2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees
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Editors note: There are images in the above gallery that are considered graphic and explicit in nature. Keep this in mind while looking through the gallery.
World Press Photo has announced the nominees for its 2019 Photo Contest. The contest, which is in its 62nd year, celebrates the work of photojournalists around the world who have captured profound images that depict defining moments throughout the year.
78,801 photographs from 4,738 photographers were considered and the 43 nominees hail from 25 countries around the world.
The nominated photos fall under two headline awards: ‘World Press Photo of the Year’ and ‘World Press Photo Story of the Year,’ the latter of which showcases a series of images from a particular assignment or project from photojournalists around the world. There are eight additional categories, each of which has its own set of nominees: Contemporary Issues, Environment, General News, Long Term Projects, Nature, Portraits, Sports and Spot News. Each of these categories have the sub-categories of single picture entries and story entires with the exception of Long Term Projects, which is a series.
We’ve rounded up the single picture nominees for each category in the gallery above. Along with the image will be a caption and accompanying backstory provided by the photographers and edited for clarity and brevity by World Press Photo.
The winning photos and stories will be announced at the World Press Photo Award Show on April 11th in Amsterdam. All winners are chosen from an independent jury from a wide range of photo backgrounds.
2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees
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| Victims of an Alleged Gas Attack Receive Treatment in Eastern Ghouta | © Mohammed Badra, European Pressphoto Agency |
Victims of an Alleged Gas Attack Receive Treatment in Eastern Ghouta | © Mohammed Badra, European Pressphoto Agency
Caption: A man and a child receive treatment after the suspected gas attack on al-Shifunieh, 25 February 2018.
Story: By February 2018, the people of Eastern Ghouta, a suburban district outside Damascus and one of the last rebel enclaves in the ongoing Syrian conflict, had been under siege by government forces for five years. During the final offensive, Eastern Ghouta came under rocket fire and air bombardment, including at least one alleged gas attack—on the village of al-Shifunieh, on 25 February 2018. Figures are difficult to verify, but Médecins Sans Fronti?res (MSF) reported 4,829 wounded and 1,005 killed between 18 February and 3 March 2018, according to data from medical facilities they supported alone. MSF also reported 13 hospitals and clinics damaged or destroyed in just three days. Reports on the end of the siege in Eastern Ghouta are conflicting, though the Syrian army appear to have recaptured most of the south of the country by July. UNICEF reported the siege of Eastern Ghouta to have ended by late-March, with limited humanitarian access becoming available.
2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees
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| Almajiri Boy | © Marco Gualazzini, Contrasto |
Almajiri Boy | © Marco Gualazzini, Contrasto
Caption: An orphaned boy walks past a wall with drawings depicting rocket-propelled grenade launchers, in Bol, Chad.
Story: A humanitarian crisis is underway in the Chad Basin, caused by a complex combination of political conflict and environmental factors. Lake Chad—once one of Africa’s largest lakes and a lifeline to 40 million people—is experiencing massive desertification. As a result of unplanned irrigation, extended drought, deforestation and resource mismanagement, the size of the lake has decreased by 90 percent over the past 60 years. Traditional livelihoods such as fishing have withered, and water shortages are causing conflict between farmers and cattle herders. Jihadist group Boko Haram, which is active in the area, both benefits from the hardship and widespread hunger and contributes to it. The group uses local villages as a recruiting ground, and the protracted conflict has uprooted 2.5 million people, exacerbating food insecurity.
The Lake Chad Crisis was funded by InsideOver.
2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees
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| Being Pregnant After FARC Child-Bearing Ban | © Catalina Martin-Chico, Panos |
Being Pregnant After FARC Child-Bearing Ban | © Catalina Martin-Chico, Panos
Caption: Yorladis is pregnant for the sixth time, after five other pregnancies were terminated during her FARC years. She says she managed to hide the fifth pregnancy from her commander until the sixth month by wearing loose clothes.
Story: Since the signing of a peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC rebel movement in 2016, there has been a baby boom among former female guerillas. Pregnancy was thought incompatible with guerrilla life. Women were obliged to put war before children, leaving babies with relatives or, some say, undergoing forced abortions—a charge FARC denies.
