A selection of CT Public's photographs of the year, 2024.
As another year comes to a close, we enjoy taking a look back at what happened in Connecticut through the eyes of our visuals journalists. The photographs presented here were chosen from a pool of more than 5,000 photographs (which represents only a fraction of the total amount taken by our team the past 355 days). As our team knows, there is a huge difference between taking pictures and making picutres.
Reflecting on the collection below, I am constantly impressed by our six visual journalists - Joe Amon, Ayannah Brown, Ryan Caron King, Mark Mirko, Tyler Russell and Dave Wurtzel. Each year, their work gets stronger and stronger. They all have a unique perspective on how they see the world, that is singular to them. It's a great joy seeing their voices come through more and more with every assignment.
We hope you enjoy looking back at the photographs of our state and communities as much as we loved capturing these moments in 2024. —Julianne Varacchi, Senior Director, Visuals
Mark Mirko
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Connecticut Public
Riding an inflatable pool float, UConn student Jackson Greaney takes a tumble into fresh snow while sledding with fellow student Nate Herman on a campus hill in Mansfield on Jan. 5, 2024. They work as student managers for the UConn Men's basketball team and said they wanted to get some sledding in before the team practiced later in the day.
Ryan Caron King
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Connecticut Public
Suki Godek sits on her bed in a tiny home in the Rosette Neighborhood Village on Jan. 12. She and other residents there have been waiting for New Haven officials to make final approvals for the electricity to be turned on for homes that were built earlier in the fall. "We've been in this process for months now," she said. Godek has helped in the process of building the backyard community behind the Amistad Catholic Worker House after being evicted by the city from a tent city.
Ryan Caron King
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Connecticut Public
Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim embraces City Clerk Lydia Martinez after declaring victory against his challenger John Gomes before the official vote counts were announced the night of the primary re-do on Jan. 23. Ganim would win another term in office after an election in February, ending a contest that was upended by allegations of voting misconduct by Ganim’s supporters.
Joe Amon
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Connecticut Public
Independent Day School thirrd grader Max Gilyard tastes sap straight from the tree after helping set the tap while learning about making maple syrup in Middlefield on Feb. 26, 2024.
Joe Amon
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Connecticut Public
Marline Nadeau 82, right, kisses her daughter and care giver Gail Lewis, 57. Marline has been living with her daughter’s family for nearly 20 years in South Meriden.
Ryan Caron King
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Connecticut Public
Al Gore pays respects to Joe Lieberman's wife Hadassah and members his former running mate's family after speaking at Lieberman's funeral service at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford on March 29.
Mark Mirko
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Connecticut Public
Katherine Dugas, an entomologist, displays a Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis) before her appearance on “The Colin McEnroe Show” in Hartford. The Chinese Mantis was discovered in Connecticut in 1902 and is larger than the European Mantis or Praying Mantis that was discovered in North America in the late 1890s. The Chinese Mantis was first found in Connecticut in 1951 and designated the official state insect in 1977.
Dave Wurtzel
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Connecticut Public
Emily Pacheco and her son Jonah from Windsor Locks sit outside the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford, where a crowd of more than 3,500 people gathered to view the solar eclipse on April 8.
Mark Mirko
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C
A University of Connecticut student is arrested during a rally on campus calling for the university to divest from companies they say are playing a role in the Israel-Hamas war. More than 150 people attended the event on April 25.
Ryan Caron King
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Connecticut Public
Diane Lewis runs into her longtime friends Troy Artist (right) and Stephanie Cole (left) while walking through her old neighborhood in the North End of Hartford on April 25. Artist, who was incarcerated for part of his life, said that his family spent a lot of money to contact him over the years and Lewis' advocacy for free phone calls had a big impact. "It took a whole lot of stress off the family," he said.
Joe Buglewicz
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Connecticut Public
State Sen. Patricia Billie Miller, left, hugs state Sen. Marilyn Moore on May 8 at the Capitol Senate chamber in Hartford. Moore announced she will not be seeking reelection on the final day of the legislative session.
