“Issue of the Week”: War, Human Rights, Environment, Economic Opportunity, Hunger, Disease, Population, Personal Growth
The Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere is here again.
Never a moment yet, arguably, more fraught with dread for life on the planet.
We’ve used the metaphor often, on the razor’s edge between light and dark.
The New York Times posted its 2023 year in pictures, with commentary, yesterday.
No one does the year in pictures like the Times. It’s been a mainstay from us for years. So here it is:
“A Weary World”
BY MARC LACEY
This past year saw plenty of suffering before the morning of Oct. 7.
The war in Ukraine continued to rage. A wildfire tore through a historic town in Hawaii, and the earth shook violently in Turkey. Mass shootings took life after life.
Then, on Oct. 7, Hamas gunmen stormed across the border of Gaza into Israel. And Israel struck back with force across Gaza. The suffering across the world seemed as if it would never end.
Every year, our photo editors try to capture the best photojournalism in one intense presentation. The Year in Pictures is a way to commemorate the big news events from January to December: the ones that traumatized us — and there are many of those — mixed in with some moments of bliss.Read More
2023
JANUARY
KYIV, UKRAINE, JAN. 13.Carolers from a neighborhood group called Susidska Slobidka celebrating the New Year in accordance with the Julian calendar. Ukrainians made a point of widely adopting ancient holiday traditions as the war raged around them.Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times
WASHINGTON, JAN. 7.Representative Kevin McCarthy, right, confronted Representative Matt Gaetz, who had just voted “present,” sinking Mr. McCarthy’s 14th attempt to become the House speaker. He triumphed on the next vote, ending the most protracted election for the speakership since 1859.Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
“I was keeping my eye on both Matt Gaetz and Kevin McCarthy, should there be any interactions between them. And sure enough, after a round of votes, the two met up. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but the body gestures looked confrontational. It definitely was a moment of foreshadowing.” —Haiyun Jiang
DNIPRO, UKRAINE, JAN. 14.A Russian strike tore through this nine-story apartment building, killing at least 46 people and trapping dozens. A fire burned in the aftermath, and much of the block was reduced to rubble.Nicole Tung for The New York Times
“The missile hit on a Saturday afternoon. Children were playing in the park in the courtyard, people had been out shopping and were returning home. Over the next few days, volunteers set up camp to assist emergency services in that same courtyard, the playground now filled with aid and the recovered belongings of families who survived.” —Nicole Tung
DNIPRO, UKRAINE, JAN. 18.Olha Afanasieva, 49, recovering in the hospital after sustaining serious injuries in a Russian strike on her apartment building. She and her husband were sitting at their kitchen table when the missile hit.Lynsey Addario for The New York Times
“I was looking at her from the right-hand side and I was trying to photograph her eyes and the injuries, and it wasn’t coming together. Suddenly she turned and the other side of her face was a patchwork. It just spoke to me, and symbolized all of these lives and faces, and everything that has been torn in the country.” —Lynsey Addario
MADISON, WIS., JAN. 22.On the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that was overturned in 2022, abortion-rights supporters crowded into the rotunda at the Wisconsin State Capitol during the marquee event of the annual Women’s March. Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times
ALHAMBRA, CALIF., JAN. 27.Pricilla Wong at the Joslyn Adult Recreation Center, with flowers she bought in memory of Diana Man Ling Tom, one of the 11 people who were killed after a gunman opened fire at two ballroom studios in this Asian American enclave.Li Qiang for The New York Times
“Pricilla and Diana shared a close friendship, and had danced together at the center earlier on the day of the shooting. When Pricilla learned of the tragedy, her heart was shattered. The scene captured is deeply poignant. As nostalgic music began playing, the elder dancers, for the first time since the tragedy, resumed dancing. This moment reflected their resilience.” —Li Qiang
SACRAMENTO, JAN. 9.Lloyd Robertson at a homeless encampment threatened by rising waters and falling trees along the American River. Fierce storms put many of California’s 170,000 homeless people at risk. Max Whittaker for The New York Times
REDCREST, CALIF., JAN. 13.The Avenue of the Giants, which runs through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, was closed because of flooding. An unrelenting series of pounding storms left no part of the state untouched.Alexandra Hootnick for The New York Times
“This was during a break in the storm. There was an eerie sense, but also a peaceful sense and a powerful sense. I kept thinking about how small and fragile we are as humans. Some of the old-growth redwoods are 1,000 years old. These trees have lived through so much.”—Alexandra Hootnick
POKHARA, NEPAL, JAN. 16.Emergency workers pulled a body from the wreckage of a plane crash that killed at least 69. The country has had several crashes in recent decades, attributed in part to difficult terrain, inadequate regulation and aging fleets.Prakash Mathema/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
FEBRUARY
EAST PALESTINE, OHIO, FEB. 6.A plume of smoke rose from a derailed train carrying toxic chemicals. Residents were ordered to evacuate amid a controlled burn of the chemicals, which the authorities said were at risk of exploding.Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
NEAR LVIV, UKRAINE, FEB. 6.Russian prisoners of war at a detention camp where many captured enemy soldiers were sent. Some would be returned to Russia in prisoner exchanges. Nicole Tung for The New York Times
