2023 Photos of the Year

The 'Star of Bethlehem' Melany Márquez, 9, poses for a portrait in the main street of Quinamayó, on February 18, 2023. In the bible, the star of Bethlehem guided the Magi to the place where Jesus was born. Quinamayó is an Afro-Colombian community that celebrates Christmas in February, 45 days after the traditional date of Jesus' birth, the time it took the Virgin Mary to rest after giving birth, resulting in mid-February, which was also the period of rest for enslaved people.
Jaír F. Coll / The New York Times

We reviewed over 3,000 photographs filed by Diversify Photo members to select these 50 frames. Each one is elevated above the rest because of the moment, newsworthiness, composition, creativity, or some combination of them all.

This year Lianne Milton and I were joined by Ash Ponders and Florence Middleton to review the submissions. (You may find last year’s Photo of the Year gallery here.) We chose Jaír F. Coll’s photograph, The Star of Bethlehem, to lead this year’s gallery. Made in February in Quinamayó, Colombia, this image documents the present-day beauty of a tradition born from racism and colonization that endures as an act of resistance and resilience.

From editorial to fine art to commercial photography, this gallery is as wide-ranging as our membership is. If you are an editor or creative director looking to hire a photographer please reach out for access to our database. If you are a photographer who would like to apply for membership please reach out.

—David M. Barreda

December 2022

A photo shows the slum buildings in a neighbrhood called "Al rez Mountain" in Damascus, Syria.

Hasaan Belal

The Phinaya community is located 4,830 metres (15,850 feet) above sea level, in Cusco, Peru. It is the highest town near the snow-capped Quelccaya, which is rapidly thawing due to global warming.

Angela Ponce

A self-portrait inspired by a painting by 19th Century artist Raja Ravi Varma.

Jyotsna Bhamidipati

Children watch as members of the Texas National Guard stop a group of asylum-seeking migrants, that the children are a part of, from crossing the border into the United States in El Paso, Texas, U.S., December 21, 2022. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart for NPR

Children watch as members of the Texas National Guard stop a group of asylum-seeking migrants, that the children are a part of, from crossing the border into the United States in El Paso, Texas, U.S., December 21, 2022.

Jim Urquhart / NPR

Love as the link between Heaven and Earth.

Kelvin Bulluck

A resident watches a forest fire in Vina del Mar, Chile, 22 December 2022. On December 22, 2022, a forest fire was originated in the upper part of the coastal city of Viña del Mar, in Valparaiso region, Chile, which left 300 homes affected, 120 hectares burned, and two people dead. For EFE-EPA

A resident watches a forest fire in Vina del Mar, Chile, December 22, 2022. On December 22, 2022, a forest fire was originated in the upper part of the coastal city of Viña del Mar, in Valparaiso region, Chile, which left 300 homes affected, 120 hectares burned, and two people dead.

Adriana Thomasa / EFE-EPA

Gabriel Nitze, left, and Zvika Dolce stand for a portrait near the window of their home. January 2023, Holon, Israel. Zvika serves as a nurse in a nursing home, while Gabriel works as support staff in a large hospital. Beyond their professional lives, they've shared the spotlight as drag artists and life partners for seventeen years. In countries across the globe, LGBTQ+ individuals contend with enduring institutional discrimination, notwithstanding their substantial contributions to society and the nation. This persistent issue often adds to the mental distress, loneliness, and fear experienced by members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Oded Wagenstein

January

Odiyo Dalton is photographed as Mr. Black Fantastic in Nairobi, Kenya with a necklace made of cowrie shells, as is common in many parts of Africa. The shells were once used as currency.

Taiye Godbody

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 27: NYPD officers arrest a protestor as people protest the death of Tyre Nichols on January 27, 2023 in New York City. The release of a video depicting the fatal beating of Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, sparked protests in NYC and other cities throughout the country. Nichols was violently beaten for three minutes and killed by Memphis police officers earlier this month after a traffic stop. Five Black Memphis Police officers have been fired after an internal investigation found them to be “directly responsible” for the beating and have been charged with “second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two charges of aggravated kidnapping, two charges of official misconduct and one charge of official oppression.” (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

New York City police officers arrest an individual at a protest in opposition to the death of Tyre Nichols on January 27, 2023. The release of a video depicting the fatal beating of Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, sparked protests in NYC and other cities throughout the country. Nichols was violently beaten for three minutes and killed by Memphis police officers earlier this month after a traffic stop. Five Black Memphis Police officers have been fired after an internal investigation found them to be “directly responsible” for the beating and have been charged with “second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two charges of aggravated kidnapping, two charges of official misconduct and one charge of official oppression.”

Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images

Odiyo Dalton walks through a single exposure photograph shot in Nairobi, Kenya, visualizing Taiye Godbody's exploration into the spiritual act of astral projection. The photograph is focused around themes of moving forward and being present. Photographed in January 2023.

Taiye Godbody

March

A woman holds a breathing apparatus to a child's face as she waits to admit the child to an emergency ward, during adenovirus outbreak in Kolkata , India.

Debarchan Chatterjee

Afromexican Edith Aguirre, 22, celebrates moments after being crowned the first Miss Colonia, pageant as part of annual Women’s Day events, wich seeks to break the beauty canons and the only requirement for contestants was to prove residency in working-class areas of the city, known as "colonias." Prizes covered utility bills and property taxes.

Felix Marquez

A tank operator from the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade, also known as "Edelweiss", poses for a portrait after firing at Russian positions from an undisclosed location in Donbas, Ukraine on March 7, 2023.

Laurel Chor

For this story about Mexico's City subway, we traveled through the skeleton of this great city talking to people, watching its movement, and feeling time pass in this shared territory. A personal diptych with images that seem necessary to understand how the pain, the fatigue, the love and the illusion coexist in this shared space. For Süddeutsche Zeitung

For this story about Mexico's City subway, we traveled through the skeleton of this great city talking to people, watching its movement, and feeling time pass in this shared territory. A personal diptych with images that seem necessary to understand how the pain, the fatigue, the love and the illusion coexist in this shared space.

Alejandra Rajal / Süddeutsche Zeitung

April

A passenger is reflected in a New York City subway car on Sunday, April 2, 2023.

Arvin Temkar

May

Geography of Hope • Glen Canyon contains thousands of documented archeological sites dating as far back as 8,000 years in addition to hundreds of sites sacred to contemporary indigenous cultures such as the Navajo and Hopi. All the sites that were inundated by Lake Powell are either completely destroyed or severely damaged. • For the last half century, the heart of the Colorado Plateau has been drowned by the creation of Lake Powell. We now understand that the American West is in its driest period in 1200 years, and as a result, Lake Powell’s water levels are severely depleted – revealing a vast system of 125 canyons that together form Glen Canyon. This reappearance serves as a stark reminder of climate change, yet also as a testament to nature's resilience. Before the completion of Glen Canyon Dam, little was known about what’s been called "America's Lost National Park." Today, it stands as the world's largest ecological restoration site, undergoing a remarkable transformation as resurgent native flora and fauna return. Unfolding over three years, Geography of Hope invites us to contemplate the dynamic aesthetics of this landscape in flux and the complex stakes of its future as it remains unprotected and vulnerable to future exploitation and inundation.

Elliot Ross

CENTRAL ISLIP, NEW YORK - MAY 10: Rep. George Santos (R-NY) leaves Federal Court on May 10, 2023 in Central Islip, New York. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have charged Santos in a 13-count indictment that includes seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. The Republican congressman, who represents communities on Long Island and in Queens, has lied about his professional accomplishments, his education and his family's history, statements which surfaced after he was elected last year. He has admitted to embellishing his resume but denies any criminal wrongdoing. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) leaves Federal Court on May 10, 2023 in Central Islip, New York. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have charged Santos in a 13-count indictment that includes seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. The Republican congressman, who represents communities on Long Island and in Queens, has lied about his professional accomplishments, his education and his family's history, statements which surfaced after he was elected last year. He has admitted to embellishing his resume but denies any criminal wrongdoing.

Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, MEXICO - MAY 11: Hours before Title 42 is set to expire, migrants from Colombia and Mexico throw their bags over razor wire fencing after crawling through an opening in order to turn themselves into U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents who are posted along the border wall between El Paso, United States and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico on May 11, 2023. Title 42 is a public health policy first used by the Trump administration to deter the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. and expanded under Biden’s presidency. (Photo by Danielle Villasana for The Washington Post)

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, MEXICO - MAY 11: Hours before Title 42 is set to expire, migrants from Colombia and Mexico throw their bags over razor wire fencing after crawling through an opening in order to turn themselves into U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents who are posted along the border wall between El Paso, United States and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico on May 11, 2023. Title 42 is a public health policy first used by the Trump administration to deter the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. and expanded under Biden’s presidency.

