Photos: The best images of 2024 by Chicago Tribune photographers

Each December, the Chicago Tribune publishes its Photos of the Year, a collection of images that chronicle the most significant events and provide evocative glimpses into the lives of Chicago-area residents. It’s a carefully curated, visual time capsule, filled with images of our region’s best moments and its greatest failures.

In 2024, Tribune photographers captured the emotions — anger and joy, determination and fear — that defined an unforgettable year. Through their lenses, our staff documented a 12-month period marked by social change, political extremism, human resilience, environmental challenges and moments of collective celebration.

The photographers produced indelible images of campus protests, public corruption and a historic, vitriolic presidential election. They documented two political conventions, one shortly after an assassination attempt and the other on the city’s West Side.

Their images offered a holistic view of the gatherings: the delegates’ elation, the protesters’ urgency and the candidates’ swagger. The work — particularly at the Democratic National Convention — will help form the historical record for one of the most consequential elections in our lifetimes. They humanized the city’s migrant crisis by introducing us to the many families who sacrificed everything for uncertain futures in America. And they continued to chronicle the heartbreaking impact of gun violence throughout Chicago.

In a year of tremendous division, Tribune photographers also captured the moments that united us:

The Paris Olympics, the solar eclipse, the cicada invasion and the White Sox horrible — but still historic — season. They took us to a vibrant Lollapalooza, a tense Dolton City Council meeting and the first sanctioned season of high school girls’ football in Illinois.

Behind every photo is a story of the photographer’s skill, dedication and ability to capture the fleeting moments that define our lives. And behind every photographer is a photo editor who ensures the published images capture the moment’s essence, enhance the written story and evoke the appropriate emotional response.

Our incomparable photo staff includes Vincent Alban, Brian Cassella, Tess Crowley, Terrence Antonio James, John J. Kim, Eileen T. Meslar, Antonio Perez, Armando L. Sanchez, Chris Sweda, E. Jason Wambsgans and Stacey Wescott. Their work is championed by visual editors Pinar Istek, Andrew Johnston, Marianne Mather, Todd Panagopoulos, Steven Rosenberg and Peter Tsai.

Together, this team made the Chicago Tribune’s 2024 Photos of the Year possible and, in doing so created a powerful testament to the city’s complexity, resilience and unrivaled beauty. Whether documenting historic moments or capturing intimate scenes of everyday life, they offered an unfiltered view of Chicago that cannot be found anywhere else.

In a year marked by challenges and uncertainty, the Tribune photo staff’s work, regardless of topic, was powerful, poignant and a source of pride for the entire Chicago Tribune staff.

We hope you find them as moving, maddening and magical as we do.