WARSAW, FEB. 21.President Biden speaking just before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Our support for Ukraine will not waver, NATO will not be divided and we will not tire,” he said.Doug Mills/The New York Times
“When I saw he was giving a speech behind bulletproof glass my adrenaline went down, because it’s hard to shoot through glass. I finally found this one spot on the side. Then I realized I could go up an inch and get the double reflection. We always talk about Washington being a game of inches for photographers.” —Doug Mills
EASTERN UKRAINE, FEB. 25.A helicopter from the 18th Sikorsky Brigade deployed countermeasure flares after firing rockets during a combat mission. One year into the war, against all odds, Ukraine’s helicopter brigades were still operational.Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times
“I stood in a snow-covered field as the brigade prepared for battle. The air was thick with anticipation. This photograph, taken by a remote camera on board, captures a poignant moment at the heart of the conflict, encapsulating the unwavering courage and determination of these soldiers. Despite a year of relentless warfare, these helicopters, though technologically aged, remain a steadfast force.”—Daniel Berehulak
QUINAMAYÓ, COLOMBIA, FEB. 18.Girls playing the role of angels waited to join a Christmas procession. For nearly 200 years, this city’s Afro-Colombian residents have celebrated Christmas 40 days after the traditional date, a custom that dates back to the era of slavery.Jaír Coll for The New York Times
MANHATTAN, FEB. 25.Facing off in a battle rap tournament. The battles have a simple structure: three rounds in which two M.C.s try to out-rap each other with a cappella verses crafted specifically for the opponent.Christopher Lee for The New York Times
“This was kind of the moment where we were seeing the pinnacle of what battle rapping can get you to. People would react to a barb or insult that really hit and the whole place would go wild, but if an insult didn’t land people would boo and laugh. And each of the rappers would feed off that energy.” —Christopher Lee
OUTSIDE PAGE, ARIZ., FEB. 5.A boat launch ramp that no longer reaches the water at Lake Powell. Overuse of water and a 23-year drought made worse by climate change threatened to provoke a water and power catastrophe across the West.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
KAHRAMANMARAS, TURKEY, FEB. 7.A 3-year-old girl was rescued from the rubble of a building destroyed by a devastating quake. All told, the temblor and aftershocks killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria.Emin Ozmen for The New York Times
“I was shocked by the scale of the destruction. There were many people looking for their loved ones in the destroyed buildings. I saw that a group of rescuers were working on this collapsed building. After about an hour, they found a child under the rubble. She was alive and the rescuers were shouting, they were so happy and relieved.” —Emin Ozmen
ANTAKYA CITY, TURKEY, FEB. 9.A displaced woman rested under an olive tree on a hillside in the ancient capital of Hatay Province, the region hit hardest by the worst earthquake in the country in nearly a century. Emily Garthwaite for The New York Times
“This scene is in Turkey but it’s a Syrian family. There was anger at the Syrian diaspora — people were saying not to give away tents to them but to save them for Turkish families. The blanket laid beneath this olive tree is where the women had been praying. It was a point of peace and reflection.” —Emily Garthwaite
MARCH
ANTAKYA, TURKEY, MARCH 3.The ruins of an apartment complex, called Guclu Bahce, which collapsed during a 7.8-magnitude earthquake. The developers had boasted that the complex, which failed its final inspection, offered unparalleled safety.Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
NASHVILLE, MARCH 27.A child wept aboard a bus leaving the Covenant School after a heavily armed assailant opened fire there, killing three children and three staff members. The assailant, who was killed by the police, had once attended the school.Nicole Hester/The Tennessean, via Reuters
“I didn’t look at the photographs at first. It wasn’t until I was filing that I saw this. I gasped and had to take a minute. It was hard for me to look at. I was covering the aftermath of the shooting while this image was already in my head. And it stayed there, and she’s been in my head since.”—Nicole Hester
KOLKATA, INDIA, MARCH 20.Mary Mondal, 23, with her mother. Ms. Mondal’s parents had no education, but she went to college and now works for an Indian technology giant. Only 23 percent of Indian women are in the labor force.Atul Loke for The New York Times
KYIV, UKRAINE, MARCH 7.Taras Haidukevych, 4, described nightmares in which Russian tanks would roll up to his house and open fire, burying his mother in debris. For many in Ukraine, even dreams offered no haven as the war dragged on.Emile Ducke for The New York Times
“Taras and his mother were in the basement of their home where they had sheltered from an air raid earlier that morning. It was sad to see how a year into the war, it was always present, both during the daytime in the form of air raid alarms, but also in their dreams at night.” —Emile Ducke
BAKHMUT, UKRAINE, MARCH 17.Medics helping a Ukrainian soldier who was injured by shrapnel on the front line. The fight for the city, which Russia later captured, was one of the deadliest clashes in the war.Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
ROLLING FORK, MISS., MARCH 27.Cody Sellars surveying the damage from a tornado. This small town was nearly obliterated by the storm system, which scraped a trail of destruction across Mississippi and Alabama, killing at least 26.Brad J. Vest for The New York Times
“I had seen this house multiple times while I was photographing around town. It was as though it had been directly cut in half. Cody was the friend of the person who owned it. In this photo he was taking a smoke break in what used to be a living room, or maybe it was a bedroom. It was surreal.” —Brad J. Vest
