Amid triumph and tragedy, private moments of grief and public spectacles of joy, Mercury News and East Bay Times’ photojournalists captured the resilience of the human spirit across the Bay Area this year.

The powerful and poignant images recorded our losses – from wildfires and shootings to COVID and abortion rights – and our gains, in sports arenas, playing fields and parades. There were deaths and funerals and festivals that documented the sorrow of the year and also the elation.

The astonishing and the sublime also were captured – sometimes in the same frame. Such was the retirement of a 100-year-old park ranger.

The Bay Area’s beauty is on full display – the sunsets, the salt ponds, the fog and snow. A stunning supermoon, the last of the year, rose behind the Golden Gate Bridge.

We present 2022, through the eyes of Bay Area News Group photographers.

 

Highs and Lows

Gabe Abatecola, of San Jose, watches the final minutes of the United States men’s national team World Cup match against Iran in San Jose on Nov. 29. (Dai Sugano/Staff Photographer)

Family members embrace as law enforcement officers escort the body of Alameda County Sheriff Deputy Aubrey Phillips through the grounds of Oakmont Memorial Park & Mortuary in Lafayette on Feb. 15. Phillips died after suffering a medical emergency while carrying out a traffic stop Saturday morning in the city of Dublin. (Aric Crabb/Staff Photographer)

Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry (30) celebrate the final moments of their fourth-quarter comeback victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of their NBA Western Conference Finals playoffs at Chase Center in San Francisco on May 20. (Karl Mondon/Staff Photographer)

St. Francis’ Erin Curtis (6) hugs St. Francis’ Whitney Wallace (5) as they celebrate their NorCal Open Division Girls Volleyball Championship 3-1 win against Archbishop Mitty at St. Francis High School in Mountain View on Nov. 15. (Nhat V. Meyer/Staff Photographer)

Natalia (no last name given) and her son Stefan, 8, listen to speakers during a protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine outside in Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on Feb. 24. (Nhat V. Meyer/Staff Photographer)

Fr. Petro Dyachok becomes emotional during an interview in St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Catholic Center in Santa Clara on March 10. His wife, Natalya, is currently staying in the city of Chortkiv in western Ukraine to help their daughter and her family. (Dai Sugano/Staff Photographer)

Tina McWright holds up the helmet of her son Camdan McWright during a moment of tribute for the San Jose State football player who was killed in a traffic accident last week, before the Spartan’s game against Nevada in San Jose on Oct. 29. (Karl Mondon/Staff Photographer)

Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe comforts Bianca Palomera as she becomes emotional while speaking at City Hall in Antioch on Dec. 13. Palomera, 19, an employee at The Habit in Antioch, defended an autistic child who was being bullied, and lost her right eye after being punched. (Jane Tyska/Staff Photographer)

A moment of silence is held during a community meeting in Montague on Sept. 4 as the sheriff of Siskiyou County confirms two people died in the Mill Fire. (Karl Mondon/Staff Photographer)

Stacey Silva of Gilroy with a blanket made in memory of her parents at her home in Gilroy on May 10. Her father, Gary Young, died of COVID-19 in 2020. Her mother, Melody Young, died of cancer in 2019. (Dai Sugano/Staff Photographer)

Split-Second Action

Coco Gauff returns the ball against Naomi Osaka in the second set during the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic tennis tournament at San José State University on Aug. 4. (Nhat V. Meyer/Staff Photographer)

The California High cheerleaders perform a halftime routine during the Grizzlies football game against Pittsburg High in San Ramon on Sept. 9. (Doug Duran/Staff Photographer)

Li Yu-Jhun serves during the Women’s Doubles final for the World Table Tennis Feeder Series Fremont 2022 at Table Tennis America in Fremont on May 8. (Nhat V. Meyer/Staff Photographer)

Sharks’ Rudolfs Balcers fights for the puck against Florida Panthers’ Jonathan Huberdeau at the SAP Center on March 15. (Nhat V. Meyer/Staff Photographer)

Warriors’ Klay Thompson uses control of the ball as he’s double teamed by Celtics’ Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at the Chase Center on June 13. (Jane Tyska/Staff Photographer)

49ers’ Samson Ebukam strips away the ball from Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford at Levi’s Stadium on Oct. 3. (Jane Tyska/Staff Photographer)

Warriors’ Jordan Poole goes up for a basket against Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. (13) during Game 3 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series at Chase Center on May 7. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff Photographer)

Los Angeles Angels’ Andrew Velazquez leaps to catch a fly ball hit by Oakland Athletics’ Tony Kemp in the first inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum on May 14. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff Photographer)

Where we live

A “Starlight Ball” featuring a limo ride and a red carpet walk brought Adam Shariff and Ally Brady together on the dance floor at the Blue Oaks Church-sponsored event at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton on April 29. (Doug Duran/Staff Photographer)

Lashanna Hornage, program manager for Santa Clara County Office of LGBTQ Affairs, smiles under her rainbow umbrella during Silicon Valley Pride Parade in San Jose on Aug. 28. (Shae Hammond/Staff Photographer)

