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© Marco Fieber

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“These are editors from to4ka-treff, a Russian-German youth network. The photos were taken within ten minutes on a staircase during a coffee break – we wanted to put faces next to the arcticles on the website. There were many people around, and we had little time. At the same time, it was a very relaxed atmosphere. I like spontaneous, simple or improvised shootings, that is how I take most of my pictures. I specialize in street and documentary photography.”

Marco Fieber, born 1985, studies political science and Caucasian in Jena. He works for print and online media. On his website unblogbar.org you can see photos from Chernobyl and Russian room parties.

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© Lucas Wahl

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„Saltu and his wife Parameswory became blind in their childhood. Parameswory’s mother tried to scratch an infection out of her eye using the prickly piece of a pumpkin skin when her eyeballs burst. Their parents set up an arranged marriage for both of them. They live in a squatter settlement in central Kathmandu, Nepal. Begging is their only income and is mostly done by Parameswory. She often carries her baby Manjila with her to gain more profit – less than a dollar a day. This money has to be enough to sustain the household.“

Lucas Wahl was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1984. He focuses on social issues and daily life stories that he photographs with his panoramic camera. Wahl is member of Kollektiv 25.

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© Pietro Masturzo, Elizabeth Kreutz, Adam Ferguson, Laura Pannack

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The jury of the World Press Photo Contest has selected a photo by the Italian photographer Pietro Masturzo as the World Press Photo of the Year 2009. The picture depicts women shouting in protest from a rooftop in Tehran. Jury chair Ayperi Karabuda Ecer said: „The photo shows the beginning of something, the beginning of a huge story. It adds perspectives to news. It touches you both visually and emotionally, and my heart went out to it immediately.“

The winning photograph is part of a story showing the nights following the contested presidential elections in Iran, when people shouted their dissent from roofs and balconies, after daytime protests in the streets. The story as a whole was awarded first prize in the category People in the News. The jury gave prizes in ten themed categories to 63 photographers of 23 nationalities from.

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© Andy Spyra

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„Although it was my first time in Palestine I immediately felt familar with the prevailing situation: Soldiers, weapons, checkpoints, raids, oppression, frustration and the invisible presence of this thin layer of fear that hovers over everday life of the palestinian people – all this led to the same feeling of helplessness as in Kashmir. But still, the Westbank is a visually and emotionally interesting place full of diversity and energy where history is still being written.“

Andy Spyra, born 1984, works as a freelance photographer. His Kashmir series „Valley of Tears“ has been awarded multiple prizes. Flare already published his Report from a crisis region: A bloody day in Kashmir and the interview „Mut, an die eigenen Geschichten zu glauben“ (in German language). Watch more pictures on andyspyra.com.