Mr. Schemidt noted that the judges make the decisions, not he, adding that “the work of my colleague Juan is excellent and he certainly is also deserving to be in first place.” When he took the photos he just saw it as “one more journey in all the work I did in Venezuela,” if anything.

“I work the same way anywhere in the world that I have to work but this is my country and I am shocked what Venezuela has become,” he said. “I have family and friends still in Venezuela struggling with the effects of the crisis.”

José Víctor Salazar Balza, the subject of Mr. Schemidt’s winning image, recovered from 1st and 2nd degree burns.

Mr. Schemidt’s image also took first place for Spot News/Singles, while Mr. Prickett took first place in the General News Stories category for photos of the battle for Mosul in Iraq made for The New York Times. Mr. Ferguson won first in the People/Stories category for his portraits of teenage girls enlisted as suicide bombers by Boko Haram in Nigeria.