DAKAR, SENEGAL, MARCH 19.Frolicking on Yoff Beach. More than a third of the world’s young people will live in Africa by 2050. The implications of this “youthquake,” as some call it, are immense yet uncertain.Hannah Reyes Morales for The New York Times
“I spent time with communities of young people, talking to them about their hopes, as well as the challenges for their future. I wanted to understand how they saw themselves. Among the most exciting things for me was portraying the sea change that they are bringing about. This is a population that is changing the world.” —Hannah Reyes Morales
APRIL
ZARIA, NIGERIA, APRIL 27.Young women took part in a program for adolescent mothers at the Center for Girls Education, an American-funded program that has helped as many as 70,000 girls to stay in school, and ultimately to have smaller families.Hannah Reyes Morales for The New York Times
NASHVILLE, APRIL 6.State Representatives Justin Jones, left, and Justin J. Pearson, both Democrats, after they were reinstated to their seats in the legislature. Republicans had expelled them for leading a gun control protest on the House floor.Jon Cherry for The New York Times
DETROIT, APRIL 23.A scene from the Cotillion Society of Detroit Educational Foundation’s annual ball, which continues the legacy of Black debutantes in the city. It is a culmination of eight months of etiquette lessons, leadership workshops, community service projects and cultural events.Miranda Barnes for The New York Times
“I’ve been fond of coming-of-age gatherings, especially within Black spaces. A majority of the girls have had a mother or older sister do this, or some connection to it. It’s a passing down of ritual. The event goes on all night. At the end, everyone was racing to get out of their dresses and have fun with their friends.” —Miranda Barnes
TORONTO, APRIL 25.Striker the Samoyed, a fan favorite who retired after the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 2022.May Truong for The New York Times
“Striker was the goofiest dog. His tongue was constantly out of his mouth. I was trying so hard to get him to sit and not have his tongue sticking out, and it was just impossible. Finally, I decided I was just going to lean into this. This tongue is the main focus of his entire being.” —May Truong
MANHATTAN, APRIL 4.Former President Donald J. Trump arriving at Manhattan Criminal Court, where he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts stemming from what prosecutors said was a hush-money deal with a porn star.Dave Sanders for The New York Times
MANHATTAN, APRIL 4. Representative George Santos, Republican of New York, supported Mr. Trump in a protest outside the courthouse. Months later, Mr. Santos faced his own legal woes, accused of spending campaign funds on luxury goods, casino trips and Botox.Mark Peterson for The New York Times
BROOKLYN, APRIL 21.Bangladeshi men filled nearly a whole block of McDonald Avenue during Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan. This part of the Kensington neighborhood, where Bengali is more common than English, has officially been given the name Little Bangladesh.Jonah Markowitz for The New York Times
“By the time I made this image, I had been working with the community there for nearly two years. I had heard that Bangladeshis from all over New York City come to the intersection for Eid prayer. The tradition had grown so large that they now had to shut down McDonald Avenue to accommodate the crowds.” —Jonah Markowitz
MOSCOW, APRIL 18.Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested in Russia on suspicion of espionage, appearing in court. From inside a glass defendant’s cage, he declared his innocence.Maxim Shipenkov/EPA, via Shutterstock
MIDLAND, TEXAS, APRIL 22.A group of chambelanes before a quinceañera. The nation’s second most populous state has long been defined by demographic change, particularly its growing Hispanic population.Desiree Rios/The New York Times
UVALDE, TEXAS, APRIL 19.Caitlyne Gonzales, 11, dancing to Taylor Swift songs at the grave of her friend Jackie Cazares, who was one of the 19 students killed last year in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times
“Caitlyne did what she would have done with Jackie if she were alive, scrolling through TikToks and dancing. I was struck by how normal this seemed for her. As she danced, I couldn’t help but see a child trying to hang on to her innocence. I saw a kid trying to be a kid against the brutal backdrop of American reality.” —Tamir Kalifa
MAY
EL PASO, MAY 10.Hundreds of migrants at a makeshift camp waited to be processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection during a wind storm on the eve of the expiration of a pandemic-era expulsion policy known as Title 42. Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The New York Times
“I was taking photos from across the Rio Grande at ground level. We had been out there for about three hours. I said what photographers often say: ‘One more photo.’ This one frame was so different — dark, ugly yellow lights and dusty.”—Ivan Pierre Aguirre
YUMA, ARIZ., MAY 10.Janine, 4, and her father, Javier, waiting to be processed by the Border Patrol. Before arriving at the southern border, they were kidnapped, along with about 130 other migrants, and held captive for five days in Mexico.Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times
FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE, MAY 17.A tender moment at a community center run by the Dignity Association, a local L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy group. The country is one of more than 30 African nations — over half the continent — that criminalize same-sex relations.Malin Fezehai for The New York Times
MOSCOW, MAY 21.Children in front of a bust of Stalin. The Soviet past is ever-present in the country, whose president, Vladimir V. Putin, has largely rehabilitated Stalin’s reputation.Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times
