English illustrator and painter Frederick Barnard once said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” But I think nothing beats a picture and a thousand words. If we are going to relive the best and the worst moments of 2022, perhaps we need both of these mediums to convey much that has happened in the past 12 months.
This year has been one of turmoil, war, natural disasters and filled with natural beauty – all of which are captured and immortalized through photography. Let’s stroll down memory lane to look at the best pictures that reigned major photography awards in 2022. But the round-up of 2022 in pictures will be incomplete if we neglect the most stunning, most moving, and most memorable photos of the year that didn’t make it into any contest. You will find these at the end of this photolog.
Best of Wildlife Photography Contests 2022
Taken in California, this picture of a white-tailed kite hovering in mid-air showcasing spectacular anatomy in rich detail won the grand prize of $5,000 at the Audubon Photography Awards 2022.
Image: Jack Zhi
This image full of emerald-green heads and brown and white feathers-a sea of Northern Shovelers-looks absolutely breathtaking and straight out of a painting.
Image: Steve Jessmore
Two male sharp-tailed grouse seem to be having a bit of a rumble, though the reasons are unknown.
Image: Liron Gertsman
This female greater sage-grouse is searching for food in the snow, as the morning sun highlights its perfectly patterned feathers.
Image: Alan Krakauer
A gorgeous butterfly sea slug was pictured on the seabed in Alotau, Papua New Guinea.
Image: Yury Ivanov
A tiny, shy shrimp hitchhiking on a huge Spanish dancer nudibranch.
Image: Miguel Ramirez
Taken in the Mediterranean Sea, a few crabs are floating alongside a beautiful barrel jellyfish in this picture.
Image: Salvatore Ianniello
Have you ever seen a mother octopus nurturing her eggs in a tube? Well, feast your eyes on this mesmerizing shot taken at Blue Heron Bridge.
Image: Brenda Hill
This curious conch snail with its fascinating appearance is a wonderful shot of the underwater species.
Image: Kathrin Landgraf-Kluge
The Grand Prize winner of the Scuba Diving Through Your Lens Underwater Photo Contest 2022 is this amazing shot of a flying fish from the boat on the flat-calm water surface.
Image: Boz Johnson
Like bees to honey, these male insects are running toward a female to get the chance to mate and procreate.
Image: Big Picture Competition
A stoat emerging from its burrow in the early morning was surprisingly happy to see the freshly fallen snow.
Image: Big Picture Competition
This caracal, a medium-sized wild cat, nabbed a flamingo in its mouth and stopped for a moment to pose.
Image: Dennis Stogsdill
When you meet the King of the Jungle, you bow in front of him – a winning image from the Nature TTL Photographer of the Year 2022.
Image: Tomasz Szpila
This snow leopard is scouring the area for food in the Ladakh mountain range, in India.
Image: Sascha Fonseca
This African elephant is playing in the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
Image: Michael Snedic
There is so much we don’t know about space. But one thing that we know for sure, is that it is absolutely mesmerizing.
Image: Josselin Cornou
Amid anthropogenic waste, a blooming sunflower against a stormy background shows how life always finds a way to survive and thrive.
Image: Bertus Hanekom
These two parrots seem to be fighting over something. Looks like he forgot to bring food.
Image: Achintya Murthy
This winner of the underwater category from the Nature TTL Photographer of the Year 2022 is depicting the beauty of rich marine life.
Image: Andy Schmid
Wildfire Season 2021-2022
Oak Fire devouring the insides of a home in California.
Image: Noah Berger/AP
Wildfires destroying Joshua Tree National Park amid climate change.
Image: National Park Service
A fire marshall vehicle parked in front of the raging Rocky Mountain National Park wildfire.
Image: Loveland Fire Rescue
This year wildfires in the US have ravaged national parks badly. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park was among the ones bearing the brunt of the wildfires.
Image: Twitter @gypsymarie79
The state of California experienced one of its most intense and harrowing wildfire seasons amid a prolonged drought.
Image: NBC News
California wildfire only grew intense and scary as the state experienced a heat dome.