Danielle Villasana / The Washington Post

Capturing the essence of sleep paralysis, this chilling photo recreates the haunting intersection of dreams and reality. A 2016 documentary revelation spurred a visceral performance, unveiling the harrowing truth of nightly terrors. Bridging disbelief with the surreal, it echoes the fear lurking in the shadows.

Ranita Roy

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil's president, during an Industry Day event hosted by Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (Fiesp) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Thursday, May 25, 2023. Lula discussed the outlook for Brazilian industry.

Maíra Erlich / Bloomberg

June

Guarani activists protest against the “Marco Temporal” in São Paulo, Brazil. This legal thesis proposed that Indigenous land claims made prior to October 5, 1988 were to be denied. The protests were successful and the Brazilian Constitution further enshrines the rights of Indigenous groups across the country. by Brazil’s Supreme Court and Senate.

Dan Agostini

Visitors at Summit One Vanderbilt look out at a smoke shrouded Manhattan as wildfires in Canada continue to blanket the city on June 7, 2023 in New York City. New York topped the list of most polluted major cities in the world on Tuesday night, as smoke from the fires continues to blanket the East Coast.

David "Dee" Delgado / Getty Images

Violet Chachki by Joseph Ross for SOHO HOUSE

American drag queen, Violet Chachki.

Joseph Ross / SOHO HOUSE

July

A tree burns during a CALFIRE prescribed burn in Groveland, California, US, on Thursday, July 6, 2023. The burn operation aims to reduce understory vegetation, grasses, and noxious weeds while creating an additional fuel break to enhance fire protection in Groveland.

Michaela Vatcheva

Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo in Oakland, California, July 9th, 2023

Gabriela Hasbun

An anti-government demonstrator takes part in a national protest to demand the resignation of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in Lima, Peru, July 29, 2023.

Anti-government demonstrator takes part in a national protest to demand the resignation of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in Lima, Peru, July 29, 2023.

Angela Ponce

August

Toro Castaño shows off his cat-phone, which he received as a gift from an unhoused friend, in his tent on Castro St. in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, Aug 3, 2023. Castaño has a deep appreciation for art and art history which is reflected in the elaborate decor of the encampments he stays in.

Michaela Vatcheva

A group of refugees few minutes after their landing on European shores on August 24th 2023: the Italian island of Lampedusa is the closest part of the EU that can be reached via a perilous boat journey from Libya or Tunesia. The Mediterranean Sea is the deadliest migration route in the world. Yet, many don’t have another chance to flee from war and poverty but to risk their lives in unseaworthy boats. Upon their arrival, this group borrows a phone from a bystander to let their relatives know that they have survived.

A group of refugees few minutes after their landing on European shores on August 24th 2023: the Italian island of Lampedusa is the closest part of the EU that can be reached via a perilous boat journey from Libya or Tunesia. The Mediterranean Sea is the deadliest migration route in the world. Yet, many don’t have another chance to flee from war and poverty but to risk their lives in unseaworthy boats. Upon their arrival, this group borrows a phone from a bystander to let their relatives know that they have survived.

Sandra Singh

Woman of the Water: Women bathe together in Steilacoom, Washington. Women of the Water is an ongoing documentary project where I invite women to bathe naked in different bodies of water to reclaim the territory and their bodies. In this image 110 women bathe together in the cold waters of the Salish Sea. When I first shared this image with the participants, one of the women mentioned that if the image is seen from this angle it looks like the women are forming the silhouette of one woman. This was extremely significant to me, and reinforced the idea that this collective project is created to celebrate and strengthen women.

Woman of the Water: Women bathe together in Steilacoom, Washington. Women of the Water is an ongoing documentary project where I invite women to bathe naked in different bodies of water to reclaim the territory and their bodies. In this image 110 women bathe together in the cold waters of the Salish Sea. When I first shared this image with the participants, one of the women mentioned that if the image is seen from this angle it looks like the women are forming the silhouette of one woman. This was extremely significant to me, and reinforced the idea that this collective project is created to celebrate and strengthen women.

Ana Elisa Sotelo

Jairo Aguirre is an agricultural engineer, expert in biodynamics and founder, along with his son Julian, of Tierra Viva, an NGO that advises on different types of crops, such as medical cannabis in Cauca. For him, it is important to adapt these crops to the tropics and abandon the use of lime. That is his main recommendation during his visit to Gold Land Cannabis, a small cooperative in Santander de Quilichao. But in Colombia they follow European agronomic postulates, so the crops are more susceptible to pests and less productive. They try to comply with legal requirements and consult experts like Jairo, to get some return on the more than four years of effort put into the process.

