2024: A look back at Bay Area images that made our year
2024 was a year of joyous celebrations, tearful farewells and impactful decisions that could forever change our lives and those that come after.Among some of the more difficult departures were in Oakland, where fans not only had to say goodbye to another beloved franchise but also its most beloved son.Throughout it all, we persevered and humanity found a way to shine brightly. Those experiences and more were captured through the lenses of the Bay Area News Group’s photojournalists.Because of these images, the triumph, passion, and beauty of the world around us will forever be remembered.
January
Sunlight beams down through dark clouds as a cyclist visits the Byxbee Park in Palo Alto, Calif., on Jan. 3, 2024. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) Keith Febr, who works for the Hayward Area Park District, and his dogs Kona, left, and Bearla pay respects as police officers carry the casket of fallen Oakland Police Officer Tuan Le for his memorial service at 3 Crosses Church in Castro Valley, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2024. Officer Le was killed in the line of duty after responding to a burglary at a cannabis business in Oakland on Dec. 29, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) The motorcade for slain Oakland police officer Tuan Le heads towards the 3Crosses Church in Castro Valley on Interstate 580 in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. Le was shot and killed in the line of duty on Dec. 29. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) A snowy egret stands near the edge of a cluster of black-necked stilts at the Coyote Creek Lagoon Unit of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, in Fremont, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) The Golden Gate Bridge glows in the distance as the beached sailboat Lorelai rests on the sands of Baker Beach in San Francisco, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer is celebrated by her team after a win over Oregon at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif, Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, for her 1,202nd victory, tying her with Mike Krzyzewski for the most wins by a college basketball coach. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) San Francisco 49er George Kittle takes the field in the rain for the NFC Divisional playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) Rita De La Cerda, right, is hugged during a vigil for her granddaughter baby Phoenix and daughter Emily Castro, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, in San Jose, Calif. Phoenix was only three months old when she died of fentanyl poisoning and her mother Emily died from the same drug a few months later. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
February
Archbishop Mitty’s girls basketball team listens to Coach Sue Phillips talk after winning a game against Archbishop Riordan 86-28 at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Marine One, transporting President Joe Biden, takes off from San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
March
A man and his dog walk up to the Tahoe Donner Recreation and Park District’s Community Arts Center in downtown Truckee, Calif., on Sunday, March 3, 2024. Margot Smith peeks over a partition to watch orchestra members warm up before a performance of the opera “La Cenerentola” at the Hillside Club on Sunday, March 10, 2024, in Berkeley Calif. The Hillside Club was founded in 1898 by local women, destroyed in a fire and rebuilt in 1923, with a design by famed architect Bernard Maybeck. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Joshua Vinayak, of Fremont, has gulal, a colorful powder, rubbed in his face during the Association of Indo Americans Holi Fest Discovery Meadow Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, March 23, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Megan Ruskofsky-Zuccato cries at the thought of having to give up her three dogs inside an RV at a homeless encampment along Leet Drive off Hegenberger Road in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, March 28, 2024. Caltrans has agreed to help Oakland clear homeless camps by freeways and the camp will be cleared on April 2. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
April
Dallas Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford (21) falls down after Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) blocked a shot to the basket in the fourth quarter of a NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) After getting married at Yosemite National Park, Courtney Smith, of Dana Point, poses for her wedding photographer at Yosemite Valley on Aug. 24, 2024. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march at Stanford University urging the university to divest from Israel and demanding a permanent cease-fire in the war in Gaza, on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at Stanford University. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) Pallbearers carry the casket with the body of Oakland police officer Jordan Wingate for his memorial service at 3 Crosses Church in Castro Valley, Calif., on Friday, April 26, 2024. Wingate was critically injured in a crash while responding to a call six years ago. He died from his injuries on Saturday, April 20. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Contra Costa County Firefighters battle a two-alarm structure fire in Concord, Calif., on Monday, April 29, 2024. The fire was reported at 10:23 p.m. at 2325 Clayton Road. ConFire PIO reported that the three-story commercial structure was an abandoned building with no injuries at the time. The building is situated at the corner of Sunset Avenue and Clayton Road near the Concord BART station. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