“Families visited Lenin’s Mausoleum, and passed by the graves of Soviet leaders. Children and adults streamed past in droves, but everyone stopped to take photos only in front of Stalin’s grave. One child asked: ‘Why are there so many flowers on Stalin’s grave and not on the others?’ To which a boy replied: ‘Because Stalin was the greatest.’”—Nanna Heitmann
BAKHMUT, UKRAINE, MAY 19.The smoldering remains of Bakhmut, just days before Russia claimed victory there. It took the Kremlin almost a year and cost the lives of thousands of soldiers to capture the city.Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
“Despite having seen military photographs of the devastation of Bakhmut, to actually be in control of a drone and fly up to the edge of the city and see it, live, really solidified in my mind how much the city had been destroyed and how many lives had been lost in the process. It was personally quite shocking.” —Tyler Hicks
SYNYAK, UKRAINE, MAY 15.Mourners at the funeral of Dmytro Konobas, a Ukrainian soldier who was killed while fighting in the Luhansk region.Nicole Tung for The New York Times
LOS ANGELES, MAY 2.Members of the Writers Guild of America on the first day of a strike in which screenwriters demanded increased streaming residuals and protections against the threat of artificial intelligence. The 148-day strike contributed to a shutdown of TV and film production.Mark Abramson for The New York Times
LONDON, MAY 6.King Charles III on the day of his coronation. He became Britain’s first new monarch in over 70 years during an ancient ceremony that incorporated some modern touches. “I come not to be served, but to serve,” he said.Andrew Testa for The New York Times
CHOCTAW, OKLA., MAY 29.Ann Brown, left, soothed her daughter, Shawn Armstrong, who had recently tried to hang herself after learning that her son, Josh Askins, an addict, had been arrested and charged with murder in the fentanyl death of a friend.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
“Shawn said she had trouble sleeping since her son was arrested and what really soothed her was having her mom rub her arm until she fell asleep. We as photographers come in during some of the worst moments of people’s lives and ask them to share it with us. It’s a gift and I do not take it for granted.” —Erin Schaff
MANHATTAN, MAY 17.The conductor Gustavo Dudamel leading the New York Philharmonic in a rehearsal of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. He had recently been named the Philharmonic’s next music director, starting in 2026.James Estrin/The New York Times
JUNE
BLAHODATNE, UKRAINE, JUNE 15.Ukrainian soldiers rested inside a destroyed building on the outskirts of this newly liberated but desolate village, one of seven that Ukraine said it had retaken during the first week and a half of a counteroffensive against Russia.David Guttenfelder for The New York Times
“This was a quiet moment for these soldiers who had been through hell, surrounded by destruction. What you can’t see is how loud it was outside, with shrieking low-flying aircraft and outgoing fire. It was interesting — the contrast with this restful moment of having liberated the nearby town and having survived, and sitting in what’s left of this staging area.” —David Guttenfelder
KYIV, UKRAINE, JUNE 1.Young patients of Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital, their faces painted, gathered in the shelter of the hospital complex. At this point in the war, according to the United Nations, at least 535 children had been killed and 1,000 others injured.Nicole Tung for The New York Times
“The girls were getting their faces painted as part of the International Children’s Day event the hospital staff organized. Kyiv had endured days of Russian attacks on the city. The staff hoped to put smiles on their current and former patients’ faces by organizing music, games and mascots to come in to entertain the children.” —Nicole Tung
KHERSON, UKRAINE, JUNE 7.A flooded neighborhood after Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam. The disaster displaced thousands of people from one of the world’s largest reservoirs, which was vital for irrigating farmland considered the breadbasket of Europe.Mauricio Lima for The New York Times
BROOKLYN, JUNE 7.For days, the Brooklyn Bridge, along with much of the Midwest and East Coast, was shrouded in reddish haze from wildfires in Quebec and Ontario. New York experienced its worst air quality on record. Dave Sanders for The New York Times
EAGLE PASS, TEXAS, JUNE 26.William Dorsey, a firefighter and emergency medical technician, lifting a migrant woman with heat exhaustion onto a stretcher as a scorching early-summer heat wave brought record-breaking temperatures to the South.Kaylee Greenlee Beal/Reuters
“I wanted to show how serious the heat in Texas is and how it’s really affecting people — that it’s more than just kids on a summer day in the water, trying to stay cool. That ends up looking fun. The woman had been vomiting and had a fever. I hadn’t ever seen someone suffering from that before. It was really concerning.” —Kaylee Greenlee Beal
QUEENS, JUNE 21.Dead & Company fans at Citi Field during the final tour of one of rock’s beloved acts. This permutation of the Grateful Dead included three of the Dead’s original members and featured the singer-songwriter John Mayer.Peter Fisher for The New York Times
“This was a dream assignment for me as a Deadhead. What’s really cool about this scene is it’s timeless. You look at this photo and you’re like, Dude, what time period is this? You lose yourself in the music and you have these little moments in these big chaotic spaces where you feel like the band is playing to you.” —Peter Fisher
MANHATTAN, JUNE 27.Yusef Salaam on the night of the Democratic primary for a Harlem City Council seat. Mr. Salaam, whose wrongful conviction in the Central Park Five rape case was overturned, won the race and ran unopposed in the general election.Jeenah Moon for The New York Times
JULY
ELMWOOD, WIS., JULY 30.Participants gathered before the parade for U.F.O. Days, an annual three-day festival inspired by a local legend that holds that the town is a favorite visiting place of extraterrestrials.Erinn Springer for The New York Times
