On Friday, February 15, World Press Photo announced the winners of the 56th annual contest. The jury gave prizes in nine themed categories for what is considered one of the most prestigious photojournalism honors. CNN caught up with a few of the first place winners via e-mail to talk about their reactions and photographs.

On the other side of the mountains from the Russian town of Sochi, where the Olympic flame will be lighted next year, a war is being waged. From the Caucasus' impenetrable forests and mountains, Islamist rebels are engaged in a struggle for independence from Russia.

For more than a decade, images of war and death have filled most Americans’ minds when they think of Afghanistan. What is easily forgotten in times of war is the people. Daniel Berehulak gives a glimpse into daily life in the country’s capital of Kabul, as well the shifting security forces.

As a child in Japan, Hiroko Tanaka saw a television report on Vietnamese twins who were attached at the head at birth. The deformity was blamed on their parents’ exposure to the herbicide known as Agent Orange. As an adult she sought to explore the lasting effects of Agent Orange through photojournalism.

After realizing he was part of the last generation who could talk to Holocaust survivors, Maciek Nabrdalik embarked on a project to document their stories. His subjects, forgetting their pictures were being taken, would recall their time in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

American photographer Darcy Holdorf says aspiring actors in China’s booming film industry spend a majority of their time waiting for work. Based in Shanghai, she recently visited nearby Zhejiang province to look at the lives of extras working in one of the world’s largest film studios.

For the past several years, Spanish photographer Javier Arcenillas has worked in Latin America, documenting endemic violence there. In his latest work, he explores Honduras, which holds the ignominious title of having the world’s highest homicide rate.

Photographer Shiho Fukada has been covering the effects of Japan's economic crisis since 2009. She found that companies looking to cut costs have replaced full-time jobs with low-paid temp positions. As a result, people without enough money to pay rent in Tokyo are sleeping in Internet cafes.