winners of our December competition.

Following on from the success of last month's Europe Through a Lens, we decided to go with another light-based theme for December and put out a call for images of "Illuminated Europe". Our readers were more than up to the task, leaving the judges spoilt for choice.

In the midst of a strong field, it was Tobias Melzer who ultimately claimed top honours with Night rider, a vivid moonlit image taken from a roadside in Upper Bavaria. The photo was praised for its depth and geometry, with one judge admitting that he would have probably come up with a similar image, if faced with the same topic. It is not the first time that the Munich-based photographer has impressed our judges: back in August, Tobias won the very first edition of Europe Through a Lens with an incongruous scene from the British summer. This time around, however, his photo was no lucky snapshot, but the result of a long time waiting around in the freezing cold for a car to go past and light up the road.