“These were locally elected royalty — teens from the town. I loved the dynamic between the classic Americana float presentation and their U.F.O. costuming. It was this really understated sense of humor in the moment. You almost miss it if you’re not paying attention.” —Erinn Springer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., JULY 30.Fans dressed in their “Renaissance” best, right down to the manicure, for Beyoncé’s two performances at MetLife Stadium. The singer’s tour became a cultural movement, and generated an estimated $4.5 billion for the American economy.Amir Hamja/The New York Times
SALEM, N.M., JULY 18.Amid a record-breaking heatwave, farmworkers harvested onions in the dark, hours before sunrise, when the labor of picking them would become too intense.Paul Ratje for The New York Times
“This was taken at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. They are not uncomfortable working at that time of day; it’s really not that hot at that hour. It’s just a matter of the scheduling problems. People’s lives are turned upside down so they can work.”—Paul Ratje
MIDDLEBURY, VT., JULY 14. Lauren Rowley and her daughter Ursula, 2, next to Otter Creek, swollen amid devastating flooding in the state. A two-day storm brought as much as eight inches of rain to some areas. Hilary Swift for The New York Times
WASHINGTON, JULY 11.Senator Dianne Feinstein of California using a wheelchair at the Capitol, soon after returning to the Senate after an absence during which she was treated for shingles. Ms. Feinstein, the oldest sitting senator, died two months later at 90.Kenny Holston/The New York Times
CHANTILLY, FRANCE, JULY 5.A parade of ethereal Valentino gowns at sunset against the backdrop of the Château de Chantilly, a palatial 16th-century property, during the designer’s fall Paris Couture Week show.Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
“From the runway, you could see where the sun was falling. Thank God everyone got there on time so we didn’t miss the light. The whole time I was shooting the show I was entranced by the setting and these beautiful pieces coming down the runway, and was thinking to myself just how phenomenal the whole experience was.” —Simbarashe Cha
TEL AVIV, JULY 24.Demonstrators blocked traffic on a highway during a protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the country’s judicial system and limit the authority of the courts.Oded Balilty/Associated Press
OUTSIDE MAKARIVKA, UKRAINE, JULY 26.The body of a Russian soldier in the Zaporizhzhia region, where Ukraine was waging a counteroffensive. In two months, Ukrainian troops had advanced less than 10 miles at any point along the region’s 100-mile front.Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
“I saw what I originally thought was just a uniform that had been discarded on the road, but on closer inspection I realized it was a body. There had been no effort made to move the body. He’d been run over so many times that he became impacted to the point that the body had become part of the road.” —Tyler Hicks
AUGUST
ACANDÍ, COLOMBIA, AUG. 2.Thousands of migrants were led by a guide through a river in the Darién Gap, the only land route to the United States from South America. Local politicians and entrepreneurs have turned the migration rush into a profitable industry.Federico Rios for The New York Times
“What we saw was massive. Like, biblical. You never expect that amount of people fleeing a country, risking their lives, going into a jungle. They don’t even know they’re going to come out of there alive. Each one of them is carrying the engine of hope of making it to the United States and the chance of a new life.” —Federico Rios
MANHATTAN, AUG. 22.Yusmary Sanchez, originally from Venezuela, and her daughter arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal on a bus from Brownsville, Texas. The state has sent over 50,000 migrants to cities across the country, helping to provoke a shelter crisis.Todd Heisler/The New York Times
NEW YORK HARBOR, AUG. 16.Migrants from Afghanistan passing the Statue of Liberty en route to Ellis Island to fill out asylum applications. Arezo Mohammadi, at rear in a white head scarf, texted her sister, “She’s very big, you can see her, she’s incredible.”Todd Heisler/The New York Times
“People were excited. They were dressed up, and it felt optimistic. In doing stories on migration we usually catch people in the middle of their journey or right when they get off the bus, and they’re tired and probably scared and have been through a lot. So it was nice to catch people at a different point in their journey.” —Todd Heisler
LAHAINA, HAWAII, AUG. 11.One home stood untouched by flames in a neighborhood razed by the brutal wildfires that tore across Maui, killing at least 100 people.Max Whittaker for The New York Times
“I was in a helicopter, and I was struck by the one surviving home amid the devastation. It had a metal roof. I know from covering other wildfire aftermaths that metal roofs make such a difference. Embers just slide right off them. Fifteen years ago, fires were all deep in the woods or mountains, but increasingly they are in communities.” —Max Whittaker
QUEENS, AUG. 11.During a performance of Merce Cunningham’s “Beach Birds” on Rockaway Beach, dancers with outstretched arms skimmed across the sand like gliding birds, soundless against the pressing wind.Amir Hamja/The New York Times
MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF., AUG. 3.Gabbi Jones, who had traveled from Michigan with her mother, before seeing Taylor Swift perform in Los Angeles on her 13th birthday. The pop star’s Eras Tour became a cultural phenomenon.Maggie Shannon for The New York Times
“I was at the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach, which was doing Taylor Swift events. I met Gabbi there; I was just drawn to her. She had on a really cute outfit. I asked her what she’d feel like when she saw Taylor for the first time, and her face just lit up with this big smile.” —Maggie Shannon
