This young girl, surrounded by gang violence in her own Haitian neighborhood, jumps, closes her eyes, and smiles. She is experiencing an enthusiasm from the jump rope game that is unabated by the circumstances surrounding her.
People all throughout the world, in a variety of situations, could benefit from this kind of happiness. However, those kinds of emotions can be difficult to locate and identify in a world that provided so much misery and apocalypse in 2024.
In Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on September 1, 2024, first-graders attend the customary opening ceremony. (Photo by Eugeniy Maloletka for AP)
On January 23, 2024, Palestinians who have been displaced by Israel’s ground invasion of the Gaza Strip play at the temporary tent camp in Rafah. (Photo by Fatima Shbair for AP)
On July 13, 2024, a woman swings on a swing at Venao Beach in Pedasi, Panama. (Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)
On November 24, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda, a woman arrives at a park with a gift basket to attend a friend’s birthday celebration. (Photo by David Goldman for AP)
Life passes quickly and leaves its imprint. It appears that sometimes it’s necessary to capture and highlight moments of amazement and excitement before they pass. That’s exactly what this compilation of AP photojournalists’ photos accomplishes.
Perhaps there is a moment of astonishment or happiness for every upsetting news event in the world. However, because news is by definition about unusual things, ordinary moments can occasionally be forgotten in the flurry of activity.
Collectively, these images make a deliberate decision to seize that happiness and awe, distill it, and capture it in a focused moment to remind us that even on the worst of days, it still exists.
In Klungkung, Bali, Indonesia, on March 19, 2024, residents take a dip in a dam of the Unda River in honor of World Water Day. (Photo by Firdia Lisnawati for AP)
Some, such as the picture of the displaced Palestinian teenagers playing and the little Haitian girl, show that individuals may find relaxation even while they are traversing difficult paths. Some, such as the image of a coca vendor at a legitimate Bolivian market, show that grins can appear at any time of day.
On April 18, 2024, a coca vendor works in a legitimate coca leaf market in La Paz, Bolivia. (Photo by Juan Karita/AP)
March 21, 2024: Icelandic horses play at a stud farm in Wehrheim, close to Frankfurt, Germany. (Photo courtesy of Michael Probst)AP
On the first day of Eid al-Adha in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 16, 2024, a youngster plays at the Hagia Sophia mosque, which dates back to the Byzantine era. (Photo by Francisco Seco for AP)
Some demonstrate that excitement knows no bounds and will unavoidably show through, such as the young people dancing on the streets of a Rio de Janeiro favela. Others depict the actual happy footsteps of people, such as the footprints in the shape of a heart that were painstakingly made on a snow-covered rugby field in Chile.
On May 8, 2024, in Santiago, Chile, footprints form a heart on a snow-covered rugby field. (Photo by Matias Basualdo for AP)
This image, taken from multiple storeys high inside Rockefeller Center, shows The Rink at Rockefeller Center in New York on November 2, 2024. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin for AP)
Before her photo shoot at Colon Square in the Zona Colonial region of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on May 15, 2024, friends and family stress over a quincea era. (Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)
Images collected from all over the world, including patterns, blown kisses, equality celebrations, ice skaters, children playing without self-consciousness, a motorcycle riding against a dramatic sunrise, and even a partygoer enjoying a pool of squashed tomatoes, provide a counterpoint to much of the remainder of 2024.
During Purim celebrations and a joyful supper at the Great Choral Synagogue in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 24, 2024, a member of the Ukrainian Jewish community displays his dance skills. (Image: Vadim Ghirda/AP)
On August 9, 2024, a man in Frankfurt, Germany, pedals his bicycle over a hill as the sun rises. (Photo courtesy of Michael Probst)AP
On June 14, 2024, in Bethel, New York, Beverly “Cookie” Grant responds to the Fanflashtic experience, a working model of one built at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, at the Museum At Bethel Woods. (Photo by Julia Nikhinson for AP)
They inform us that even under the most dire circumstances, joy and elation are achievable. In doing so, they also provide us a suggestion that we could experience those positive emotions at any time.
On May 29, 2024, Maijuna youth Arely Riategui sits on a hammock inside her Sucusari, Peru, home and smiles. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP)
On September 26, 2024, Annika and Moritz embrace while passersby pass by in Vienna, Austria. (Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo)AP
In Hyderabad, India, on March 20, 2024, a woman dances while taking part in a procession to commemorate Falgun Mahotsav in advance of Holi, the Hindu festival of colors. (Photo by Mahesh Kumar A. for AP)AP
On April 17, 2024, young people in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s Rocinha favela conduct a street dance known as passinho for their social media profiles. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo for AP)
On November 12, 2024, in Sunbury, Ohio, five-year-old Isaac Young puts his cheek on the forehead of the family horse Rusty while doing farm work prior to homeschooling. (Photo by Carolin Kaster/AP)AP
On May 28, 2024, in Centro Arenal, Peru, a farmer from Murui chuckles as she makes her way to gather bananas on her field, which is situated along the proposed path of a federal highway that would connect Iquitos and El Estrecho region. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP)
On June 24, 2024, Leonila Arucan, a teacher in the northern Philippine province of Nueva Ecija, stands outside the church of Saint John the Baptist, taking part in the mud festival while wearing dried banana leaves. (Photo courtesy of Aaron Favila)AP
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Ted Anthony, The Associated Press’s director of newsroom innovation and innovative storytelling, writes about photography a lot. Visit http://x.com/anthonyted to follow him.
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