Business News

A secretive border-crossing scene tops the World Press Photo Awards’ best images of 2015

“Hope for a New Life,” August 28, 2015. Röszke, Hungary.
“Hope for a New Life,” August 28, 2015. Röszke, Hungary.
Image: Warren Richardson/World Press Photo
By
Kate Groetzinger
We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Stories of pain, joy, and transformation have flooded the news in the past 12 months, and with them, a overload of images: scenes of tragedy in Paris, of citizens confronting police violence in the US, and of seemingly endless migration flows at Europe’s borders.

It’s hard to find new ways to show large-scale and widely-reported events. But the winners of the 2016 World Press Photo Foundation contest have done it: From a black and white shot of a child passed across barbed wire at the Hungarian-Serbian border, to a seeming still-life of murder in Honduras, these arresting images shed new light on the past year’s stories.

Awards were given in several categories, to both single images and series. See the winners below:

Spot News, first prize for single photos: ”Hope for a New Life”

“Hope for a New Life,” August 28, 2015. Röszke, Hungary. A man passes a baby through the fence at the Hungarian-Serbian border in Röszke, Hungary.
“Hope for a New Life,” August 28, 2015. Röszke, Hungary. A man passes a baby through the fence at the Hungarian-Serbian border in Röszke, Hungary.
Image: Warren Richardson/World Press Photo

Spot News, second prize for single photos: “March Against Terrorism in Paris”

“March Against Terrorism in Paris,” January 11, 2015. Paris, France. A demonstration that took place in Paris following the 2014 terror attack on satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
“March Against Terrorism in Paris,” January 11, 2015. Paris, France. A demonstration that took place in Paris following the 2014 terror attack on satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
Image: Corentin Fohlen/World Press Photo

Spot News, third prize for single photos:

“Gang-related Violence,” April 4, 2015. San Pedro Sula, Honduras. “Gang-related Violence” The body of a victim killed in gang-related violence in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. This was the fourth gang-related killing on the same street in one night.
“Gang-related Violence,” April 4, 2015. San Pedro Sula, Honduras. “Gang-related Violence” The body of a victim killed in gang-related violence in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. This was the fourth gang-related killing on the same street in one night.
Image: Niclas Hammarström/World Press Photo

General News, first prize for single photos: “IS Fighter Treated at Kurdish Hospital”

“IS Fighter Treated at Kurdish Hospital,” August 1, 2015. Hasaka, Syria. A doctor rubs ointment on the burns of Jacob, a 16-year-old Islamic State fighter, 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.
“IS Fighter Treated at Kurdish Hospital,” August 1, 2015. Hasaka, Syria. A doctor rubs ointment on the burns of Jacob, a 16-year-old Islamic State fighter, 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.
Image: Mauricio Lima/The New York Times/World Press Photo

General News, second prize for single photos: “Under the Cover of Darkness”

“Under the Cover of Darkness,” December 6, 2015. Lesbos, Greece. Refugees travel in darkness to avoid detection on Lesbos, an island in Greece.
“Under the Cover of Darkness,” December 6, 2015. Lesbos, Greece. Refugees travel in darkness to avoid detection on Lesbos, an island in Greece.
Image: Paul Hansen/Dagens Nyheter/World Photo Press

General News, third prize for single photos: “Tianjin Explosion”

“Tianjin Explosion,” August 15, 2015. Tianjin, China. An aerial view of the destruction after the explosion in Tianjin, China.
“Tianjin Explosion,” August 15, 2015. Tianjin, China. An aerial view of the destruction after the explosion in Tianjin, China.
Image: Chen Jie/World Photo Press

General News, first prize for stories: “Reporting Europe’s Refugee Crisis”

“Reporting Europe’s Refugee Crisis,” November 16, 2015. Refugees arrive at the village of Skala on Lesbos, Greece.
“Reporting Europe’s Refugee Crisis,” November 16, 2015. Refugees arrive at the village of Skala on Lesbos, Greece.
Image: Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times/World Press Photo

Contemporary Issues, first prize for single photos: “Haze in China”

“Haze in China” Tianjin, China. December 10, 2015. Tianjin shrouded in industrial haze.
“Haze in China” Tianjin, China. December 10, 2015. Tianjin shrouded in industrial haze.
Image: Tianjin Daily/Zhang Lei/World Press Photo Foundation

Contemporary Issues, second prize for single photos: ”The Forgotten Mountains of Sudan”

