From tragedy to celebration, from promising beginnings to somber farewells, these images capture a momentous 2018.
Through photographers’ lenses, we saw traumatized students led from bloody classrooms and watched California burn. We said goodbye to the world’s last male northern white rhino, and looked in the eyes of political leaders under scrutiny in a divisive time.
Amid the adversity and conflict, there were moments of inspiration, too: a royal wedding that showed a modern marriage; an Olympic athlete flying breathtakingly high.
Photographers pointed their cameras in every direction around the world to reveal these scenes — at times risking their own safety — and brought us along as virtual witnesses. Here, TIME’s photo editors present an unranked selection of the 100 best images of the year.
Warning: Some of the following images are graphic in nature and might be disturbing to some viewers.
Correction, Dec. 7:
The original credit for Thalia Juarez’s picture, as distributed by the Associated Press, was incorrectly stated as the Baltimore Sun/AP. It is the Capital Gazette, which is part of the Baltimore Sun Media Group.