Mark Mirko
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Connecticut Public
Connecticut State Police officials escort the casket of Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier out of funeral services at Xfinity Center in Hartford on June 5. Pelletier was hit by a passing car in May while outside his cruiser on eastbound Interstate 84 in Southington. During the service, Col. Daniel Loughman, commander of the Connecticut State Police, said: "We will move forward with the knowledge that he was a shining light whose example we will still follow in the months and years to come.” Loughman posthumously awarded Pelletier the Medal of Honor.
Ayannah Brown
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Connecticut Public
Dan Hurley giving remarks on why he turned down a $70 million coaching deal with the Los Angeles Lakers at the Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center at the UConn Campus in Storrs on June 13.
Tyler Russell
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Connecticut Public
Students at the Morlock School of Dance in East Hartford perform the modern dance piece about dementia that recently earned them a national award.
Tyler Russell
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Connecticut Public
Begoggled 2-year-old Ellie takes a dip at the splash pad at Veterans Memorial Park in Middletown during a heatwave on July 9.
Joe Amon
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Connecticut Public
A day lily takes in the morning sun in Simsbury on July 9.
Ryan Caron King
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Connecticut Public
Gustavo Sepulveda (in red) receives medical care from Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center's street medicine team, which provides healthcare for unhoused people in the Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven. The team has seen a surge in health care needs from people in the unhoused community.
Ryan Caron King
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Connecticut Public
A'niyah Thompson gets a haircut with a razorblade from Jacob Cotto before catching a quick nap before his next shift at Amazon — right after coming off his last one. Both men live at the Rosette Neighborhood Village, a collective of tents and tiny homes in the back of the Amistad Catholic Worker House in New Haven.
Ayannah Brown
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Connecticut Public
Brittany Howard at the Newport Jazz Festival, Aug. 2nd, 2024 in Newport, Rhode Island.
Tyler Russell
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Connecticut Public
Connecticut Democrats gather to celebrate the selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as Kamala Harris' running mate. The press conference was held in front of a mural that features Harris in Hartford on Aug. 6. Gov. Ned Lamont proudly displayed his freshly made "Harris Walz" t-shirt.
Ayannah Brown
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Connecticut Public
Guest Saxophonist Alex Laurenzi, entering from the left side of the crowd, readies to play with Sunday Jazz members at Courtland Club in Providence, Rhode Island. Pictured are drummer Marcus Grant, bassist Kweku Aggrey, guitarist Dan Liparini and saxophonist Noah Campbell.
Mark Mirko
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Connecticut Public
Wind turbine blades are lined up at the Connecticut State Pier in New London where the turbines are staged and assembled before being shipped to their offshore location in the sound. Once it's completed, the 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind will be a significant source of clean energy. The federal government is giving the region $389 million to improve the electrical grid; part of that money will go toward this wind project.
Dave Wurtzel
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Connecticut Public
Isabel Perez, who recently opened La Terraza, a Mexican restaurant in Oxford, stands in what remains of her property after 10 inches of rain resulted in severe flooding in August.
Dave Wurtzel
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Connecticut Public
Kathy Ekstrom walks alone on a closed Route 67 in Oxford beside the Little River. She says the multi-use complex she owns, Quarry Walk, housed around 100 people overnight, including babies and pregnant women, after the road became inaccessible from a flash flood in August.
Dave Wurtzel
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Connecticut Public
Forester and researcher, Joseph Barsky of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, surveys oak tree acorn production at Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden on Aug. 20.
Mark Mirko
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Connecticut Public
Photographed outside the Goodspeed Opera House, Bill Berloni of Haddam is working with two rescued Havanese mixes, Dulce (left) and Charlie (right), for the play "Left On Tenth," opening on Broadway in September. The world-renowned trainer works with dogs, cats, farm animals, birds, reptiles and insects. He just finished working with a Great Dane who will co-star with Naomi Watts and Bill Murray in the film “The Friend” to be released this fall. His career began nearly 50 years ago, as an apprentice at the Goodspeed Opera House, when he was put in charge of finding and training a dog named Sandy for the original production of “Annie.” Most of the animals Berloni works with are rescues.
Tyler Russell
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Connecticut Public
Norman Gansert of Johnston, Rhode Island, hops into the back of his truck to unload the 1,104-pound pumpkin he grew for the Great Pumpkin competition at the 163rd Woodstock Fair. Giant vegetables were received the day before the fair opened and were moved with the assistance of forklifts.