2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees
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| The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images |
The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images
Caption: An unidentified man tries to hold back the press on 15 October, as Saudi investigators arrive at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, amid a growing international backlash to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Story: A critic of the Saudi regime, Khashoggi had been missing since entering the consulate on 2 October to obtain documents. After weeks of rumor and false information, Riyadh announced that Khashoggi had been killed accidentally during an altercation. Turkish authorities and the CIA claimed he had been murdered by Saudi intelligence operatives, working under high Saudi authority.
2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees
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| Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images |
Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images
Caption: Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez cries as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on 12 June.
Story: Immigrant families had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were then detained by US authorities. Sandra Sanchez said that she and her daughter had been traveling for a month through Central America and Mexico before reaching the US to seek asylum. The Trump Administration had announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy at the border under which immigrants caught entering the US could be criminally prosecuted. As a result, many apprehended parents were separated from their children, often sent to different detention facilities. After this picture was published worldwide, US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that Yanela and her mother had not been among the thousands who had been separated by US officials. Nevertheless, public outcry over the controversial practice resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy on 20 June.
2019 World Press Photo of the Year Nominees
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| Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images |
Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images
Caption: Petronella Chigumbura (30), a member of an all-female anti-poaching unit called Akashinga, participates in stealth and concealment training in the Phundundu Wildlife Park, Zimbabwe.
Story: Akashinga (‘The Brave Ones’) is a ranger force established as an alternative conservation model. It aims to work with, rather than against local populations, for the long-term benefits of their communities and the environment. Akashinga comprises women from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering them, offering jobs, and helping local people to benefit directly from the preservation of wildlife. Other strategies—such as using fees from trophy hunting to fund conservation—have been criticized for imposing solutions from the outside and excluding the needs of local people.
2019 World Press Photo Contemporary Issues Single Nominees
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| Afghan Refugees Waiting to Cross the Iranian Border | © Enayat Asadi |
Afghan Refugees Waiting to Cross the Iranian Border | © Enayat Asadi
Caption: An Afghan refugee comforts his companion while waiting for transport across the eastern border of Iran, on 27 July.
Story: UNHCR reports that Iran has almost one million registered refugees, the vast majority from Afghanistan. In addition, more than 1.5 million undocumented Afghans are estimated to be present in the country. Many people fleeing violence, insecurity and poverty in Afghanistan find no alternative but to use illegal traffickers, along routes where they are exposed to robbery, kidnapping and death. Their aim is to pass through Iran and Turkey or Greece to seek a better life elsewhere, but trafficked refugees are highly vulnerable to forced labor, debt bondage, forced marriage, or work in the sex trade.
2019 World Press Photo Contemporary Issues Single Nominees
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| Male Rape | © Mary F. Calvert |
Male Rape | © Mary F. Calvert
Caption: Former US marine Ethan Hanson bathes at home in Austin, Minnesota, USA, after a sexual trauma experienced during his military service left him unable to take showers.
Story: During a boot camp, Ethan and fellow recruits were ordered to walk naked through a communal shower while pressed together. Ethan reported the incident, but was harassed by the other men for doing so. Nightmares and panic attacks later forced him to resign. Recent Defense Department figures show sexual assault in the military to be on the increase. Servicemen are less likely than women to report sexual trauma, fearing retaliation or stigma.
2019 World Press Photo Contemporary Issues Single Nominees
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| The Cubanitas | © Diana Markosian, Magnum Photos |
The Cubanitas | © Diana Markosian, Magnum Photos
Caption: Pura rides around her neighborhood in a pink 1950s convertible, as the community gathers to celebrate her fifteenth birthday, in Havana, Cuba.
Story: A girl’s quinceañera (fifteenth birthday) is a Latino coming-of-age tradition marking transition into womanhood. It is a gender-specific rite of passage, traditionally showcasing a girl’s purity and readiness for marriage. Families go to great expense, often celebrating with a lavish party. The girl dresses as a princess, living out a fantasy and perceived idea of femininity. In Cuba, the tradition has transformed into a performance involving photo and video shoots, often documented in a photobook. Pura’s quinceañera had a special poignancy, as some years earlier, having been diagnosed with a brain tumor, she was told she would not live beyond the age of 13.
2019 World Press Photo Environment Single Nominees
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| Living Among What’s Left Behind | © Mário Cruz |
Living Among What’s Left Behind | © Mário Cruz
Caption: A child who collects recyclable material lies on a mattress surrounded by garbage floating on the Pasig River, in Manila, Philippines.
Story: The Pasig River was declared biologically dead in the 1990s, due to a combination of industrial pollution and waste being dumped by nearby communities living without adequate sanitation infrastructure. A 2017 report by Nature Communications cites the Pasig as one of 20 most polluted rivers in the world, with up to 63,700 tons of plastic deposited into the ocean each year. Considerable efforts are being made to clean up the Pasig, which were recognized by an international prize in 2018, but in some parts of the river the waste is still so dense that it is possible to walk on top of the garbage.
2019 World Press Photo Environment Single Nominees
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| Evacuated | © Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times |
Evacuated | © Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times
Caption: Evacuated horses stand tied to a pole, as smoke from a wildfire billows above them, on Zuma Beach, in Malibu, California, USA, on 10 November.
Story: The 2018 wildfire season in California was the deadliest and most destructive on record, burning an area of more than 676,000 hectares. While scientists pointed to the vegetation-drying effects of climate change as a cause, US President Donald Trump blamed forest management.
2019 World Press Photo Environment Single Nominees
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| Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images |
Akashinga – the Brave Ones | © Brent Stirton, Getty Images
Caption: Petronella Chigumbura (30), a member of an all-female anti-poaching unit called Akashinga, participates in stealth and concealment training in the Phundundu Wildlife Park, Zimbabwe.
Story: Akashinga (‘The Brave Ones’) is a ranger force established as an alternative conservation model. It aims to work with, rather than against local populations, for the long-term benefits of their communities and the environment. Akashinga comprises women from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering them, offering jobs, and helping local people to benefit directly from the preservation of wildlife. Other strategies—such as using fees from trophy hunting to fund conservation—have been criticized for imposing solutions from the outside and excluding the needs of local people.
2019 World Press Photo General News Single Nominees
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| The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images |
The Disappearance of Jamal Kashoggi | © Chris McGrath, Getty Images
Caption: An unidentified man tries to hold back the press on 15 October, as Saudi investigators arrive at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, amid a growing international backlash to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Story: A critic of the Saudi regime, Khashoggi had been missing since entering the consulate on 2 October to obtain documents. After weeks of rumor and false information, Riyadh announced that Khashoggi had been killed accidentally during an altercation. Turkish authorities and the CIA claimed he had been murdered by Saudi intelligence operatives, working under high Saudi authority.
2019 World Press Photo General News Single Nominees
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| Unilateral | © Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse |
Unilateral | © Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse
Caption: US President Donald Trump leads France’s President Emmanuel Macron by the hand while walking to the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington DC, on 24 April 2018.
Story: President Macron’s three-day visit to the United States was the first official state visit of the Trump administration. Unexpectedly, the two presidents’ body language went beyond the norm for such visits, bordering on the intimate. The leaders also praised each other effusively. The 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran was one of the main topics under discussion. Macron aimed to persuade Trump to adhere to the deal, which limited Iran’s nuclear program in return for a lifting of sanctions, but failed. On 8 May 2018, President Trump withdrew from the agreement, breaking with European allies. The relationship between the two leaders appears to have soured, with Trump later attacking Macron on Twitter.
2019 World Press Photo General News Single Nominees
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| Still Life Volcano | © Daniele Volpe |
Still Life Volcano | © Daniele Volpe
Caption: The living-room of an abandoned home in San Miguel Los Lotes, Guatemala, lies covered in ash after the eruption of Volcán de Fuego on 3 June 2018.
Story: Fuego, around 40 km southwest of the capital Guatemala City, is one of Latin America’s most active volcanoes, and has been erupting periodically since 2002. It is monitored by volcanologists, but this eruption came without warning. People living around the volcano, many at Sunday lunch, were surprised by the suddenness of the event, as Fuego spewed red-hot lava, ash, poisonous gases and flaming debris onto villages below. The eruption was one of the deadliest in Guatemala for over a century. Guatemala’s National Institute of Forensic Sciences reported the recovery of 318 bodies, over a third of them unidentified.
