AMER News Photo Essay of the Year
John Moore
“The vast and sprawling expanse of the US/Mexico border stands as a poignant symbol of the challenges and perils encountered by migrants in their quest to cross into the United States. The photographer skillfully employed a variety of technical methods to vividly capture the diverse range of emotions experienced by the migrants throughout their arduous journey to and across the US border. The meticulous and skillful use of lighting, along with a keen focus on detail and powerful composition, effectively captures the depth of human emotion. This is further enhanced by the impactful edit to tell the story. Together, these elements combine to create an essay that is destined to make a profound and enduring impact for generations to come.”
‘The Crossing’
Migrant crossings at the U.S. southern border reached record levels in 2023. More than 2.3 million people, most seeking political asylum, crossed from Mexico into the United States. The largest increase of any country was Venezuela, as hundreds of thousands fled that country's economic mismanagement and soaring crime. After weeks or months of hard travel, many migrants raced across the border in a mad dash, the end in clear sight. As the year came to a close, often more than 10,000 people made the crossing daily, risking it all for a hopeful, if uncertain future.
2nd Place
Mario Tama
‘Climate Impacts’
2023 was the hottest year recorded on Earth as extreme events such as heavy precipitation and flooding, heat waves, and wildfires become more intense and/or frequent due to human-induced climate change. California began the year with a barrage of at least 12 powerful atmospheric river storms which generated widespread flooding, hundreds of landslides and extreme snowfall, killing at least 22 people. California’s long-dry Tulare Lake, once the largest body of freshwater west of the Mississippi River, reemerged to flood farmland communities after years of severe drought in a pattern known as ‘climate whiplash’. Phoenix suffered through the hottest month (July) ever recorded in a city in the United States, hitting an average maximum temperature of 114 degrees per day. In August, the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history tore through the Lahaina community in Maui, where grasses which were lush weeks before morphed into extremely dry and flammable fuels in a flash drought. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that the United States experienced 28 weather and climate disasters which each caused at least $1 billion in damage in 2023, the most ever, even when adjusted for inflation. In the 1980’s, the average time between $1 billion disasters was about 82 days- in 2023, it was less than two weeks. With scientists now questioning whether Earth’s warming is accelerating, the year’s extreme events foretell an exodus into a future of compounding climate hazards and planetary changes. The Fifth National Climate Change Assessment released in 2023 states that ‘without deeper cuts in global net greenhouse gas emissions and accelerated adaptation efforts, severe climate risks to the United States will continue to grow.’
3rd Place
Win McNamee
‘The Speaker of the House’
2023 saw the culmination of conservative forces inside the U.S. House of Representatives reach an apex of conflict. Rep. Kevin McCarthy was elected as speaker of the House in January. He was voted out of office by members of the far right only nine months later. His removal led to a complex contest to replace him with multiple candidates being nominated and then being tossed aside. In the end, Rep. Mike Johnson was elected as the new Speaker of the House following a turbulent process that shows no signs of ending anytime soon.
