Winners of Pictures of the Year International – The New York Times

Each year, the contest adds an “Impact” category about a major news topic. Last year’s was “Exodus,” based on the global refugee crisis. This year, the category was “The Islamic State Conflict” and first place was awarded to Alessio Romenzi.

Rick Shaw, the director of POYi, said the quality of work in that category showed that visual journalists “continue to put themselves in harm’s way and continue to shed light on the people who are affected by the conflict.”