It’s always a challenge to look back over a year and pick out the photos that stood out the most for me. 2025 was an interesting year that included everything from protests and memorials to sports triumphs and heartbreaking losses, to wild foxes, a celebrity dog and Santa Claus.
In early January, Santa, Medina and Castle Noel kept The Promise of Christmas for a group of North Carolinian survivors of Tropical Storm Helene who came from Chimney Rock, N.C. and the Asheville area. It was a continuation of 2024, when I went to Asheville to help out our sister paper, The Citizen-Times — which is part of the USA Today Network — with coverage of the storm recovery efforts.
My favorite stories are in-depth projects where I get a chance to explore an issue that is a concern or interest for our community.
This year, reporter Tawney Beans and I tackled the issue of food deserts in Akron. We looked at the problems and also some solutions including the Metro grocery bus, cooking classes and meal programs. We also met Jontayesha Brown, a mother of two school-age children who let us into her life to see how she budgets to feed her family healthy meals and how she uses grocery apps to plan meals and her shopping.
Regardless of the situation I’m in, my approach to photojournalism is to have a conversation while taking pictures. That way it’s easier for me and for the person that I’m taking a picture of to relax and forget about the camera. This also helps me get a better understanding of the person and helps me better understand the story and how to tell it visually for our readers.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Look back on 2025 in photos through the lens of Mike Cardew
Reporting by Mike Cardew, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
