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2019 World Press Photo of the Year Winners

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 winners for its 2019 Photo Contest and named John Moore’s ‘Crying Girl on the Border,’ seen in the next slide, as Photo of the Year and First Prize in the Spot News Single category.

‘The winning image shows Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez crying as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on 12 June 2018,’ says World Press Photo in its statement on the winning photo. ‘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.’

John Moore has photographed in 65 countries on six continents and is a senior staff photographer and special correspondent for Getty Images. Whitney C. Johnson, vice president, Visuals and Immersive Experiences, at National Geographic and 2019 Photo Contest jury chair had the following to say about the winning photograph:

The details in the picture are interesting. From the gloves that the border patrol officer is wearing to the fact that the shoelaces have been removed.

The winning photographs 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 winners: 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 entries with the exception of Long Term Projects, which is a series.

We’ve rounded up the single picture first, second and third prize winners 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.

2019 World Press Photo of the Year Winner

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 Contemporary Issues Single First Prize

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 Contemporary Issues Single Second Prize

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 Third Prize

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 Environment Single First Prize

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 Environment Single Second Prize

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 Third Prize

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 General News Single First Prize

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 Second Prize

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 General News Single Third Prize

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 Nature Single First Prize

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 Nature Single Second Prize

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 Third Prize

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 Portrait Single First Prize

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 Portrait Single Second Prize

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 Third Prize

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 Sports Single First Prize

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 Sports Single Second Prize

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 Third Prize

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 Spot News Single First Prize

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 Second Prize

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 Third Prize

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)