Members of Lisa Performing Arts take the stage for a performance during a Lunar New Year celebration at Santana Row in San Jose on Feb. 4. (Anda Chu/Staff Photographer)

Noah Pelchin, center left, of San Francisco, and Alex Morris, of San Francisco, lay in their derby car, Bathtime, during SFMOMA’s Soapbox Derby in San Francisco on April 10. (Shae Hammond/Staff Photographer)

Homeless artist Daniel McClenon sleeps on a sidewalk outside a Walgreens in San Francisco on May 13 with a portrait of Jimmy Hendrix he’s been painting with pens on cardboard. His artwork was stolen a few days later. (Ray Chavez/Staff Photographer)

Betty Reid Soskin, the nation’s oldest active park ranger at 100 years old, celebrates her retirement from the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historic Park on April 16, in Richmond. (Karl Mondon/Staff Photographer)

The obituary of Stephen Elliott, who died of COVID-19 on Jan. 5, is held by his son, Ryan Elliott of Palo Alto, on May 4 in Palo Alto. (Dai Sugano/Staff Photographer)

Elise Joshi, a U.C. Berkeley student, climate and labor organizer on campus Nov. 17. Joshi evolved a TikTok For Biden account shared by a group of creators into Gen-Z for Change, a 12-employee nonprofit she executive directs, which leverages social media to promote civil discourse and political action among her peers. (Aric Crabb/Staff Photographer)

Luke and James cool off with some water at the homeless encampment near the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport at West Hedding Street in San Jose on Sept. 6. They declined to give their last names. (Shae Hammond/Staff Photographer)

Peter and Tina Nguyen of San Jose pose for a picture at Duc Vien Buddhist Temple in San Jose on Feb. 1, at the start of the Lunar New Year. (Dai Sugano/Staff Photographer)

Natalie Vanessa, of San Leandro, works out at Marina Park in San Leandro on Feb. 7. Warm temperatures are expected to continue through the week according to the National Weather Service. (Jane Tyska/Staff Photographer)

Dre Hernandez, of San Jose, poses in his 1979 Chevy Malibu while San Jose car clubs celebrated the city’s decades old ban on cruising being lifted at San Jose City Hall in San Jose on Aug. 31. (Shae Hammond/Staff Photographer)

Members of the Black Men of Labor Social Aid and Pleasure Club carry the casket of Ray “Big Chief Hatchet” Blazio during a jazz funeral in New Orleans on July 14. Blazio, 82, the city’s oldest-living Mardi Gras Indian chief, died on June 17. He lived in Oakland for 13 years after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina. (Jane Tyska/Staff Photographer)

San Jose Taiko performs during the Obon Festival at the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuinin San Jose on July 9. (Shae Hammond/Staff Photographer)

Ava Solda, left, and Riley Velasco play on the bleachers at Cory Field at San Jose American Little League in San Jose on April 7. (Shae Hammond/Staff Photographer)

Franz Robert performs on the Grace-Liberty Theater pipe organ during a service at Grace Baptist Church on March 6 in San Jose. The church celebrated the 100th anniversary of the theater’s pipe organ during the Sunday service, and planned 13 months of centennial programs. (Aric Crabb/Staff Photographer)

Los Gatos-Campbell Longhorns players watch as assistant coach Jeff Whipple hugs head coach Saul Kennedy during a team meeting after practice at Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos on Nov. 29. (Nhat V. Meyer/Staff Photographer)

California School for the Deaf’s Devan Vierra (6) signs to his team in the locker room before their game against Trinity Christian at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont on Sept. 1. (Nhat V. Meyer/Staff Photographer)

Campolindo’s Sean Spillane quietly prays in the end zone as his team warms up before their game against Las Lomas at Campolindo High School in Moraga on Oct. 28. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff Photographer)

 

Sea to Sky

The Colorado Fire burns toward the Bixby Bridge in Big Sur on Jan. 22. (Karl Mondon/Staff Photographer)

The bright crimson waters of the Cargill Salt ponds flow beside a railroad in Newark on Jan. 27. (Jane Tyska/Staff Photographer)

The Transamerica Pyramid reflects sunlight as it pokes through the thick fog blanketing San Francisco early Jan. 20. San Francisco’s iconic pointy-headed skyscraper turned 50 this year. (Karl Mondon/Staff Photographer)

A visitor walks at sunset at Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 25 in Fremont. The refuge marked its 50th anniversary this year. (Dai Sugano/Staff Photographer)

Skiers and snowboarders ride down the slopes from the KT-22 summit during the grand opening of Palisades Tahoe gondola line in Olympic Valley on Dec. 16. (Ray Chavez/Staff Photographer)

Steve Bruemmer, who was bitten by a great white shark while swimming on June 22, near the site of the attack at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove on Oct. 5. (Doug Duran/Staff Photographer)

A deer flees the Oak Fire burning near Yosemite Park on Triangle Road in Mariposa on July 22. (Karl Mondon/Staff Photographer)

Houseboats are docked in Shasta Lake as California’s largest reservoir falls to only 36% of capacity during the ongoing drought on Aug. 5. (Karl Mondon/Staff Photographer)

