Sacramento Bee photographers filed roughly 10,000 pictures in 2025.
That’s just a tiny fraction of the images they made: It’s not uncommon for our photographers to take thousands of images for an assignment. But each photo filed to our internal library has been chosen as a standout and then captioned according to journalistic standards, and that could be as little as 1% of the gigabytes of imagery we create each year.
Here’s a look at some of the best from the past year, selected for the mix of emotion, surprise and news value that they brought to our pages.
Former Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, second from left, has a moment of prayer at the celebration of life memorial service for his mother Georgia West, the driving force behind Underground Books in Oak Park, at Saint Paul Church in Sacramento on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2024. Renée C. Byer rbyer@sacbee.com
Katie Horton, 34, stands in her two-bedroom Lincoln apartment on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. Formerly homeless, she said the Placer County Family Self-Sufficiency Program is helping her build a strong financial foundation. “It took me coming to Placer County to really find the resources and people who care,” she said. Renée C. Byer rbyer@sacbee.com
Ashely Gurich, center, of Oakland joins hundreds of demonstrators at a protest against President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk at the California Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Francesca Wander holds a sign outside the CalHR office in Sacramento on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, as she joins hundreds protesting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order directing them to return to their offices four days a week. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Lila Wood, 10, of Sacramento, waves a rally flag as she watches the first Athletics game in West Sacramento on Monday, March 31, 2025. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com
Sen. Bernie Sanders shakes hands with supporters after the “Fighting Oligarchy” rall with U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at Folsom Lake College on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com
Sistern Lisa Marie Doty of the Canossian Sisters prays as Father Michael O'Reilly gives the noontime mass at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento after the passing of Pope Francis on Monday, April 21, 2025. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com
Ken Tate, right, a UC Davis professor studying the impacts of expanding wolf populations on California’s ranchers, and Rick Roberti, president of the California Cattlemen’s Association, walk past a dead calf on the DS Ranches on Monday, May 5, 2025, in Sierra Valley. The calf had been attacked by wolves two weeks earlier. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
An individual is walked in handcuffs by federal authorities into a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement office in the John E. Moss federal building in downtown Sacramento on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. DANIEL HEUER The Sacramento Bee
Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, left, walks down the stairs with state Sen. Monique Limón, D-Goleta, center, on Monday, June 9, 2025, at the state Capitol after the announcement that she would take over leadership of the chamber next year. She is the first Latina to lead the chamber. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com
The fields surrounding a fireworks facility are littered with debris on Wednesday morning, July 2, 2025, the day after an explosion leveled the site near Esparto in Yolo County. NATHANIEL LEVINE nlevine@sacbee.com
Marisol Ramos weeps Thursday, July 3, 2025, as she waits for news of her children, missing since the fireworks explosion in a warehouse in Esparto two days before. JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com
Shaquille O'Neal, aka DJ Diesel, takes the stage for his performance at Heart Health Park in Sacramento on July 11, 2025. JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com
Andrea Castillo speaks to a relative after her husband, who she said was born in Sacramento, was taken into custody by masked uniformed men from the U.S. Border Patrol at the Home Depot on Florin Road near Highway 99 in south Sacramento on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Castillo said that her husband called her saying he was recording the men on the parking lot. ”If he wasn’t brown, he wouldn’t have been questioned,” Castillo said. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com
Marisol Hernandez, the mother of Jesus and Jhony Ramos, the brothers killed at a fireworks facility in Esparto along with five others, cries over the coffin of Jhony during a wake on Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Daly City. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com
Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-Santee, gestures with his thumbs down as state Sen. Aisha Wahab, D-Hayward, speaks in support of the bills to enact Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting plan on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, at the California Capitol. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com
A homeless woman who declined to give her name walks past Sacramento City Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, the last night before an ordinance took effect prohibiting people from sleeping outside the building. RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Christina Montano of Sacramento uses her cellphone to makes imagery of a celebration of California’s 175 years of statehood at the state Capitol on Sept. 9, 2025. JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com
Michelle Duong jumps and chants “Sacratomato, Sacratomato!” to draw attention while wearing a tomato costume at the Terra Madre Americas festival on Sept. 26, 2025, at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento. Duong, who works with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, said her goal was to“engage people in local agriculture, think about what grows in our region — and celebrate it.” RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
A medevac helicopter with three people crashed on eastbound Highway 50 near 44th Street on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Sacramento. The aircraft was split down the middle, exposing its bungled interior, as CHP investigators used flashlights along the shoulder, searching for debris. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com
Mane “Jessica” Davila stares out of her tent on a rainy day on 10th Street in Sacramento on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. “I went to City Hall to speak, and they don’t really care. They treat us like trash. We are human beings too,” said Davila. “There’s no housing yet. Until we get into a tiny home, there is no update or anything right now.” RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Dana Williamson, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, leaves the Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse in Sacramento after being arrested in a federal public corruption probe involving multiple counts of bank and wire fraud, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com
Erika Pringle pauses emotionally while speaking about her brother Andrew Pringle at a vigil she organized on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims at the state Capitol on Nov. 16, 2025. Andrew, pictured below center, was killed in 2023 when a driver ran a red light while he rode his skateboard. Erika organized the event to support other victims of what she calls “vehicular homicide.” RENÉE C. BYER rbyer@sacbee.com
Howard Buford, 104, who fought in World War II during the Battle of the Bulge at Christmas in 1944, is photographed on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Sacramento. After the war ended, he said he couldn’t wait to take off his uniform and return to civilian clothes. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com
Bee visuals editor Nathaniel Levine joined the staff in 2003. His work has received awards from the Society of News Design, the Best of the West journalism competition and the California News Publishers Association, among others. A native Californian, Levine grew up in Grass Valley and attended UC Davis.
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