Image: Fox 11
California wildfires left thousands homeless as flames engulfed man-made structures and forests alike.
Image: AP News
A residential area in California turned into smoke and ash within minutes as a wildfire devoured it.
Image: Times of San Diego
The destruction was left in the wake of wildfire season 2021-2022, where forests and human settlements both went up in smoke.
Image: Noah Berger
A fireman trying to put out embers after a wildfire ravaged a human settlement.
Image: New York Post
A burning house in California as the governor declares a state of emergency in the state.
Image: Noah Berger/AP Photo
A fire marshall trying to douse an inferno during California wildfires.
Image: Noah Berger/AP Photo
Ukraine-Russia War
15,000 Ukrainians took refuge in the subway system to escape Russia’s bombings.
Image: Lynsey Addario/The New York Times
A suburb of Kyiv reduced to rubble by Russian attacks.
Image: David Guttenfelder /The New York Times
A family died after Russian shells hit them as they were fleeing in Irpin, Ukraine.
Image: Lynsey Addario/The New York Times
Residences destroyed by Russian missiles in Kyiv. Lives have been left in shambles.
Image: Lynsey Addario/The New York Times
Natural Disasters 2022
Distraught family after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake flattened tens of thousands of homes in Indonesia in November.
Image: Ulet Ifansasti/The New York Times
Distraught Indian farmers after paddy fields were destroyed by floods.
Image: Atul Loke/The New York Times
Houses collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean in the Outer Banks due to sea level rise.
Image: Daniel Pullen/The New York Times
Sand dunes now occupy the space where the Mississippi River usually flows.
Image: Lucy Garrett/The New York Times
A mountainous iceberg calved from the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier in Greenland.
Image: Damon Winter/The New York Times
This picture depicts the death and destruction in wake of Hurricane Ian.
Image: Joe Raedle
Entire human settlements were either uprooted or left in shambles in the aftermath of Hurrican Ian.
Image: Wilfredo Lee/AP
Damaged marina in Fort Myers in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
Image: EPA
Streets were submerged in hurricane waters and life came to a standstill.
Image: Steve Helber / AP
A man sitting on a destructed street in Matlacha after the hurricane ravaged the region.
Image: Ricardo Arduengo / AFP
The destroyed road between Matlacha and Pine Island after Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction in Matlacha.
Image: Marco Bello
People sitting near a water fountain in London as summer heat broke records this year.
Image: Jon Nazca/Reuters
The active volcano on the Cumbre Vieja mountain range erupted on September 19.
Image: Albert Garcia/EL PAÍS
The volcano was active for over two months, spewing ash and lava and burying colonies all around it.
Image: Twitter @LaPalmaErupcion
The volcanic eruption shrouded houses and forests in magma and sent molten rock toward the Atlantic Ocean .
Image: Twitter @LaPalmaErupcion
People were left distraught as their lives were uprooted by the volcanic eruption on the island.
Image: Borja Suarez/Reuters
The lava devoured anything and everything that came in its path.
Image: Borja Suarez/Reuters
The lava flow marked a path toward the Atlantic Ocean over a scarcely populated area.
Image: Spanish Transport Ministry/Reuters
The lava flow engulfing homes in La Palma volcanic eruption.
Image: Arturo Rodriguez/National Geographic
The volcano is located in the south of La Palma Island, which is inhabited by about 80,000 people.
Image: Arturo Rodriguez/National Geographic
Lava devoured roads, farms and swimming pools on the island, while smoke and ash eclipsed the sun.
Image: Arturo Rodriguez/National Geographic
Life-Altering Events
Breathtaking picture of previously invisible nascent cosmos taken by James Webb Space Telescope.
Image: NASA
Protests ignited after the overturning of Roe v Wade, which banned abortion in most of the states in the US.
Image: Kenny Holston /The New York Times
Women at the forefront of protests against compulsory hijab laws were brutally crushed by the Islamic regime in Iran.
Image: AP
Nuclear fusion record was achieved at the National Ignition Facility at California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Image: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory