Each year, the TIME photography staff has the privilege of working with photographers around the globe who are on the front-lines of the world’s most important stories.
These stories range from major international conflicts to intimate small-town narratives. In each case, TIME strives to commission photographers who can create an artful and impactful visual narrative, and give readers an honest glimpse into experiences vastly different than their own.
David Butow perfectly captured the decisive moment in which Jeff Flake, the Republican Senator from Arizona, weighed how to vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. James Natchwey and Editor-at-Large Paul Moakley traveled across the country to interview and photograph opioid users, first responders, and others who have been directly affected by the nationwide opioid epidemic for our March 5th issue ‘The Opioid Diaries’. Gabriella Demczuk returned multiple times to Parkland, Fla., to cover the aftermath of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — documenting the community in mourning, to following the victims’ classmates to the March for our Lives in Washington D.C.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent searches for a group of migrants who had crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico near McAllen, in Sept. Nov. 26 / Dec. 3 issue.John Francis Peters for TIME
Miriam Castillo Castillo, next to her young niece, speaks with a border officer after crossing the river to McAllen in Sept. Nov. 26 / Dec. 3 issue.John Francis Peters for TIME
Beto O’Rourke speaks to the crowd at the Mariachi Loco Music Festival in El Paso, TX. June 4 issue.Benjamin Rasmussen for TIME
Memorials for the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla. April 2 issue.Gabriella Demczuk for TIME
Students, faculty and community members embrace after a moment of silence at the Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla.Gabriella Demczuk for TIME
Relatives of Omar Abual Fuol, 33, who was killed by Israeli tanks who targeted Hamas positions in Gaza, mourn during his funeral in Gaza City.Emanuele Satolli for TIME
Nakibullah Salwary, 35, who was injured during the Taliban assault on Ghazni, sits on a hospital bed on Aug. 16. Sept. 3 / Sept. 10 issue.Emanuele Satolli for TIME
Road closure signs around Riyadh. July 9 issue.Ayesha Malik for TIME
Ling Ling, 29, from Virginia and Sabrina Scott, 22, from Middletown, N.Y., pose in the water at Coney Island on July 4.Mark Hartman for TIME
Jeff Flake, center, listens to fellow GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, right, on Sept. 28, moments after Flake called for a delay in Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation. Oct. 15 issue.David Butow—Redux for TIME
Brett Kavanaugh and his wife, Ashley Estes Kavanaugh, leave after he finished testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 27. Oct. 15 issue.David Butow—Redux for TIME
Meghan McCain attends the ceremony honoring her father Senator John McCain at the US Capitol Rotunda on Aug. 31 in Washington.Christopher Morris—VII for TIME
Jada Wright, 17, and Carl Payne, 18, from Eastern Senior High School in DC at the March for Our Lives Rally on March 24 in Washington.Gabriella Demczuk for TIME
Demonstrators fill Pennsylvania Avenue in preparation for the March for Our Lives Rally in Washington, D.C., on March 24. April 9 issue.Gabriella Demczuk for TIME
An injured man, is evacuated by horse cart after violence erupted at the Gaza border, where Israeli soldiers clashed with Palestinian protesters on May 14. May 28 issue.Emanuele Satolli for TIME
Palestinian men pray along the Gaza-Israel border on May 14.Emanuele Satolli for TIME
A misplaced piece of grass at a soccer field in Iceland in June.Thomas Prior for TIME
A woman hands a Black Lives Matter sign back to a young boy, who was readjusting his position in a tree, at Lafayette Square in Washington on Aug. 12. From “Counter-Protesters Dwarfed a White Nationalist Rally in Washington”.Daniel Arnold for TIME
At the home of the Mirza Gul family in the village of Saed Tuba where seven children between 5 and 12 had at least one leg amputated after one of the children found an unexploded Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG)in a field near their home on April 29.Andrew Quilty for TIME
Abdul Rashid is pushed by his father, Hamisha Gul, on a gurney before a surgery. Nov 5 issue.Andrew Quilty for TIME
Christian Kaufman, 9, from Marlin, TX carrying an air-soft gun, rallies alongside his father Sean during a pro gun rights demonstration at Dallas City Hall next to the National Rifle Association convention in Dallas on May 5.Gabriella Demczuk for TIME
A house still damaged by a fallen tree in the Caníaco neighborhood of Utuado; a downed power line. Oct. 1 issue.Christopher Gregory for TIME
Kevin, who was convicted of indecent exposure, during a counseling session in May. May 21 issue.Mike Belleme for TIME
