Lucas Jackson: "I’d been in Iceland for a week when I took this shot. I’d been looking at some other shots and noticed faint traces of green, so I was hoping the northern lights might make an appearance. The lights themselves are just incredible. I mean, the picture’s nice, I did as good a job as I could, but I couldn’t actually tow all those lights right into the camera. It’s like being under huge curtains of light – great tendrils of light, snaking and moving around the sky. We were so happy to be there; when you’re a photographer it’s really rare to actually be exactly where you want to be to take the shot, and we were laughing about how crazy it all was. If the volcano hadn’t shut down the airports in Europe I’d never have been there – my usual beat is New York. It was kind of a dream assignment" Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters
Adrees Latif: "I’ve never seen anything like the desperation I saw during the weeks I was covering the floods. I’ve covered displacement in Pakistan before, but now everywhere you went dozens of people would rush around you, fighting over the rice, men slapping women and children to get the food away from them, people picking up grains of sugar from the ground and putting them straight into their mouths. This day we were hovering over a patch of ground about 115 metres square that was surrounded by water. I saw people come rushing towards the helicopter and jumped out to take the pictures from outside. The crewman was shouting down at me; he looked absolutely furious. I got the shots and then asked one of the villagers to give me a lift up; by this time all the rice had gone and the villagers were trying to climb on to the helicopter" Photograph: Adrees Latif/Reuters
Daniel Berehulak: "This waste site is one of the biggest in Delhi. It’s three-to-four kilometres square, with this landscape of rubbish mountains that changes every day as new rubbish comes in from the city. There are hundreds of men, women and children working there, foraging through the garbage and collecting whatever is valuable – and everything is valuable, from plastic to metal. The smell is incredible because in among it all is plant waste and animal entrails that have been thrown out. But after an hour there you can’t smell anything. My sense of smell didn’t come back for a couple of days afterwards. I noticed this girl quite early on – she was very striking in among it all. Sometimes you can get desensitised to what you’re seeing, but when you relate it back to your own life, when you think that person is the same age as my niece, then it can really hit you"
Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
Bryan Snyder: "I’d spent much of that day in a helicopter with members of the Alabama Army National Guard, flying over the coastline to assess the booms and other barriers protecting the shore from the gushing oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. I found the haybales intriguing; there had been so much money flying around, and so much talk about hi-tech ways of collecting the oil, so I liked the idea that some hay might do the job just as well. And when I saw those three ladies it made me laugh. Obviously they knew about the spill, but they were kind of thumbing their noses at it. They weren’t going to let it spoil a beautiful day. And those were some of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t argue with them, really" Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters
Cathal McNaughton: "I was doing a series of photos on Catholicism – it was during the abuse scandals and it felt as if every day you were seeing pictures of priests getting into police cars or coming out of court. I wanted to take photos that showed people taking part in the Catholic routines that happen every day in Ireland. A lot of these things are dying out so I wanted to capture them before they go. I knew there were some first communions at the church in Cushendall, the village where I live, and when I got there I spotted the twins immediately. I managed to get over and take a couple of pictures while they were still preoccupied with their crisps; children get photographed so much now, they’re far too camera aware. For me the picture is almost surreal, the mini wedding outfits and the fizzy drinks together" Photograph: Cathal McNaughton/Reuters
Stefan Wermuth: "This was during the election campaign; the Conservatives had been dominating the papers and I think Labour were desperate for some coverage, so they sent Peter Mandelson up the Blackpool Tower. I am not from the UK, and I must admit I found the ballroom very bizarre; it could have been another century. It was early afternoon, and there were lots of old people just dancing around. Mandelson came in followed by dozens of photographers and went up to this lady and took her into a dance; I’m not sure she really understood what was going on. And I have no idea why she was wearing a ballgown. All the photographers were in a huge pack: following Mandelson is always good, it’s like a show. What makes the picture for me is the expression on both their faces. It’s like something in a strange B movie" Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters
Dean Treml: "Cliff-diving started life as a sport in Hawaii and has spread all over the world.This photograph was taken during the 2010 Red Bull world series in Polignano a Mare, an amazing Italian village built into the cliff face. It isn’t a competitive dive; it was taken through a restaurant nearby, because I thought it captured that Italian feeling. The diver was up on the roof of the restaurant. He counted to three to let me know when he was going to jump and then he went for it. He’s in the middle of a turn here. In cliff-diving you always enter the water feetfirst. You can go headfirst if you want, but it’ll take a few years off your career"
Photograph: Dean Treaml/AFP/Getty Images
Patrick Baz: "I was embedded with Charlie Company during the surge on Marjah, clearing mines along the road. It was during a break when it went off, and all the soldiers I was with headed straight back. It was pitch black, I couldn’t see where I was stepping, and I knew I was in a minefield. I thought that was going to be my last night. There was this guy on the floor and they were waiting for the helicopter to come. I sat watching them but didn’t think I’d be able to get it because there wasn’t enough light. And then I was like, hang on, they’re always telling us that these new cameras have got really high sensitivity. Why don’t you try it? I was sitting on the ground, and rested the camera on the top of my Kevlar chest protector, and then held my breath and took the picture. When you’re in a conflict zone it’s better to work. That way you forget the fear"
Photograph: Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images