2019 World Press Photo Nature Single Nominees
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| Flamingo Socks | © Jasper Doest |
Flamingo Socks | © Jasper Doest
Caption: A Caribbean flamingo inspects the improvised socks created to help heal its severe foot lesions, at the Fundashon Dier en Onderwijs Cariben, Curaçao.
Story: The bird was brought by plane from neighboring island Bonaire, after spending a few weeks in a local rehabilitation facility. Such lesions are common among captive flamingos, as they have very sensitive feet and are used to walking on soft ground. After a few weeks of care the bird was transported back to Bonaire There are around 3,000 breeding pairs of Caribbean flamingos on Bonaire, and a further 200 to 300 birds on Curaçao.
2019 World Press Photo Nature Single Nominees
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| Glass Butterfly | © Angel Fitor |
Glass Butterfly | © Angel Fitor
Caption: A winged comb jelly, Leucothea multicornis, its wings widely opened, propels itself through waters off Alicante, Spain.
Story: Leucothea multicornis, like other comb jellies, is a voracious predator, capturing its prey using sticky cells rather than by stinging. Little is currently known about the biology of comb jellies. Because the creatures are so fragile and fold their wings in reaction to the slightest vibration, they are extremely difficult to study and to photograph.
2019 World Press Photo Nature Single Nominees
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| Survival Instinct | © Bence Máté |
Survival Instinct | © Bence Máté
Caption: Frogs with their legs severed and surrounded by frogspawn struggle to the surface, after being thrown back into the water in Covasna, Eastern Carpathians, Romania, in April 2018.
Story: Frogs legs are frequently harvested for food in the spring, when males and females gather to mate and spawn. Legs are sometimes severed while the animal is still living. Each year, about US$ 40 million worth are sold annually, with countries across the world participating in the trade.
2019 World Press Photo Portrait Single Nominees
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| Black Birds | © Heba Khamis |
Black Birds | © Heba Khamis
Caption: Jochen (71) and Mohamed (21; not his real name) sit in the Tiergarten, Berlin. Jochen fell in love after meeting Mohamed, then a sex worker in the park. They have been dating for 19 months.
Story: Prostitution between consenting adults is legal in Germany, and German aid charities have reported a marked increase in the number of young migrants turning to sex work. While they wait for their documents, refugees are not allowed to work legally or attend school. The German government prioritizes assistance to refugees from countries with an ongoing war; those seeking asylum from countries without war are placed in a second category, where papers take longer to complete. This lack of employment opportunity creates a severe lack of choice for many, with some young men becoming sex workers, sometimes to fund a heroin addiction. The Tiergarten, a large park in central Berlin, is a popular meeting spot for male sex workers and older clients. Mohamed now works in a gay bar, and is quitting heroin.
2019 World Press Photo Portrait Single Nominees
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| When I Was Ill | © Alyona Kochetkova |
When I Was Ill | © Alyona Kochetkova
Caption: Alyona Kochetkova sits at home, unable to face borscht (beet soup), her favorite food, during treatment for cancer.
Story: Alyona shot this self-portrait following surgery and chemotherapy, when, although she knew the vital importance of food, she struggled to eat. Taking photos was not only a way of sharing a difficult and personal story in the hope that it might support others with a cancer diagnosis, it was also a means of accepting her ordeal by doing what she loved.
2019 World Press Photo Portrait Single Nominees
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| Dakar Fashion | © Finbarr O’Reilly |
Dakar Fashion | © Finbarr O’Reilly
Caption: Diarra Ndiaye, Ndeye Fatou Mbaye and Mariz Sakho model outfits by designer Adama Paris, in the Medina neighborhood of the Senegalese capital, Dakar, as curious residents look on.
Story: Dakar is a growing hub of Franco-African fashion, and is home to Fashion Africa TV, the first station entirely dedicated to fashion on the continent. The annual Dakar Fashion Week includes an extravagant street show that is open to all and attended by thousands from all corners of the capital. Adama Paris (who has a namesake brand) is a driving force behind the fashion week, and much else on the design scene.
