The Prestigious World Press Photo Finalists Are Out And They Are Breathtaking

Early each year, photographers submit their work to a slew of contests, but the most prestigious is the World Press Photo. Based in Amsterdam, the World Press Photo jury goes through thousands of images—almost 83,000 this year—to name the World Press Photo of the Year and recognize the best in different categories of photojournalism. It’s a long and sometimes grueling process. And no matter which photo is named Photo of the Year, vocal differences of opinions (if not outright controversy) in the photojournalism community often follow.

This year the jury named Australian photographer Warren Richardson‘s photo of a family crossing the Serbian-Hungarian border as the World Press Photo of the Year.

Below is a selection of winners in each of the categories. Congratulations to all the photographers.

World Press Photo of the Year and the first-place winner in the spot news, single-image category: A man passes a baby through the fence at the Serbia-Hungary border in Röszke, Hungary. Warren Richardson, World Press Photo

Spot news single image, second place: Demonstration against terrorism in Paris, after a series of five attacks occurred across the Île-de-France region, beginning at the headquarters for satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Corentin Fohlen/Divergence, World Press Photo

Spot news stories, first place: The aftermath of airstrikes in Syria Douma, a rebel-held city in a suburb of the capital Damascus, lies in the opposition bastion area of Eastern Ghouta and has been subject to massive regime aerial bombardment. The area has also been under a crippling government siege for nearly two years as part of a regime attempt to break the rebel’s hold in the region. Smoke rises from a building following reported shelling by Syrian government forces in Douma. Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP, World Press Photo

Spot news stories, second place: A wall of rock, snow, and debris slammed an Everest base camp in Nepal on April 25, 2015, killing at least 22 people and injuring many more. The avalanche was triggered by a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 8,000 people elsewhere in the country. Trekking guide Pasang Sherpa searches for survivors among flattened tents moments after the avalanche. Roberto Schmidt/AFP, World Press Photo

Spot new stories, third place: Syrians fleeing the war rush through broken-down border fences to enter Turkish territory illegally, near the Turkish border crossing at Akcakale in Sanliurfa province. Turkey said it was taking measures to limit the flow of Syrian refugees onto its territory after an influx of thousands more over the last days due to fighting between Kurds and jihadis. Under an “open-door” policy, Turkey has taken in 1.8 million refugees. Bulent Kilic/AFP, World Press Photo

General news single image, first place: A doctor rubs ointment on the burns of a 16-year-old Islamic State fighter named Jacob in front of a poster of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, at a Y.P.G. hospital compound on the outskirts of Hasaka, Syria. Mauricio Lima, World Press Photo

General news stories, first place: Refugees arrive by boat near the village of Skala on Lesbos, Greece. Sergey Ponomarev for the New York Times, World Press Photo

General news stories, second place: A Syrian girl cries at a makeshift hospital in the rebel-held area of Douma, Syria. Abd Doumany/AFP, World Press Photo

General news stories, third place: Nepalese villages watch a helicopter picking up a medical team and dropping aid at the edge of a makeshift landing zone in Gumda, Nepal. Daniel Berehulak, World Press Photo

Contemporary issues single image, first place: Tianjin, a city in northern China, is shrouded in haze. Zhang Lei, World Press Photo

Contemporary issues single image, second place: Adam Abdel, 7, was severely burned after a bomb was dropped by a Sudanese government Antonov plane next to his family home in Burgu, Central Darfur, Sudan. Adriane Ohanesian, World Press Photo

Contemporary issues single image, third place: Lamon Reccord stares down a police sergeant during a protest following the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald by the police in Chicago. John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune, World Press Photo

Contemporary issues stories, first place: A photo series portraying the plight of Talibes, boys who live at Islamic schools known as Daaras in Senegal. Under the pretext of receiving a Quranic education, they are forced to beg in the streets while their religious guardians, or Marabout, collect their daily earnings. They often live in squalor and are abused and beaten. Abdoulaye, 15, is a Talibe imprisoned in a room with security bars in Thies, Senegal, to keep him from running away. Mário Cruz, World Press Photo

Contemporary issues stories, second place: Migrants rescued off the Libyan coast gather on the deck of the Doctors Without Borders rescue ship and attend a service in Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea. Francesco Zizola/NOOR, World Press Photo

Contemporary issues stories, third place: Although they hadn’t planned it, Emily and Kate, who live in Maplewood, New Jersey, got pregnant within weeks of each other through artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, respectively. Their sons were born within four days of each other, and the couple embraced the challenge of raising the two babies at once. Sara Naomi Lewkowicz, World Press Photo

Sports single image, first place: The Czech Republic’s Ondrej Bank crashes during the downhill race of the Alpine Combined at the FIS World Championships in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Christian Walgram/GEPA Pictures, World Press Photo

Sports single image, second place: During the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2015 Mens Basketball Tournament game with Wichita State versus Indiana, Ron Baker shoots over Nick Zeisloft while Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Rashard Kelly battle for position at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated, World Press Photo

Sports single image, third place: Members of the Neptun Synchro synchronized swimming team perform during a Christmas show in Stockholm, Sweden. Jonas Lindkvist, World Press Photo

Sports stories, first place: Players of an amateur hockey team in provincial Russia rest in in the locker room at halftime. Vladmir Pesnya, World Press Photo

Sports stories, second place: The Gris-gris Wrestlers of Senegal performing rituals at a tournament. The events resemble a festival and  include dance performances, music, and wrestling shows. Christian Bobst, World Press Photo

