2014 World Press Photo Contest Winners

John Stanmeyer, a U.S. photographer working for the VII photo agency on assignment for National Geographic, won the World Press Photo of the Year with this picture of African migrants in Djibouti trying to receive a signal on their mobile phones. Jury member Jillian Edelstein said about the winning image: "It's a photo that is connected to so many other stories -- it opens up discussions about technology, globalization, migration, poverty, desperation, alienation, humanity."

Goran Tomasevic, a Serbian photographer working for Reuters, won first prize in the Spot News category with a series of pictures including this one, showing Syrian rebel fighters ducking flying debris and shrapnel after being hit by a tank shell in Damascus on January 13, 2013.

Julius Schrank, a German photographer working for De Volkskrant, won first prize in the Daily Life Single category with this picture of rebel fighters of the Kachin Independence Army in Burma singing at a funeral of one of their commanders.

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz, a U.S. photographer working for "Time," won first prize in the Contemporary Issues Stories category with a series showing an outburst of violence in a family in the state of Ohio.

Tyler Hicks, a U.S. photographer working for "The New York Times," won second prize in the Spot News Stories category with a series showing the attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 21, 2013.

William Daniels, a French photographer working for Panos Pictures on assignment for "Time," won second prize in the General News Stories category with a series showing demonstrators on the streets of Bangui, in the Central African Republic.

Alessandro Penso, an Italian photographer working for OnOff Picture, won first prize in the General News Single category with this picture of temporary accommodation for Syrian refugees in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Phillipe Lopez, a French photographer working for Agence France-Presse, won first prize in the Spot News Single category with a picture of survivors of typhoon Haiyan marching during a religious procession in Tolosa, Philippines, on November 18, 2013.

Brent Stirton, a South African photographer working for Reportage by Getty Images, won first prize in the People - Staged Portraits Single category with this picture of a group of blind albino boys in their boarding room at a mission school for the blind in West Bengal, India.

Denis Dailleux, a French photographer working for Agence Vu, won second prize in the People - Staged Portraits Stories category for a series including this one of Ali, a young Egyptian bodybuilder, posing with his mother in Cairo.

Markus Schreiber, a German photographer working for The Associated Press, won first prize in the People - Observed Portraits Single category with this picture of a woman reacting in disappointment after access to see former South Africa President Nelson Mandela was closed on the third and final day of his lying in state.

Carla Kogelman, a Dutch freelance photographer, won first prize in the People - Observed Portraits Stories category with a series including this photo of Hannah and Alena, two sisters living in the rural village of Merkenbrechts, Austria.

Fred Ramos, a Salvadoran photographer for "El Faro," won first prize in the Daily Life Stories category with a  series including this one showing the clothes of an unknown female found at a sugar plantation in Apopa, San Salvador.

Christopher Vanegas, a Mexican photographer working for La Vanguardia / El Guardian, won third prize in the Contemporary Issues Single category with this picture of police arriving at a crime scene where two bodies hang from a bridge and three more lie below in Saltillo, Mexico.

Jeff Pachoud of Agence France-Presse won first prize in the Sport Feature Single category with this shot of a dog sled race in Megeve, France.

Andrzej Grygiel, a Polish photographer working for PAP-Polska Agencja Prasowa, won second prize in the Sports Action Single categorywith this picture of a slalom skier in Szczyrk, Poland.

Peter Holgersson, a Swedish freelance photographer, won first prize in the Sports Feature Stories category with his series of pictures including this one of Nadja Casadei, an heptathlon athlete diagnosed with cancer.

Steve Winter, a U.S. photographer working for National Geographic, won first prize in the Nature Stories category with his series including this shot of a cougar walking a trail in Los Angeles' Griffith Park, captured by a camera trap.