As we suspected, it was a near impossible job deciding which photos were the best of the best from the lot of contenders you threw our way. Over 250 people entered the 2008 DCist Exposed contest and gave us 601 original images from which to choose. We mulled and pondered and tore our hair out a little bit, but please follow the jump (if you haven’t already) to find 47 incredible photos that we think capture Washington, D.C. and the surrounding region with an eye trained to find the rich culture too often hidden by the capital’s bureaucratic image.

Mark your calendars for the opening reception on March 7 at Civilian Art Projects in Penn Quarter. After we bring down the house on Friday, we’ll be following it up with to-be-announced event during the week to further celebrate both the winners and everyone who takes up a camera and contributes to DCist. If anyone would like to pre-game, please join us for a photographers meet-up this Sunday at 2 p.m. at Rocket Bar in Gallery Place, followed by a photowalk at 4 p.m.

Note to the winners: We’ll be contacting you later this evening with more details regarding the show, so please keep an eye out for that and read it carefully. Right now, please tag your entry “2008 DCist Exposed Winner,” become a member of our new Flickr pool and add your winning entry, so we can see your images all in one place and, more importantly, you can use the discussion board for the many questions that will crop up over the next month and a half.

We want to offer a hearty thank you to everyone who entered this year’s contest, and we look forward to seeing your photos in our regular pool in the future; our site wouldn’t be the same without you.

Congrats to all the winners — we can’t wait to see your work on the gallery wall!