ATLANTA, AUGUST. Police photographs, clockwise from top left, of: Rudolph W. Giuliani, former President Donald J. Trump, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Mark Meadows, all of whom were facing charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election.Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
PORTLAND, ORE., AUG. 12.Michael Bock, a private security guard, saving a man who had overdosed. As cities face soaring rates of homelessness, drug overdoses, violent crime and psychosis, private security guards like Mr. Bock have become a solution of last resort.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
“One of Michael’s colleagues had called and said ‘I’m about to give someone Narcan.’ Michael sped through downtown to get to the scene, and when he saw that the guy was not breathing, he ran and got a one-way breathing valve from his car. They are reversing overdoses multiple times a day. This man did end up coming to, thankfully.” —Erin Schaff
BROOKLYN, AUG. 4.Gorgeous Femmie vogued at a memorial for O’Shae Sibley, a 28-year-old dancer and choreographer who was fatally stabbed after a dispute over his vogueing at a Brooklyn gas station. A suspect in the hate crime was charged with second-degree murder.Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times
“They were walking through the Mobil station and were kind of protesting and vogueing at the same time. I felt the conflict — I didn’t know if this should be fun or this should be sad. But they thought this was a way to show respect.”—Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet
RENK, SOUTH SUDAN, AUG. 27.A crowded ship of South Sudanese returning to their home country. Many South Sudanese fled to Sudan years ago because of conflict, but now war is raging there, too.Joao Silva/The New York Times
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA, AUG. 29. Hundreds of police officers and National Guard troops surrounded the Porokhovskoye cemetery, where Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the Russian mercenary boss, was buried two months after he led a brief mutiny against Russian military leadership.Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times
SEPTEMBER
DOUAR TNIRT, MOROCCO, SEPT. 11.A man sat in front of his destroyed house in the Atlas Mountains after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake devastated rural towns near the southwestern city of Marrakesh and killed nearly 3,000 people.Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
“Families were digging for bodies. The first day the sun was going down and we had to leave, and they didn’t manage to retrieve any. We came back the second day and there was a guy who was quite old but still helping the family dig through the rubble. Here he was resting at the gate of his own home.” —Sergey Ponomarev
SIMI VALLEY, CALIF., SEPT. 27.From left, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy were among the seven candidates who sparred in the second Republican presidential primary debate. Donald J. Trump, the front-runner, declined to participate.Damon Winter/The New York Times
“This image came from what is known as a ‘photo spray.’ About two dozen photographers get herded to the foot of the stage as the candidates enter from the wings. As they smile awkwardly and wave, the photographers, a tumbling ball of chaos, jostle for position to photograph a group of politicians towering above them, doing not much of anything.”—Damon Winter
QUEENS, SEPT. 9.Coco Gauff, 19, collapsed on the court after defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus to win the women’s singles title at the U.S. Open. With a stirring, three-set, back-from-the-dead victory, Gauff captured her first Grand Slam title.Karsten Moran for The New York Times
ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, UKRAINE, SEPT. 14.A Ukrainian soldier prepared to release a drone to fly over Russian-occupied territory in search of heavy weapons and air defense installations. In a counteroffensive often reliant on small advantages, a fleet of inexpensive drones provided one for the Ukrainians.Lynsey Addario for The New York Times
“When we approached the team of soldiers, they were hiding in the bushes. We heard Russian drones flying overhead, and it was terrifying. Most of the war at this point is fought by drone. There’s nothing you can do, just hope you are hidden well enough. The soldier released the drone and we ran back into the bushes.” —Lynsey Addario
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KORNIDZOR, ARMENIA, SEPT. 25.These refugees were among the tens of thousands who fled Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan claimed control of the Armenian enclave in its territory, reshaping in two days a conflict that has resulted in two wars since the collapse of the Soviet Union.Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times
“After a long, bloody conflict, the people left everything behind and traveled wherever they could find space, crammed into various means of transport. The boy in the picture is hiding from the rain with his family in an open dump truck in which they traveled for more than 24 hours.” —Nanna Heitmann
OCTOBER
ASHKELON, ISRAEL, OCT. 7.Evgenia Simanovich ran to her home’s concrete shelter moments after a rocket siren sounded. Hamas infiltrated Israeli towns and army bases, stormed a music festival, kidnapped civilians and soldiers, and fired thousands of rockets toward cities.Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times
“I had barely engaged Evgenia in conversation when another rocket siren sounded. She yelled for me to follow her, and I lifted my camera to my eye as we sprinted to her home. Rocket sirens are relatively common in Ashkelon during cycles of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, but we could all feel that this time it was profoundly different.”—Tamir Kalifa
GAZAN BORDER, OCT. 7.Palestinians used earth-moving equipment to breach the border fence between Gaza and Israel. Hamas gunmen surged into Israel by land, sea and air in a surprise attack that prompted a full-blown war.Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa/Reuters