May
Emily Chan applies lotion in her room on Sunday, May 5, 2024, in Palo Alto, Calif. Emily Chan and her mother Carol support a state assembly bill that would potentially ban the sale of anti-aging cosmetic products to children/preteen under 13. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Leigh’s Aiden Sarin (7) celebrates with students after their 25-23, 25-21, 13-25, 25-18 win over Branham at Leigh High School for their CCS boys volleyball semifinal game in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) People contemplate the Aurora Borealis also known as Northern Lights visible from Vasco Road in Livermore, Calif., on Friday, May 10, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Tara Reichert, of Livermore, protects herself after falling off her horse while competing in the Ranch Bronc Riding competition during the Rowell Ranch Pro Rodeo in Castro Valley, Calif., on Friday, May 17, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) A brown pelican flies low over the water at Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing, Calif., on May 24, 2024. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) Archbishop Mitty celabrate after winning their Central Coast Section Division I baseball championship 6-2 against St. Ignatius in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
June
Firefighters work on the Corral Fire in Tracy, Calif., on Sunday, June 2, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Alaa Suliman at the Peace Terrace Academy on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Fremont, Calif. Suliman is making efforts to raise local and regional awareness about the Sudanese people affected by the ongoing war in Sudan.(Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Daniel Davis, 12, and Tony Melendez, 10, from right, of Alameda, cool off at Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach in Alameda, Calif., on Monday, June 17, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) American Sign Language interpreter Neil Cordova demonstrates ASL interpretation of the music of EL Tri in this long-exposure photo created at The Mercury News on June 20, 2024, in San Jose, Calif. At this Saturday’s Music in The Park in San Jose, Cordova and his team will be interpreting the rock music of Mexican band El Tri into American Sign Language, allowing deaf concertgoers to rock out along with their hearing peers. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
July
Covered in scaffolding for a $16 million restoration project, the Pigeon Point Lighthouse is silhouetted against the setting sun. Monday, July 3, 2024, in Pescadero, Calif. (Karl Mondon/ Bay Area News Group) Arizona Diamondbacks’ Jorge Barrosa (1) scores a run off of a single hit by Arizona Diamondbacks’ Geraldo Perdomo (2) against San Francisco Giants’ Patrick Bailey (14) in the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Protesters gather in front of Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s office to rally for an end to child marriage in the state on Thursday, July 18, 2024, in San Jose, Calif. Survivors of child marriage spoke at the rally in support of AB2924, a bill to end child marriage in California. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) A bird swims past a stand of reeds in a pond at the Coyote Creek Lagoon Unit of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Fremont, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) San Jose Earthquakes’ goalkeeper Daniel De Sousa Britto (42) yells after missing a penalty kick against Chivas de Guadalajara in the second half at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday, July 27, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
August
Paco Rojas smiles as he pets one of his cats, Princess, at his home in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Rojas was hit by a drunk driver last year. His car went up in flames and he stumbled out and fell off the overpass. Since then he’s had 23 surgeries and is expected to walk again later this year despite his poor prognosis. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) A singer performs during the Jaripeo or Mexican rodeo and concert at the Oakland fairgrounds off I-880 in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. About 2,500 to 3,000 fans attended the family event, which featured 10 bulls for 10 riders, horse dancing, five Mexican regional bands, dancing, and food and beverage. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) A concertgoer and his wheelchair are lifted into the air by the audience as Schoolboy Q performs on stage during the second day of the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) With Point San Pedro in the distance a humpback whale lunges at Sharp Park Beach in Pacifica, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Karl Mondon/ Bay Area News Group) Oakland police investigate a fatal shooting in the 2400 block of International Boulevard between 24th and 25th avenues in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. A person was pronounced dead at the scene. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) Jim Rizzo stands proudly by some of the vintage signs he has restored at his Neon Works facility in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
September
