Picturing 2022: The Deseret News’ top images of the year

For the Deseret News’ talented team of photojournalists, 2022 was a busy year as we set out in a world getting back to normal.

With the news cycle knowing no limits, we took our readers across the state and all around the world, with one of our main focuses this year trained on water in the Beehive State.

Our visual journalists looked at different aspects of the shrinking Great Salt Lake and gave readers an equally deep dive into the waters of the Colorado River. Their images told stories of those who rely on the precious resources, from the headwaters of the river to the Great Basin, down through the Navajo Nation and all the way to the end of the river in Baja California, Mexico.

Even with those big projects, we still made it a priority to highlight the large and small stories of everyday people in our own communities.

From the death of a beloved senator, to a Supreme Court decision that rocked the country, to a contentious senate race, our photographers captured it all.

But the slices of life in between those heavy news stories are always some of our favorites.

Documenting a family enjoying Sunday NFL football together, or the expression of a 5-year-old who can’t contain her excitement while the lieutenant governor reads her a story, or an animal services supervisor sneaking a kiss from a shelter dog always lifts our spirits, and hopefully yours too.

Here are 30 of our favorite images and moments as we look back at 2022 and wish our readers a wonderful 2023.