“The Forgotten Mountains of Sudan,” February 27, 2015. Darfur, Sudan. Adam Abdel, 7, who was severely burned after a bomb was dropped by a Sudanese government Antonov plane, sits next to his family home in Burgu, Central Darfur, Sudan.
“The Forgotten Mountains of Sudan,” February 27, 2015. Darfur, Sudan. Adam Abdel, 7, who was severely burned after a bomb was dropped by a Sudanese government Antonov plane, sits next to his family home in Burgu, Central Darfur, Sudan.
Image: Adriane Ohanesian/World Press Photo

Contemporary Issues, third prize for single photos: ”March Against Police Violence”

“March Against Police Violence,” Chicago, Illinois, United States. November 25, 2015. Lamon Reccord stares down a police sergeant during a protest following the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald by police in Chicago, Illinois.
“March Against Police Violence,” Chicago, Illinois, United States. November 25, 2015. Lamon Reccord stares down a police sergeant during a protest following the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald by police in Chicago, Illinois.
Image: John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/World Press Photo

Contemporary Issues, first prize for stories:“Talibes, Modern-day Slaves”

“Talibes, Modern-day Slaves,” May 18, 2015. Thies, Senegal. Abdoulaye, 15, is a talibe imprisoned in a room with security bars to keep him from running away. Talibes are 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.
“Talibes, Modern-day Slaves,” May 18, 2015. Thies, Senegal. Abdoulaye, 15, is a talibe imprisoned in a room with security bars to keep him from running away. Talibes are 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.
Image: Mário Cruz/World Press Photo

Daily Life, first prize for single photos: “China’s Coal Addiction”

“China’s Coal Addiction,” November 26, 2015. Shanxi, China. Chinese men pull a tricycle in a neighborhood next to a coal-fired power plant in Shanxi, China. A history of heavy dependence on burning coal for energy has made China the source of nearly a third of the world’s total carbon dioxide emissions.
“China’s Coal Addiction,” November 26, 2015. Shanxi, China. Chinese men pull a tricycle in a neighborhood next to a coal-fired power plant in Shanxi, China. A history of heavy dependence on burning coal for energy has made China the source of nearly a third of the world’s total carbon dioxide emissions.
Image: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images/World Press Photo

Daily Life, second prize for single photos: “Amazon’s Munduruku Tribe”

“Amazon’s Munduruku Tribe,” Itaituba, Brazil. February 10, 2015. Indigenous Munduruku children play in the Tapajos river in the tribal area of Sawre Muybu, Brazil. Brazil’s government plans to flood much of their land to build a $9.9 billion hydroelectric dam, the Sao Luiz do Tapajos, as part of a wider energy strategy across the Amazon rainforest.
“Amazon’s Munduruku Tribe,” Itaituba, Brazil. February 10, 2015. Indigenous Munduruku children play in the Tapajos river in the tribal area of Sawre Muybu, Brazil. Brazil’s government plans to flood much of their land to build a $9.9 billion hydroelectric dam, the Sao Luiz do Tapajos, as part of a wider energy strategy across the Amazon rainforest.
Image: Mauricio Lima/Al Jazeera America/World Press Photo

Daily Life, third prize for single photos: “Into the Light”

“Into the Light,” November 12, 2015. Babol, Mazandaran, Iran. Raheleh, who was born blind, puts her face to the sun behind a window in the morning.
“Into the Light,” November 12, 2015. Babol, Mazandaran, Iran. Raheleh, who was born blind, puts her face to the sun behind a window in the morning.
Image: Zohreh Saberi/Mehrnews Agency/World Press Photo

Daily Life, first prize for stories: ”An Antarctic Advantage”

“An Antarctic Advantage,” November 28, 2015. Fildes Bay, Antarctica. A Chilean scientist walks above the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity on the Bellingshausen Russian Antarctic base. Chilean, Chinese and Russian research teams in Antartica seek to explore commercial opportunities that will arise once the treaties protecting the continent for scientific purposes expire.
“An Antarctic Advantage,” November 28, 2015. Fildes Bay, Antarctica. A Chilean scientist walks above the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity on the Bellingshausen Russian Antarctic base. Chilean, Chinese and Russian research teams in Antartica seek to explore commercial opportunities that will arise once the treaties protecting the continent for scientific purposes expire.
Image: Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times/World Press Photo