Cecilia Carlos Montesinos poses before passing the crown to Alejandra Arcos Cisneros, this year's Carnaval Putleco queen, at a coronation event hosted by Comité Pochtlán, a Oaxacan cultural group, at the Healdsburg Community Center on April 20, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
The staff at KQED have been following the biggest news events of the year, with journalists on site and in conversation with newsmakers and impacted communities. Beyond the airwaves, our photographers have been at events big and small, bringing back captivating images from political races and breaking news stories, as well as community celebrations and some of life’s quieter moments.
This collection of images, selected by our photographers, zoom in on the stories you hear, taking you behind the scenes and sharing memorable moments of lives lived throughout the Bay Area. They are a reminder and a testament to the real people behind the voices you hear and read about.
Emily Chin (left) and Louise Owling (right) sit in their parade car before the Chinese New Festival and Parade starts in San Francisco on Feb. 24, 2024. Chin and Owling are members of the Grand Avenue Follies. (Kathryn Styer Martinez/KQED)A video plays about the life of Willie Mays at the beginning of a Celebration of Life for the San Francisco Giants Hall of Famer at Oracle Park in San Francisco on July 8, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)Vanessa Wasczuk-Valencia hugs Gilbert Bañuelos III after the last A’s home game at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland on Sept. 26, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao holds a press conference at Oakland City Hall on June 24, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)Daniel Gonzalez grieves at the Biggest Big Game Bash watch party in Downtown Las Vegas after the San Francisco 49ers lost the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 11, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)Dancers perform at the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco on Feb. 24, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)Monica Mendoza (left) secures a falda on her daughter, Gabrielle Poth (right), during marinera class in San Francisco on April 1, 2024. (Kathryn Styer Martínez/KQED)Anthony, 12, Aamonte Hadley’s sibling, listens to speakers during a rally outside of County Jail #2, a jail that houses women, in San Francisco on Sept. 17, 2024, to call for justice for Hadley, who died at the jail on Sept. 2. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)Bionka Simone performs Beyoncé’s ‘TEXAS HOLD ‘EM’ during Reparations: Cowboy Carter at Oasis in San Francisco on Saturday, April 6, 2024. The monthly all-Black casted drag show drew a sold-out crowd of drag fans and members of the Beyhive on Friday to celebrate the release of Beyoncé’s new album, Cowboy Carter. (Juliana Yamada/KQED)Gericault in Oakland on April 8, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)Filmmaker and musician Boots Riley poses for a portrait near San Antonio Park in Oakland on May 7, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)A firefighter monitors the Park Fire while the fire’s smoke plume can be seen along Highway 32 northeast of Chico on July 26, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)The Park Fire burns along Highway 32 northeast of Chico on July 26, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)Nick Gelos, Fire Captain with CalFire at the Gabilan Conservation Camp, holds the fire line on Highway 32 northeast of Chico along with an inmate hand crew in the early morning of July 26, 2024. The crew drove from Monterrey to assist with the Park Fire. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)Ken Coates (left) drives with Kenneth Gaines on an escort with a Tehama County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team to Gaines’ home on Highway 36 near Payne’s Creek in Tehama County on July 29, 2024, to give food and water to his dogs and sheep. Gaines was notified by a CalFire officer that the animals had survived the Park Fire after he was forced to evacuate without them, but his home was burned. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)Alex Vallardo packs up his belongings in anticipation of an encampment sweep by San Francisco’s Department of Public Works around Showplace Square in San Francisco on Aug. 1, 2024. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)The encampment sweep begins on Leavenworth Street in San Francisco on Aug. 8, 2024. (Gina Castro/KQED)Teacher Cintya Valdivia sits with transitional kindergarten students during snack time at the International Community School in Oakland on May 17, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)Transitional kindergarten students play outside during recess at the International Community School in Oakland on May 17, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)Iván Olivera wears a tiliche alongside the group Carnaval Putleco during the Twilight Parade in Healdsburg on May 23, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)Cathedral City High School Ballet Folklórico performs during the Carnaval Grand Parade in San Francisco’s Mission District on May 26, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)The Tsukuda Fruit Stand in San José, on Dec. 11, 2024. The farm stand is offering up its last haul of persimmons to customers old and new in the last week of business before the land they farm is developed with apartments and townhomes. (David M. Barreda/KQED)Earl Riley (center) rides his horse Big Momma alongside Joe Cummings on Ghost during the Oakland Black Cowboy Association parade in Oakland on Oct. 5, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
KQED’s David M. Barreda, Gina Castro, Martin do Nascimento, Beth LaBerge, Kathryn Styer Martínez and Juliana Yamada contributed to this photo essay. You can check out the 2023 year in photos here.
Sponsored
lower waypoint
Stay in touch. Sign up for our daily newsletter.
To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy.