Pro BMX rider Jacob Thiem, with Robert Castillo’s BMX Freestyle Team, jumps over Eleni Jacobson, from San Jose, at Viva CalleSJ’s “Parks to Roses,” in front of the rotunda at San Jose City Hall in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) A cow moos as it urinates under the night sky in Geyserville, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) A’s fan Ryan Mastel, of Santa Rosa, finds a quiet spot on the third deck to enjoy the game and a bag of peanuts while watching the sunset at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Tonight the A’s played the Texas Rangers for their last night home game at the Coliseum before moving to Sacramento. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Oakland Athletics’ Zack Gelof (20) and his teammates acknowledge the fans after their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. Today the Oakland Athletics played the Texas Rangers for their final home game in Oakland before moving to Sacramento next season. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
October
Christopher High Head Coach Adam Hazel leads the team in thanking the fans after they won their football game against Santa Teresa High 31-14 in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) Ariella Ruback, center, gets a hug after “October 7; An Evening of Remembrance and Hope” marking one year since the October 7th attacks, at Freidenrich Community Park at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. Ruback was in Israel when the attacks occurred and was rescued by Israeli Defense forces, including Eytan Berman, far right. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Adriana Vazquez-Chavez, a student assistant with the Record Clearance Project, holds hands before embracing Carmen Navarro, whose son was cleared of past convictions, at Family Justice Center in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Sofia, 2, sits on a box spring next to her grandmother Sandra Barrios as she looks on from the door of their RV dwelling at the Columbus Park homeless encampment in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
November
A three-day old waxing crescent moon appears above a large tree during sunset on in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (Photo by Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) April Rose, and her husband Kevin, right, of Concord, celebrate as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is projected to win North Carolina during the Contra Costa County GOP Election Watch Party at the Back Forty Texas BBQ Roadhouse & Saloon in Pleasant Hill, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) Lights are partially turned off and balloons are left on the floor after the Democratic watch party in the Democratic Volunteer Center in Mountain View, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) catches air while going after the puck against Minnesota Wild’s Jared Spurgeon (46) and Minnesota Wild’s Marcus Johansson (90) in the third period at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Archbishop Mitty celebrates their 25-11, 25-18, 25-19 win over St. Francis for the CIF NorCal Open Division championship game at St. Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) St. Ignatius celebrates after winning against St. Francis during the CCS Open Division championship at San Jose City College in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Sacred Heart Prep’s Natalia Szczerba (11), Ellison Brush (1), Lauren Rossi (13), and Casey Coleman (2) celebrate with teammates after winning their CIF NorCal Water Polo Championship match in Atherton, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) Chloe Reckis, 8, from San Jose, rides her bicycle through fake “snow” at Christmas in the Park’s Drive Thru Light Show at History Park in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. This is the first year they allowed bikes on the route. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Eggs of a salmon carcass exposed after the head was cut by the South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition while wading through the waters looking for salmon nests and carcasses along Los Gatos Creek in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. The coalition has been monitoring salmon spawning in the South Bay creeks, where they have found that around 10% of the salmon returning to spawn could be native to the area. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
December
Moreau Catholic celebrates after winning against Leland during the NorCal Division 7-AA championship at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) As part of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, the Beacon atop Mount Diablo glows, Saturday evening, Dec. 7, 2024. Pearl Harbor survivor Earl “Chuck” Kohler, now 100 years old, flipped a switch illuminating the mountaintop light. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) A sunset drone view of the Oakland California Temple holiday lights in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) The California bench reacts after Marta Suarez sank a buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Stanford at the end of the third quarter, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) A pedestrian shields herself from the rain as she walks along Main Street in downtown Martinez, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. A stronger rain system is expected to hit the Bay Area late Friday night into Saturday morning. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) A van is engulfed in flames inside a property on the 1600 block of the 24th Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. The Oakland Fire Department extinguished the fire as soon as they arrived. No injuries were reported. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) An Oakland Athletics cap and a flower bouquet hang on the fence of the Field of Dreams, also named the Ricky Henderson Field in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. The A’s legend Rickey Henderson died at age 65. He would have been 66 on Christmas Day. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
PHOTOGRAPHERSRay ChavezAric CrabbJose Carlos FajardoShae HammondKarl MondonNhat V. MeyerDai SuganoJane TyskaPHOTO EDITORSDoug DuranLaura Oda