Sports stories, third place: Erison Turay founded the Ebola Survivor’s Football Club to support survivors after 38 members of his family died. Tara Todras-Whitehill/Vignette Interactive, World Press Photo

Daily life single image, first place: Chinese men pull a tricycle in a neighborhood next to a coal-fired power plant in Shanxi, China. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images, World Press Photo

Daily life single image, second place: Indigenous Munduruku children play in the Tapajos river in the tribal area of Sawre Muybu, Itaituba, Brazil. Mauricio Lima, World Press Photo

Daily life single image, third place: Raheleh, who was born blind, stands behind the window in the morning in Babol, Mazandaran, Iran. She likes the warmth of the sunlight on her face. Zohreh Saberi/Mehrnews Agency, World Press Photo

Daily life stories, first place: Chilean, Chinese, and Russian research teams in Antarctica want to explore commercial opportunities that will arise once the treaties protecting the continent for scientific purposes expire. A priest looks on in the bell room, after a vigil at the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity in Fildes Bay, Antarctica. Daniel Berehulak, World Press Photo

Daily life stories, second place: Tibetan Buddhists take part in the annual Bliss Dharma Assembly in Sichuan province, China. The last of four annual assemblies, the weeklong annual gathering marks Buddha’s descent from the heavens. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images, World Press Photo

Daily life stories, third place: A group of friends from Alemão, a slum in Rio de Janeiro, formed a media collective called Papo Reto, or “straight talk.” Social media allow them to report stories from their community that are otherwise ignored by traditional media. In this photo, Papo Reto collective members meet at Complexo do Alemao near a cableway station. Sebastián Liste/NOOR, World Press Photo

People single image, first place: A child is covered with a raincoat while she waits in line to register at a refugee camp in Preševo, Serbia. Matic Zorman, World Press Photo

People single image, second place: A mine worker takes a smoke break before going back into the pit. Miners in Bani, Burkina Faso, face harsh conditions and exposure to toxic chemicals and heavy metals.  Matjaz Krivic, World Press Photo

People single image, third place: Portrait of a Syrian refugee family in a camp in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, on December, 15, 2015. The empty chair in the photograph represents a family member who has either died in the war or whose whereabouts are unknown. Dario Mitidieri, World Press Photo

People stories, second place: Young girls between the ages of 7 and 11 are chosen every year as “Maya” for the “Las Mayas,” a festival derived from pagan rites celebrating the arrival of spring, in the town of Colmenar Viejo, Spain. The girls are required to sit still for a couple of hours at a decorated altar. Daniel Ochoa de Olza, World Press Photo

Nature single image, first place: A massive “cloud tsunami” looms over Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, as a sunbather reads, oblivious to the approaching cloud. Roahn Kelly/News Corp Australia, World Press Photo

Nature single image, second place: Divers observe and surround a humpback whale and her newborn calf while they swim around Roca Partida in Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico. Anuar Patjane, World Press Photo

Nature single image, third place: This image taken in Colima, Mexico, shows the Colima Volcano during a powerful night explosion with lightning, ballistic projectiles, and incandescent rock falls. Sergio Tapiro, World Press Photo

Nature stories, first place: In this and other images, the lives of wild orangutans are brought to light. Threats to these orangutans range from fires and the illegal animal trade to loss of habitat due to deforestation. Many orphan orangutans end up at rehabilitation centers. A Bornean orangutan climbs over 30 meters up a tree in the rain forest of Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Tim Laman, World Press Photo

Nature stories, second place: This image was part of a series that portrays the armed groups that profit most from the illegal ivory trade and the people at the frontline of the war against them, as well as others affected. A Lord’s Resistance Army fighter holds two ivory tusks on Near, Sudan. Ivory is a means of financing the LRA and is used for both food and weapon supplies. Brent Stirton/Getty Images for National Geographic, World Press Photo

Nature stories, third place: Madagascar holds more than half the world’s chameleon species; however, as a result of deforestation and  habitat loss, 50 percent of the chameleon species is endangered. A Furcifer ambrensis female with an extendable tongue forages for insects in Montain d’Ambre, Madagascar. Christian Ziegler for National Geographic, World Press Photo

Long-term project, first place: This photo is part of a series portraying women who have been raped or sexually assaulted during their service with the US Armed Forces. Now, only 1 out of 10 reported sexual-violence cases goes to trial, and most military rape survivors are forced out of service. US Army Specialist Natasha Schuette, 21, was pressured not to report being assaulted by her drill sergeant during basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Though she was hazed by her assailant’s fellow drill instructors, she refused to back down, and Staff Sergeant Louis Corral is now serving four years in prison for assaulting her and four other female trainees. The US Army rewarded Natasha for her courage to report her assault, and the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Prevention office distributed a training video featuring her story. She is now stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. (See more here). Mary F. Calvert/ZUMA Press, World Press Photo

Long-term project, second place: A daughter photographed her own parents, who were in parallel treatment for stage-four cancer, side by side. The project looks at love, life, and living in the face of death. Howie and Laurel Borowick sit next to the bathroom telephone as they hear the most recent news from their oncologist. It was good scans for both of them, and their respective tumors are shrinking. Nancy Borowich, World Press Photo

Long-term project, third place: This photographer documented urban and rural North Korea, capturing the daily life of its citizens, military events, and ceremonies. Few outsiders have ever had a glimpse of the country. The photographer negotiated unprecedented access and took more than 40 trips to North Korea. A woman sits next to models of military weapons at a festival for the “Kimilsungia” and “Kimjongilia” flowers, named after the country’s late leaders, in Pyongyang. David Guttenfelder, World Press Photo