A firefighter battles a vegetation fire near Pacheco Boulevard in Martinez on Aug. 4. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff Photographer)

The Sturgeon super moon rises behind the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline as seen from Sausalito on August 11. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff Photographer)

 

Community Conflict

Robert Hernandez lifts a tarp while exiting his trailer at a homeless encampment on the baseball fields off of Irene Street in San Jose on Sept. 19. (Shae Hammond/Staff Photographer)

Piles of belongings and debris, canopies, RVs, tents and vehicles making up part of Oakland’s Wood Street homeless encampment linger on July 14, three days after a massive fire there displaced about one dozen residents. CalTrans started clearing the city’s largest encampment in September after Oakland won a $4.7 million state grant to shelter its occupants. (Jane Tyska/Staff Photographer)

Abortion rights demonstrators protest outside San Francisco City Hall after the Supreme Court overturned the abortion rights case Roe v. Wade on June 24. (Ray Chavez/Staff Photographer)

Protesters Elisa Smith and Stormy Adams react as workers cut down trees in People’s Park in Berkeley on Aug. 3.  UC Berkeley plans to begin constructing housing at the site for 1,100 university students and 125 homeless residents.  (Aric Crabb/Staff Photographer)

Emerald Johnson, aunt of Sophia Mason, an 8-year-old girl from Hayward whose mother and mother’s boyfriend stand accused of murdering her, with a photo of Mason, her drawings and school work at Johnson’s home in Hayward on June 7. (Dai Sugano/Staff Photographer)

On the eighth day of his hunger strike, Westlake Middle School teacher Maurice André San-Chez, is comforted after answering a reporter’s questions on Feb. 8. San-Chez and another Westlake teacher struck to stop the Oakland Unified School District’s plan to close or merge 16 schools. (Ray Chavez/Staff Photographer)

 

Crime and Consequences

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, center, and her family leave the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse after the jury found her guilty in San Jose on Jan. 3. (Dai Sugano/Staff Photographer)

Antoinette Walker cries on the shoulder of Frank Turner as Penelope Scott speaks to the media in Sacramento on April 4. Walker is the older sister of De’Vazia Turner who was shot and killed during a mass shooting a day earlier. Six people died and 12 others were injured in the April 3 shooting. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff Photographer)

Law enforcement officers from different agencies respond after multiple people were shot in a complex of schools on Fountain Street in Oakland on Sept. 28. (Ray Chavez/Staff Photographer)

Kathy Teng Dwyer, from Oakland, places a candle during a vigil near where Lili Xu, 60, was killed during an attempted robbery in Oakland on Aug. 22. (Nhat V. Meyer/Staff Photographer)

Jenni Kumimoto carries her son Ben, 6, to their car after picking him up from kindergarten at Los Alamitos Elementary School in San Jose on May 25. Jenni Kumimoto, 36, a kindergarten teacher at Graystone Elementary School, spoke with her 6-year-old son Ben about the Uvalde school shooting in Texas. (Aric Crabb/Staff Photographer)

Family and friends release balloons on the one-year anniversary of the deaths of 7-year-old Sela Mataele and her mother’s partner Ramiro Castro, who were killed by a drunk driver in Pittsburg, at the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Antioch on April 12. (Nhat V. Meyer/Staff Photographer)

 

Beauty, Beholden

A dog runs through a field of wildflowers during a warm early morning at Shell Ridge Open Space in Walnut Creek on March 23. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff Photographer)

Members of the Huaxing Arts Group wait on their float, “The Beauties of the Tang,” for the start of the Chinese New Years Parade in San Francisco on Feb. 19. (Karl Mondon/Staff Photographer)

Editor’s Note: This frame was composed in-camera by combining two exposures captured moments apart. Giants pitcher Yunior Marte pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park on July 15. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Staff Photographer)

People gather during the Holiday Tree lighting ceremony at Jack London Square in Oakland on Dec. 3. (Ray Chavez/Staff Photographer)

The full moon rises behind the Oakland hills and the Mormon Temple on Dec. 6. (Ray Chavez/Staff Photographer)

Elise MacGregor Ferrell, of Santa Cruz, plays the bagpipes during a memorial service for Fran the whale at Moss Landing State Beach in Moss Landing on Oct. 3. Fran, the most photographed whale in California and well known by tourists and whale enthusiasts in Monterey Bay, washed ashore on a beach in Half Moon Bay in August, a victim of a ship strike. (Doug Duran/Staff Photographer)

 

Photographers

Anda Chu – @anda_chuAric Crabb – @AricCrabbDai Sugano – @daisuganoDoug Duran – @duran_dougJane Tyska – @tyskagramJose Fajardo – @fuzyjoeKarl Mondon – @karlmondonNhat V. Meyer – @nhatgnatRay Chavez – @rayinactionShae Hammond – @shae_hammond

Photo/Video Editors

Anda ChuDoug DuranDylan Bouscher – @DylanBouscherLaura Oda – @lodafoto

Managing Editor: Visuals

Sarah Dussault