The Associated Press has released its annual collection of 100 photographs that captured the defining moments of 2025, showcasing the work of photojournalists who documented a year marked by both tragedy and triumph across the globe. From devastating wildfires in California to conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, these images serve as visual witnesses to a world that often feels overwhelming and chaotic.

The collection spans over 200 locations worldwide, where AP photographers served as trusted eyewitnesses to breaking news and historic events. These photojournalists have contributed to AP's impressive record of 36 Pulitzer Prizes since the award's establishment in 1917, demonstrating their role as far more than mere observers—they are skilled journalists, explorers, artists, and storytellers who excel in understanding vantage points, lighting, people skills, and narrative construction.

Among the most striking images are those documenting the California wildfires that ravaged communities throughout the year. The Palisades Fire, which swept through neighborhoods in Los Angeles and the Pacific Palisades, created scenes of devastation captured in haunting detail. Photographers documented firefighters battling flames engulfing beachfront properties in Malibu, residents embracing outside burning homes as the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena, and the surreal sight of a Christmas tree burning inside a residence. The human cost of these disasters was poignantly captured in images of couples like Ari Rivera and Anderson Hao standing before their destroyed home, and the remnants of communities reduced to ash and debris.

The ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine feature prominently throughout the collection, with photographers capturing both the immediate violence and its human aftermath. Images show smoke rising from Israeli strikes in Gaza City, Palestinian families cooking on the roofs of their destroyed homes, and Israeli captives being handed over to the Red Cross. The photographers also documented moments of desperate humanity, such as Palestinians gathering for iftar meals surrounded by rubble during Ramadan, and families struggling to access humanitarian aid.

In Ukraine, the photographs reveal the persistent reality of war, from couples slow dancing during a Halloween rave in Kyiv to children practicing boxing in underground shelters in the frontline city of Kherson. The images capture both the resilience of ordinary people maintaining some semblance of normal life and the constant threat of violence, including injured civilians in hospitals and people taking refuge in metro stations during Russian attacks.

The collection also celebrates moments of joy and human connection that provided respite from the year's darker events. These include Hindu holy men taking ceremonial dips during the Kumbh Mela in India, Muslims celebrating Eid al-Fitr in the Philippines, and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani celebrating after winning Game 7 of the World Series. Cultural celebrations were captured across continents, from pilgrims dancing during the annual Catholic pilgrimage to the Virgin of El Rocio in Spain to fans joining Chinese punk rock bands at music festivals.

Several images in the collection demonstrate the photographers' mastery of composition and timing, such as Petros Giannakouris's use of 'negative space' in his photograph of the Parthenon and moon against a midnight-blue sky in Athens. Other technically impressive shots include the Northern Lights shimmering over homes in Greenland, a polar bear resting on the stairs of an abandoned research station in Russia, and the powerful image of a sturgeon's tail propelling the fish airborne in Maine waters.

The human impact of political upheaval and migration features throughout the collection, with images of Venezuelan migrants abandoning hopes of reaching the United States amid immigration crackdowns, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addressing supporters in Caracas, and the toppled statue of Syrian President Hafez Assad lying in ruins following the regime's overthrow. Immigration enforcement in the United States was documented through images of federal agents detaining migrants and protesters confronting authorities at detention facilities.

Environmental challenges and climate change effects are visible in photographs showing extreme weather events, from Hurricane Melissa's aftermath in Jamaica to severe flooding in Texas that killed over 130 people. The collection includes images of farmers mourning animals killed in fires in Turkey, drought-affected rivers in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the Rhone Glacier in Switzerland partially covered with protective sheets as scientists monitor its retreat.

The photographers also captured quieter moments of contemplation and beauty that resist the year's chaos. These include a silhouette of a lone man walking on an Oregon beach near Haystack Rock, children casting shadows on a basketball court in Chile, and birds perched on a park bench as dense fog enveloped the Sydney skyline. Such images provide balance to the collection's more intense documentation of global events.

Tragically, the collection includes work by photographer Mariam Dagga, who died in an airstrike while covering Nasser Hospital in Gaza, just weeks after capturing a powerful image of a Palestinian woman holding her deceased infant daughter. This loss underscores the dangerous conditions under which photojournalists work to bring these important stories to global audiences.

The 2025 collection was curated by AP photo editors Benjamin Snyder, Enric Martí, and Jacqueline Larma, with accompanying text by Ted Anthony. As Anthony notes in his introduction, in a year crammed with history and heartbreak, these photographs serve as grooves of collective memory, carved with color, light, verve, and creativity. The images remind viewers that despite living in a violent and sometimes inexplicable world, there remains much good to be found—and documented—by those skilled enough and brave enough to capture it.