As the coronavirus began to menace the region in March, most Chicago-area residents took refuge inside their houses to follow the governor’s stay-at-home order.
Tribune photographers, as they always do, stayed on the job.
Risking their personal safety and relying upon unparalleled creativity to follow public health guidelines, they documented a year unlike any in a century. They stepped into intensive care units where COVID-19 patients were taking their last breaths, captured the calls for social justice sparked by police killings of unarmed Black men and conveyed the anxiety over a contested presidential election result.
Their work showed how these extraordinary events influenced our lives. The Chicago Tribune publishes a collection of the photos of the year annual. We hope this year’s Photos of the Year serve as a visual reminder of a rapidly changing year. When life moves so fast, we often forget, and these images reflect the range of emotions we just lived through. It also a platform for acknowledging the talent and dedication of Tribune photographers, and all photojournalists, in a year we’ll never forget.
On Jan. 13, the Tribune held a subscriber-only virtual event featuring a panel of photojournalists and local artist/photographer Tonika Johnson. You can view the event above.