2019 World Press Photo Sports Single Nominees
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| Sunlight Serve | © David Gray, Reuters |
Sunlight Serve | © David Gray, Reuters
Caption: Naomi Osaka serves during her match against Simona Halep from Romania during the Australian Open tennis tournament, at Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne, Australia, on 22 January.
Story: Osaka, who was born to a Japanese mother and Haitian father is now based in Florida, USA, went on to win the tournament. In September, she won the US Open women’s singles, defeating Serena Williams. Over the course of 2018, Osaka rose from number 72 in world rankings to number one.
2019 World Press Photo Sports Single Nominees
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| Shields Strikes Back | © Terrell Groggins |
Shields Strikes Back | © Terrell Groggins
Caption: Olympic champion Claressa Shields (right) meets Hanna Gabriels in a boxing match at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan, USA, on 22 June.
Story: Shields suffered a second-round knock down by Gabriels—the first in her career—but went on to win the match by unanimous decision. Shields is the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing, and the first (male or female) to win a gold back-to-back in successive Olympic Games. She has had only one loss in her career, against British World Champion Savannah Marshal, in 2012.
2019 World Press Photo Sports Single Nominees
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| Boxing in Katanga | © John T. Pedersen |
Boxing in Katanga | © John T. Pedersen
Caption: Boxer Morin Ajambo (30) trains in Katanga, a large slum settlement in Kampala, Uganda, on 24 March.
Story: More than 20,000 people live in Katanga, crowded together and often in extreme poverty. The boxing club receives no outside funding. From these disadvantaged beginnings, Ajambo, a mother of seven, went on to box in the Ugandan women’s team. Men’s boxing has a long history in Uganda, bur women boxers are often frustrated by the few opportunities to compete at an international level.
2019 World Press Photo Spot News Single Nominees
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| Warning: the above image is graphic in nature. Click here to see the original photo. The Death of Michael Nadayo | © Ezra Acayan |
Warning: the above image is graphic in nature. Click here to see the original photo. The Death of Michael Nadayo | © Ezra Acayan
The Death of Michael Nadayo | © Ezra Acayan
Caption: The body of Michael Nadayao lies in the street after he was shot dead by unidentified men in front of mourners at a wake, in Quezon City, Philippines, on 31 August 2018.
Story: President Rodrigo Duterte began a concerted anti-drug offensive soon after taking office in June 2016, repeatedly ordering increased attacks against suspects. Amnesty International reports that this led to human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings by both civilians and police. A spokesman for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said the campaign had led to 5,050 deaths by December 2018, with Human Rights Watch citing over 12,000. In June, 38 UN member states called on President Duterte to end the killings and probe the causes of the drug war.
2019 World Press Photo Spot News Single Nominees
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| Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images |
Crying Girl on the Border | © John Moore, Getty Images
Caption: Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez cries as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on 12 June.
Story: Immigrant families had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were then detained by US authorities. Sandra Sanchez said that she and her daughter had been traveling for a month through Central America and Mexico before reaching the US to seek asylum. The Trump Administration had announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy at the border under which immigrants caught entering the US could be criminally prosecuted. As a result, many apprehended parents were separated from their children, often sent to different detention facilities. After this picture was published worldwide, US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that Yanela and her mother had not been among the thousands who had been separated by US officials. Nevertheless, public outcry over the controversial practice resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy on 20 June.
2019 World Press Photo Spot News Single Nominees
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| Climbing the Border Fence | © Pedro Pardo, Agence France-Presse |
Climbing the Border Fence | © Pedro Pardo, Agence France-Presse
Caption: Central American migrants climb the border fence between Mexico and the United States, near El Chaparral border crossing, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on 25 November 2018.
Story: Refugees who were part of a caravan that originated in Honduras in October 2018, began arriving at the border in November 2018 to find a backlog of some 3,000 people waiting to be processed into the United States, and a potential delay of months. This led to rising tensions, and to people breaking away from the caravan to attempt their own entry.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)