Jairo Aguirre is an agricultural engineer, expert in biodynamics and founder, along with his son Julian, of Tierra Viva, an NGO that advises on different types of crops, such as medical cannabis in Cauca. For him, it is important to adapt these crops to the tropics and abandon the use of lime. That is his main recommendation during his visit to Gold Land Cannabis, a small cooperative in Santander de Quilichao. But in Colombia they follow European agronomic postulates, so the crops are more susceptible to pests and less productive. They try to comply with legal requirements and consult experts like Jairo, to get some return on the more than four years of effort put into the process.

Juan Páez

Troy Upperman

September

A multiple-exposure image of the Oregon coast on September 6, 2023.

A multiple-exposure image of the Oregon coast, September 6, 2023.

Caroline Yang

Women participate in the vigil commemorating the 50th anniversary of the coup d'état against the democratic government of Salvador Allende, in Santiago, Chile, September 11, 2023. Thousands of people marched through the streets of Santiago de Chile with photos of relatives murdered, detained or missing in the annual demonstration in memory of the coup d'état of Augusto Pinochet against the democratic government of the socialist Salvador Allende, of which this September 11 marks 50 years.

Adriana Thomasa / EFE-EPA

The Concilio Taíno Guatú Ma Cú-a Borikén (Sacred Fire of Puerto Rico) members challenge the presumptions of extinction of the Taíno indigenous culture in Puerto Rico. The Spanish Conquest annihilated the pre-Columbian population of the archipelago, and official records declared the Taínos extinct by the eighteenth century. Today, this community is reclaiming ancestral indigenous practices and knowledge to celebrate centuries-long histories of resilience. But also, to cope with the devastating loss of the entire Taíno cultural identity and heritage. The organic technique of chlorophyll printing was used to highlight the ephemeral and unrecoverable aspects of indigenous peoples who didn’t manage to survive colonial oppression or preserve their cultures. Original portraits of the cacique’s wife and daughter, Cristie “Ananiporí” (beautiful water flower) Terrón and Soriyani (the place at sunset where the water takes you to paradise) Benítez, 11, respectively, taken in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, September 23, 2023.

Yadira Hernández-Picó

Rebekah Lowell tags and releases butterflies in Biddeford, Maine, that will migrate 3,000 miles to Central Mexico. For the last three years Rebecca has religiously searched for and collected monarch eggs and caterpillars from this field to increase their chance of survival. In 2021 she released 415 monarchs. In 2022, she released 245 monarchs. With the same effort, searching the field twice a day, Rebekah released 161 monarchs in 2023.

Sofia Aldinio

October

Rianna Starheim, 32, spends time with her grandmother, Ruth Rose Many, 95. Rianna gave up her day job to be the full time caretaker for her grandmother after a stroke that led to severe memory loss. CREDIT: Rosem Morton

Rianna Starheim, 32, spends time with her grandmother, Ruth Rose Many, 95. Rianna gave up her day job to be the full time caretaker for her grandmother after a stroke that led to severe memory loss.

Rosem Morton

A migrant walks over a parked freight train known as "The Beast" in the outskirts of Piedras Negras, Oct 8, 2023. Migrants and asylum seekers who do not possess the economic means to pay for a bus ticket and the appropriate paperwork given by Mexican migratory authorities use the train as a transport method to reach the border with The United States. The train is known to be a perilous means of transportation as hundreds over the years have fallen to the tracks, extorted or robbed by drug cartels or corrupted authorities when it stops on its way north.

Alejandro Cegarra

Former US President Donald Trump at New York State Supreme Court in New York, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Donald Trump is facing off against New York Attorney General Letitia James in a contentious civil trial that threatens his control over his real estate empire in the state. Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg

Former U.S. President Donald Trump at New York State Supreme Court in New York, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. Donald Trump is facing off against New York Attorney General Letitia James in a contentious civil trial that threatens his control over his real estate empire in the state.