KFAR AZZA, ISRAEL, OCT. 10.Israeli soldiers checked body bags filled with the remains of villagers killed in the Hamas assault. “It’s not a war or a battlefield; it’s a massacre,” said Maj. Gen. Itai Veruv, an Israeli commander at the scene.Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
“This was the first day journalists were allowed to enter kibbutzim that were destroyed. We came to this basketball playground where bodies were lined up and were waiting to be loaded into a truck, but the truck was already full. They didn’t want to stack bodies on top of bodies, so they were waiting for other trucks to come.” —Sergey Ponomarev
GAZA CITY, OCT. 7.Palestinian children playing in a courtyard paused to look skyward at the sound of airstrikes. Israel launched an intense bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Hamas assault.Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times
“I took this on the first day of the war, when people were already seeking shelter at U.N.-run schools like this one. The sound of the airstrike was really loud nearby, and we could see the plane overhead. The kids were really scared. I was scared, too. In war, the schools become shelters in Gaza, not places of education.” —Samar Abu Elouf
NORTHERN GAZA, OCT. 29.Seen from Sderot, Israel, smoke billowing after an Israeli airstrike. Israel warned more than a million Palestinians to evacuate their homes in northern Gaza and move south; those who fled found that the south, too, was perilous.Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times
DEIR AL BALAH, GAZA STRIP, OCT. 23.A woman mourned the loss of her brothers and sisters who were killed in Israeli strikes. The death toll in Gaza rose sharply as Israel intensified its air operation.Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times
“This woman was going from body to body, searching for her killed siblings. When she found her pregnant sister, she started talking to her and saying, ‘You were scared of giving birth and now you are rested before you had to go through it.’ She was talking to her dead brothers and saying their names and their positive attributes.” —Samar Abu Elouf
HERZLIYA, ISRAEL, OCT. 14.Friends and relatives of Maya Regev, 21, and her brother Itay Regev, 18, watching a news segment about the Israelis kidnapped by Hamas. The siblings, who were later released, had attended the Tribe of Nova festival, where gunmen massacred hundreds of young people and abducted others.Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times
“The family had spent little time alone that first week as friends and relatives held a near-constant vigil to support them as the days went by. The family, like so many others across Israel, were trapped in the agony of the unknown, waiting in limbo for any information on the whereabouts or the condition of their children.” —Tamir Kalifa
BE’ERI, ISRAEL, OCT. 17.Blood stained the floor of a child’s bedroom. Scores of people were killed, including children, and several hostages were taken in a Hamas raid on the village.Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times
REHOVOT, ISRAEL, OCT. 13.Israelis took cover after a siren warned of incoming rockets. Israel called up 360,000 reservists as it amassed forces on the Gazan border in preparation for a ground invasion.Dor Kedmi/Associated Press
“I went with my son to a military base where my sister is serving, to bring her clothes and food. As we approached the base, we heard the alarm. While trying to protect my son, I noticed this father desperately shielding his children. He had five, so he had to choose only one. Within seconds, loud explosions began.” —Dor Kedmi
KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA STRIP, OCT. 24.With beds scarce, new arrivals at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza often ended up on the floor, and, without anything to lean on to take notes, doctors sometimes had little choice but to use the patients themselves.Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times
GAZA CITY, OCT. 7.The aftermath of an Israeli airstrike. “We are exhausted; every war is like this,” one Gaza resident said as she fled with her family. “Every war we flee from home to home.”Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times
DEIR AL BALAH, GAZA STRIP, OCT. 22.Khaled Joudeh, 9, mourning over the body of his 8-month-old sister, Misk. He had already said goodbye to his mother, father, older brother and sister, all killed in Israeli airstrikes.Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times
“Khaled was crying and asking, ‘Where is my mom?’ The scene was heartbreaking. I was also crying while I took the photos. I couldn’t help it — it was one of the most difficult moments I have photographed in this war. It really hit me as a mother. I wanted to embrace him and make it easier for him, but I couldn’t.” —Samar Abu Elouf
GAZA CITY, OCT. 12.Wounded children arrived at Al Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical complex, after an airstrike on the Shati refugee camp. Hospitals relied on generators after Israel blocked water, electricity and fuel from entering Gaza.Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times
“That day I photographed many wounded children. Many were alone, like this girl, and not quite understanding what had happened yet. When they come in after they have been dug out from the rubble or wounded in the strikes, they are drowsy and confused. You can see ash on their clothes and bodies, and you can smell burned skin.” —Samar Abu Elouf
KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA STRIP, OCT. 17.Inas Abu Maamar, 36, held the body of her 5-year-old niece, Saly, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.Mohammed Salem/Reuters
“This photo made me torn between two choices: to stop taking such pictures so I would not be more affected, or to continue to tell the truth. Death and grief knocked on the door of almost every house in Gaza. I’ve covered a lot of conflicts around the world, but this has been the worst one I have ever seen.” —Mohammed Salem
FROM THE PROJECT “PORTRAITS OF SURVIVORS.”