Soldiers train in combat lifesaving techniques at Sunglow City, the newly erected Army outpost in Tucson, on Nov. 13. Nov. 26 / Dec. 3 issue.Meridith Kohut for TIME
Soldiers walk past a photo of a happy military family at ‘Sunglow City’ – the 77 square-acre fully functional Army outpost, recently constructed at Davis-Monthan air base in Tucson.Meridith Kohut for TIME
Helicopters fly over rapidly assembled tents used for army sleeping quarters. Nov. 26 / Dec. 3 issue.Meridith Kohut for TIME
Faith, 24, poses for a portrait in Benin City on March 25. From “An Ancient Curse Kept Nigerian Women Bound to Sex Slavery. Now, It’s Been Reversed”.Lynsey Addario—Verbatim for TIME
Homeless heroin users on the public sidewalk injecting heroin and smoking crack. San Francisco, photographed on Jan 31. March 5 “The Opioid Diaries” issue.James Nachtwey for TIME
Jennifer Mosher, 33, had been using drugs when she found out she was four months pregnant. She eventually went on methadone. Mosher gave birth to a baby girl at Lawrence General Hospital in Lawrence, Mass., on Jan. 10. Her daughter, Brayleigh, is now healthy. March 5 “The Opioid Diaries” issue.James Nachtwey for TIME
Deputy sheriff Dorothy Onikute responds to an overdose call on Feb. 4 in Alcalde, N.M. March 5 “The Opioid Diaries” issue.James Nachtwey for TIME
A staging area where an American officer recorded a goodbye video message for a commander, due to finish his mission, at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan in August.Emanuele Satolli for TIME
The L.A. City Municipal Dance Squad rehearses at Live Arts Los Angeles in Eagle Rock. Sept. 24 issue.Bella Newman for TIME
An images from “These Amateur Astronomers Found Dark Sky Paradise on a Tiny Vermont Hill” in Aug.Robert Ormerod for TIME
An attendee holds a flag at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade on Fifth Avenue in New York City, on June 10. From “Fashion and Healing at This Year’s Puerto Rican Day Parade”.Maridelis Morales Rosado for TIME
Reenactors at the dedication of the National Confederate Museum in Elm Springs in Columbia, Tenn. on July 20. From “Still Fighting: Inside the Dedication of the National Confederate Museum”.Mark Peterson for TIME
Jeff Sessions reviews remarks to be delivered to a gathering of police chiefs in Nashville in mid-March. April 9 issue.Philip Montgomery for TIME
Jeff Sessions boards a government plane to Washington in March. April 9 issue.Philip Montgomery for TIME
From left, Wolf Pack Football Lady Wolves dancers Deh’Shia Fisher, 12, Vickiya Fisher, 11, and Aniah Nance, 11, practice for the Bud Billiken Parade, at the Jackson Park Football Field, where the Obama Presidential Center is planned to be built. July 30 issue.Alyssa Schukar for TIME
Jose Maybit Lopez, an intern for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, steams a flag in preparation for the Election Night party in Houston. From “Here’s What Election Day 2018 Looked Like Around the Country”.Brent Humphreys for TIME
Lacey Carillo Quintera, 15, celebrates her quinceañera by taking pictures with her family at the La Lomita overlook in Culiacán, Sinaloa, in Feb. From “Where the Legend of El Chapo Was Born”.Kirsten Luce for TIME
A Honduran man and his two daughters take the road toward Tijuana, from Mexicali, on Nov. 20.Jerome Sessini—Magnum for TIME
Participants in the annual New York City Heritage of Pride March filled Fifth Avenue for hours with groups from the LGBTQI+ community and it’s supporters.Gareth Smit for TIME
Contestants hopeful to be crowned Ms. Senior America in Atlantic City, N.J. From “‘I’m Over 60, and I Feel Great.’ At the Ms. Senior America Pageant, Women’s Voices Take the Stage”.Rosa Polin for TIME
Thirty-nine women competed in the Ms. Senior America pageant in Atlantic City, N.J. From “‘I’m Over 60, and I Feel Great.’ At the Ms. Senior America Pageant, Women’s Voices Take the Stage”.Rosa Polin for TIME
Scenes from the Carroll Leadership in Technology Magnet Middle School in Raleigh, NC. From “‘I Work 3 Jobs And Donate Blood Plasma to Pay the Bills.’ This Is What It’s Like to Be a Teacher in America”.Jared Soares for TIME
U.S. history teacher Hope Brown sits in a classroom at Woodford County High School in Versailles, Ky., on Aug. 31. Sept. 24 issue.Maddie McGarvey for TIME
Nariman Abujahar, center, a computer engineering student, celebrates her 23rd birthday with friends on a restaurant’s rooftop terrace in the Mansour district of Baghdad on Jan. 27. March 19 issue.Emanuele Satolli for TIME
The rope said to have been used to execute former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is in the Baghdad home of Mowaffak al-Rubaie, who witnessed the hanging.Emanuele Satolli for TIME
Dayo Okeniyi, left, and Brad Carter on the set of Emperor, an upcoming historical drama produced by Freedom Run Films. Aug. 6 / Aug. 13, “The South Issue”.RaMell Ross for TIME
Inside the hair and makeup trailer on the set of ‘Stranger Things’. Aug. 6 / Aug. 13 issue “The South Issue”.RaMell Ross for TIME