Tyler Russell
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Connecticut Public
The streaking lights of a pendulum ride illuminate fair goers waiting their turn at the Woodstock Fair midway in August. As the first night winds to a close, the lines of chattering teens show no signs of shortening. If anything, the energy becomes more palpable as people try to squeeze in one last ride, one last game, one last deep-fried delicacy, before returning to everyday life.
Mark Mirko
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Connecticut Public
From left: Sisters Piper Stone, 8, and Carlie Stone, 10, and their cousin Julianna Maynard, 12, stand with their sheep Misty,True and Waldo between rounds of showing at the Woodstock Fair on Aug. 31.
Ryan Caron King
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Connecticut Public
Owen Burlingame,18, sits in front of his family's trailer with his two bulls Possum (right) and Brindle (left). He came down from Shelton, Massachusetts, to the Woodstock Fair with his cousins to compete in the oxen pull, where teams of cattle will face off, pulling up to six tons of weight.
Tyler Russell
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Connecticut Public
KayKay Lam has been a housekeeper at the Omni Hotel in New Haven for almost nine years. Now she bangs a drum while her fellow workers on strike march along a picket line, demanding a new contract from management.
Ayannah Brown
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Connecticut Public
A woman on a motorcycle participates in the 2024 Puerto Rican Day Parade in Hartford on Sept. 22.
Ayannah Brown
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Connecticut Public
New England based singer-songwriter Noah Kahan during his headlining performance at the Soundside Music Festival in Bridgeport on Sept. 28.
Mark Mirko
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Connecticut Public
Austin and Allison McChord talk with Landscape architect Kate Orff of SCAPE outside the Manresa Island power-plant in Norwalk on Oct. 1. The McChords have purchased the plant and plan to transform the site into a park as a gift to their hometown of Norwalk.
Dave Wurtzel
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Connecticut Public
Marisol Navarro stands in what used to be her bedroom at Concord Hills Apartments. Residents in about 50 apartments were displaced after a fire in the building on Aug. 10. Their apartments were then burglarized, without signs of forced entry.
Ayannah Brown
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Connecticut Public
Barber Jimmie "Sauce" Spencer (right) cuts hair inside New Britain's Blaze’s barber shop, where signs for both 5th District Congressional candidates George Logan and Jahana Hayes are in the window. Explaining the signs, owner Johnny Turner says: “This is where George Logan gets his hair cut. And you know I grew up in the hood and you know … we understand both. I’m not going to disclose who I’m voting for, but we’re not leaning any which way. You get your business done here I’ll let you put your sign up. We support both.”
Joe Amon
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Connecticut Public
Chuck Scanion, 72, and his wife Patti, 67, look over their ballots to mark their votes at Latimer Lane school in Weatogue on Nov. 5. "I hope people have been really listening to what these people have been saying. This is nerve-racking and I can't wait ‘til this is over. I am a Kamala lady!" Patti said.
Tyler Russell
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Connecticut Public
The body of former Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell exits the state capitol building one last time, on the way to funeral services on Dec. 3.
Dave Wurtzel
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Connecticut Public
Hartford City Councilman Alex Thomas stands outside Connecticut Superior Court after an appearance. Thomas was previously an associate pastor at South Church, where he served as director of family ministry. Police said Thomas allegedly misused a church credit card to direct funds to a shell company, then to his personal accounts. He faces charges of second-degree larceny and second-degree money laundering. Thomas directed questions about the case to his lawyer, Ron Johnson, who declined comment.
Ryan Caron King
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Connecticut Public
Former Hartford Mayor Thirman L. Milner lies in state at City Hall on Dec. 12. Incumbent Mayor Arunan Arulampalam greets city officials and other visitors who came to pay their respects.
Connecticut Public's 2023 Year in Pictures can be viewed here.
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This week, 33-year-old Isaac Shoulderblade was among the small business owners across Vermont racing to send out those final packages to arrive on time for the holidays.
“People love Christmas movies,” says the state’s brand director. Visitors can now see the sites around Connecticut where nearly two dozen holiday flicks were filmed over the last decade.
Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.