Jeenah Moon / Bloomberg

Next Generation Blackfeet Stewards / Donna Kipp with her horse in camp • In 1884, the last remnants of a once vast herd of American Bison that roamed the Blackfeet homeland of what some now call Glacier National Park, were pushed east out of the mountains and far from home. These bison and their descendants were moved around the North American continent, untethered and dispossessed until earlier this year. Ervin Carlson has worked for decades to bring these bison, who he and many Blackfeet see as their ancestors, home. The Blackfeet Nation along with the Racine Family, the Wildlife Conservation Society and Indigenous Led, reintroduced a small herd of two dozen bison, free to roam into their ancestral home, in this new chapter of environmental justice. The workwear company Carhartt and I traveled out to the Blackfeet Nation to spend a week documenting their day in the life – from daily chores to long rides to check on the herds which included an overnight backcountry camp in the shadow of Chief Mountain.

Next Generation Blackfeet Stewards / Donna Kipp with her horse in camp. In 1884, the last remnants of a once vast herd of American Bison that roamed the Blackfeet homeland of what some now call Glacier National Park, were pushed east out of the mountains and far from home. These bison and their descendants were moved around the North American continent, untethered and dispossessed until earlier this year. Ervin Carlson has worked for decades to bring these bison, who he and many Blackfeet see as their ancestors, home. The Blackfeet Nation along with the Racine Family, the Wildlife Conservation Society and Indigenous Led, reintroduced a small herd of two dozen bison, free to roam into their ancestral home, in this new chapter of environmental justice. The workwear company Carhartt and I traveled out to the Blackfeet Nation to spend a week documenting their day in the life – from daily chores to long rides to check on the herds which included an overnight backcountry camp in the shadow of Chief Mountain.

Elliot Ross

Cutouts of popular Tamil-language actors and politicans at a makeshift studio on Marina Beach, where a photo print costs INR 200 (approx USD 2.4), in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. October 19, 2023.

Cutouts of popular Tamil-language actors and politicans at a makeshift studio on Marina Beach, where a photo print costs INR 200 (approx USD 2.4), in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. October 19, 2023.

Harsha Vadlamani

Hurricane Otis ravaged a yacht club in Acapulco, Mexico, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023.

Felix Marquez

November

Portrait of cachacero during the Cuadrillas de San Martin in Meta, Colombia 2023. The "cuadrillas de San Martin" is a tradition that takes place almost 300 years ago and celebrates the 4 races that formed Colombia: Guahibos (indigenous), Moros (Arabs) cachacheros (afros) and galanes (Spaniards).

Portrait of a cachacero during the Cuadrillas de San Martin in Meta, Colombia 2023. The "cuadrillas de San Martin" is a tradition that takes place almost 300 years ago and celebrates the 4 races that formed Colombia: Guahibos (indigenous), Moros (Arabs) cachacheros (afros) and galanes (Spaniards).

Luis Bernardo Cano

(Left to right) Eman Qaddura, Odi Doar, Muna Jayyousi, Ghadeer Sharif, and Nada Sharif, from Ft. Worth, chant at the Texas statewide “All Out for Palestine” rally at the Texas State Capitol building on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023 in Austin. An estimated 10,000 pro-Palestinian protestors traveled from across the state to attend the rally at the Texas State Capitol and march through downtown Austin in support of Palestinians and to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to U.S. and Texas aid to Israel. The statewide All Out for Palestine rally was organized by a coalition of organizations including Palestinian Youth Movement, Palestine Solidarity Committee, and Students for Justice in Palestine. It is believed to be the largest pro-Palestinian rally in Texas since the war began Oct. 7, 2023.

Salgu Wissmath / San Antonio Express-News

Kyre Echols.

Joseph-Smith

Crowd engages in Palestinian dabke dance minutes before the sun rises during the annual Indigenous Peoples Thanksgiving Sunrise Gathering on Alcatraz island on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. Palestinian activists were invited to speak to the gathering of indigenous peoples in solidarity as they struggle to liberate their homeland.

Michaela Vatcheva

Members of the public try out VR headsets during the 2023 Hanoi Creative Design Festival. Trial sessions were priced at 50,000 VND, or around $2 USD.

Chris Trinh

December

Model Maya Wang poses for a studio skincare beauty shoot. She has a natural glam look with pearls arranged artfully under her eyebrows.

Model Maya Wang poses for a studio skincare beauty shoot. She has a natural glam look with pearls arranged artfully under her eyebrows.

Judah Townsend

A Bronx resident looks out of his bedroom window at the building whose facade collapsed the evening before on West Burnside Avenue and Phelan Place in New York City, December 12, 2023. The partial building collapse left 136 people displaced.

David "Dee" Delgado / The New York Times

A photograhic study of generational trauma captured by the nuance of emotion experienced by the Young family. mother, Pamela, father Larry and son Delorne Young.

Da'Shaunae Marisa