NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The right frame can freeze a moment in time, creating meaning for the masses from a punch to a bloody ear, a bridge collapsed by a ship, cities torn apart by nature and of a sealed victory on the field. kiss.

In 2024, photographers across the United States have captured glimpses of humanity, from a deeply divisive presidential election to hurricanes and fires that ravaged communities to campus protests against the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The Associated Press gallery illustrates a new chapter in political history: the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the moment President Joe Biden announced he would not run again, the election sprint of Vice President Kamala Harris in place of Biden and the raw emotion of voters in a grueling contest ultimately won by Trump.

Hurricanes swept across the country with devastating images, leaving a path of ruin and death from Florida to Appalachia. After Hurricane Helene, North Carolina’s Lake Lure was shown in a shocking photo covered in shards of debris thick enough to hide the water’s surface. Hurricane Milton ravaged the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, home of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays.

The scale of destruction that will occur in parts of the country in 2024 was difficult to comprehend and might have been more difficult to comprehend. This was the case when a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse and collapse around the ship, killing construction workers on the bridge.

As flames torched the California landscape, another image showed firefighters and sheriff’s deputies pushing a vintage car away from a burning house. Elsewhere in California, a photo is illuminated with bright orange flames, interrupted only by the subtle features of an animal running through them.

But hope also persevered despite devastation. Following Helen, an image from Crystal River, Florida, shows Dustin Holmes holding the hand of his girlfriend, Hailey Morgan, as they waded through floodwaters with her children, 4 and 7, back to their house flooded. And on Manasota Key, Florida, a family was illuminated by the glow of flashlights as they walked to check their Milton-damaged home.

Other photos from 2024 also captured darkness and shadows to emphasize light: among them, a rocket liftoff and a total solar eclipse. And yes, eclipse glasses were back in fashion for a shared moment of sky observation.

But many other photos delivered an explosion of color, from the spectrum of the Northern Lights in a Maine sky to a crew of workers wading through the deep red of a Massachusetts cranberry bog.

And, once again, Taylor Swift captured the nation’s attention, even while being part of the crowd. She rushed out of the stands to hug her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, after the Chiefs won the AFC championship, en route to another Super Bowl victory.