Numerous people within the Twin Cities will remember 2023 for its snowy start. I do know I’ll, as I photographed people shoveling and playing in one among our snowiest winters on record.

That snow — will it ever come again? — melted from our memories as spring and summer took hold. That’s after I photographed people having fun with water in a unique form, including splash pads and lakes.

Despite some atypical weather patterns, 2023 was in other ways like most other years — filled with triumphs and tragedies, joy and pain.

As a photojournalist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, I used to be honored to witness and document a few of those moments in our community.

With that said, listed below are my favorite photos from 2023.

Completely happy Recent 12 months! I hope there may be much joy ahead to document in 2024.