They ran, they hid, they ultimately escaped. But for many, the Oct. 7 assault by Hamas will bring a lifetime of trauma. Clockwise from top left: Shaylee Atary, 34, with her month-old baby, Shaya; Stav Nitzan, 8; Roni Keidar, 79, with her husband, Ovadia, 82; and Ori Sobol, 10.Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times
“In these portraits, I wanted to use the natural light of whichever location we were at. Stav looked as if he was in shock. I was trying to figure out how I could ask about how he was feeling without taking him back to the attack, but when I looked into his face I felt as if I knew the story.” —Avishag Shaar-Yashuv
MANHATTAN, OCT. 24.Former President Donald J. Trump, flanked by his lawyers, appeared in court at his civil fraud trial. He has been accused of inflating his riches by more than $2 billion to obtain favorable deals with banks.Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times
“I was selected as part of a small pool of photographers. As I was setting my stuff down, I turned and I was face to face with Donald Trump. It was the closest I’d ever been to him. The courtroom was in complete silence. I saw the intensity of his expression, his anger and frustration rolling off in waves.” —Maansi Srivastava
WASHINGTON, OCT. 24.Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana, a little-known Republican hard-liner, after being elected House speaker, concluding a bitter three-week battle that paralyzed the chamber in the wake of Kevin McCarthy’s ousting from the speakership. Damon Winter/The New York Times
OCT. 21. A foundry worker sliced into the head of a statue of Robert E. Lee. The statue, which once stood in Charlottesville, Va., and became the center of protests over Confederate monuments, was melted down at an undisclosed location, to be turned into public art.Eze Amos
“It was a crazy, surreal rush of all different kinds of emotions seeing this statue that brought so much pain and so many feelings and, I dare say, trauma to the city. It was so powerful to see the workers use plasma torches to cut off the face. It was a big and fitting end to this story.” —Eze Amos
NOVEMBER
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, CALIF., NOV. 1.Visitors admired the sunset at Badwater Basin, a usually dry salt bed where a lake formed almost overnight in August when Tropical Storm Hilary dumped 2.2 inches of rain, the most that had ever fallen in the park in a single day.Mette Lampcov for The New York Times
“Seeing this lake appear in one of the driest and hottest places on Earth said a lot to me. When I got to the scene, it just blew my mind. There were no trees, barely any plant life. It was magical and profound. To me, there was beauty, and a realization of the extremes that climate change produces.” —Mette Lampcov
WASHINGTON, NOV. 4.Logan Rutberg, 8, visited the National Zoo days before its elderly giant pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji, were transported back to China, signaling a freeze in that nation’s long practice of panda diplomacy.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
MANHATTAN, NOV. 8.Sophia Yoo, middle on the left, and other students at the School of American Ballet, which serves as the training academy for the New York City Ballet. This year, Sophia made her debut as an angel in “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.” OK McCausland for The New York Times
WASHINGTON, NOV. 4.A view on Pennsylvania Avenue as thousands of demonstrators marched in support of Palestinians. Rallies across the country reflected the many groups calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.Amir Hamja/The New York Times
RAFAH, GAZA STRIP, NOV. 20.Premature babies were prepared to be transported across the border to Egypt for medical care. Some had been born to mothers who had been killed in airstrikes or who had died shortly after giving birth, doctors said.Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times
“The doctors put wool blankets under and on top of the babies to keep them warm and prepare them for transport. This one baby kept his eyes open and was looking around, maybe wondering what was going on. I was glad the babies were sent abroad for treatment, rather than facing the possibility of dying if they stayed in Gaza.” —Samar Abu Elouf
KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA STRIP, NOV. 3.A Palestinian man cried over the loss of his daughter, who was killed in Israeli airstrikes. Civilian deaths in Gaza fueled anger in the region and beyond, with the United Nations declaring that “nowhere is safe” in the territory.Yousef Masoud for The New York Times
RAMALLAH, WEST BANK, NOV. 26.Omar Atshan, 17, embraced his mother after he was released from an Israeli prison. During a weeklong pause in hostilities, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange for 105 hostages held by Hamas.Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times
DECEMBER
WASHINGTON, DEC. 18.The coffin of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who died on Dec. 1, arriving at the Supreme Court, where her body was to lie in repose. As the first woman on the court, she made a series of influential rulings and inspired women across a range of fields.Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times
KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA STRIP, DEC. 4.Palestinians carried a body from the rubble of a home that was destroyed in airstrikes. Israel told civilians to leave parts of Khan Younis, southern Gaza’s largest city, as it prepared to widen its ground campaign.Yousef Masoud for The New York Times
“On our way to Khan Younis, we saw a house that had just been hit. I asked the driver to stop the car and ran in my slippers to the scene. I started taking pictures but realized that the memory card was full. Then I remembered that I had a spare one in my pocket, and I took this photo.”—Yousef Masoud
HERZLIYA, ISRAEL, DEC. 4.Maya and Itay Regev arrived at their family home after they were released by Hamas. “Every day there is like hell,” Ms. Regev later said of her captivity in Gaza.Oren Ziv/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
KYIV, UKRAINE, DEC. 10.Children participating in a light therapy activity during Hanukkah celebrations at Halom, a Jewish community center.Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times
MIAMI, DEC. 9.During Art Basel Miami Beach, the sidewalks came alive with prints, colors and other sartorial flourishes, like this candy-floss coat.Simbarashe Cha/The New York Times
- CURATIONTanner Curtis, Jeffrey Henson Scales
- INTERVIEWSDionne Searcey
- DIGITAL DESIGNSean Catangui, Matt Ruby
- PRINT DESIGNMary Jane Callister, Felicia Vasquez
- PRODUCTIONPeter Blair, Eric Dyer, Natasha King, Wendy Lu, Jessica Schnall, Hannah Wulkan
- ADDITIONAL PRODUCTIONJustin Baek
- NEW YORK TIMES DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHYMeaghan Looram