2025 Portfolio of the Year Winner
First Place - Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times
SAN BERNARDINO, CA - SEPTEMBER 26, 2025: Ashley Woodard, 36, peers out of her tent which is pitched on California Street near the sidewalk on September 26, 2025 in San Bernardino, California. She has been homeless for more than 20 years. San Bernardino County approved an ordinance in September that bans homeless encampments on public property and rights of way, citing health and safety concerns. “I am just trying to find my way, Woodard said.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada November 1, 2025: Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (16) picks up Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) after defeating the Blue Jays in the 11th inning 5-4 to win game seven of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Roger Centre on Saturday, November 1, 2025 in Toronto, Canada.
LOS ANGELES , CA - JULY 18, 2025: A bagpiper leads a procession to the coroner as L.A. County Sheriff Deputies salute as bomb squad members escort the flagged draped casket containing the body of one of their own bomb squad members who was one of three killed Friday morning during an explosion at the Biscailuz Training Center on July 18, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 30, 2025: Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes (11) reacts as he dunks against Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (23) and Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II (5) at Crypto.com Arena on December 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Wildfires Rage in LA: Firefighters battle an intense apartment blaze fueled by high winds from the Eaton fire on East Pine Street at on January 8, 2025 in Altadena, California.
Transgender Athlete Navigates a Fight She Never Asked For: Abi, left, a transgender athlete, holds hands with a teammate in a prayer circle before a track meet event on April 9, 2025 in Riverside, California.
Transgender Athlete Navigates a Fight She Never Asked For: Abi, a transgender athlete, spends quiet time on her bed reading after track practice on April 14, 2025 in Riverside, California. She has an anti-Trump poster hanging near her bed. “No one asked me if I had the mental strength or not before they sued California over me or before they sent hundreds of students to protest against me all day, I just figured everything out on the go,” she said.
Transgender Athlete Navigates a Fight She Never Asked For: Abi, a transgender athlete, hugs her great grandmother with her brother nearby after graduating high school one year early on May 28, 2025 in Riverside, California. “With how chaotic this year has been, and with the risk I was taking at graduation, it felt great to know that through all of that, they are still by my side and will support me with anything I do,” she said.
ICE Protests in Streets of Los Angeles: In the month of June, sweeping ICE raids began in Los Angeles, ramping up the Trump administration’s large-scale battle against immigration. The aggressive raids caused an uproar, with intense clashes between law enforcement and protesters and the arrival of the National Guard. An 8PM curfew was put in effect in Los Angeles after unrest during subsequent days of protests against immigration raids by ICE. A demonstrator waves a Mexican flag in front of a dumpster fire after another night of unrest during a protest against immigration raids on June 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
ICE Protests in Streets of Los Angeles: A flower was placed in front of the California National Guard on the backside of the Federal Building during protests against ICE raids on Alameda Street on June 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Second Place - Robert Gauthier / the Los Angeles Times
Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire leaves the scene as Dodgers rush to celebrate an 18th inning walk-off homer by teammate Freddie Freeman to win game 3 of the World Series.
Andrés Giménez hit a one-out line drive to left that was just a little too far off the end of his bat, cracking the lumber as the ball made impact. In the outfield, Kiké Hernández heard the sound, and let instinct take over as he ran to field it.“For a split second, as Glasnow threw the ball, the crowd got quiet,” Hernández said afterward. “I was able to hear that the bat broke, so I just got a really good jump on the ball. And I came in.”By breaking in toward the infield, Hernández was in perfect position to make the highlight-reel play that followed: He caught the ball on the run, despite losing it in the lights ever so briefly; contorted his body to quickly throw to second, having peripherally “felt” baserunner Addison Barger drift too far off the bag; then delivered a one-hop strike that was cleanly picked off the dirt by teammate Miguel Rojas.Double play. Game over.Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 3-1 in Game 6 of the World Series.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw effusively embraces the Commissioner’s Trophy after winning his third World Series championship with Los Angeles.
GENNewsSunday, June 8,, 2025, Los Angeles, CA - Waymo taxis burn on Los Angeles St. as thousands of protesters take to the streets to protest ICE immigration raids throughout the city.
PORTBeverly Hills, CA, Monday, March 10, 2025 — California-born and based punk rock icon Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 has a new memoir (written with author Dan Ozzi), "Fahrenheit-182.
Homes located between W. Las Flores and Laurel Drive lay in ruins, save one, less than two weeks after the Eaton Fire devastated the area. In between and all around, the fire left a wake of disaster. In certain parts, it wiped away entire neighborhood blocks.
FEATTijuana, Mexico, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 - Asylum seekers at Movimiento Juvuntude 2000 are witness to a Trump piñata carried by local activist Sergio Tamai Quintero. Days after the cancellation of the CBP1 program, their future is now more uncertain as Mexican officials decide where they must go.
Two weeks after the fire, Margaret Martin, 96, sits outside a home built by her husband, Henry Martin in 1966. She’s accompanying her daughter, Hendrena Martin as she searches the ashes for valuables. Her home was a place she imagined passing on to the next generation. Now, as she and her daughter, LaShondra Ellis, regroup they're figuring out how or if they can one day rebuild.
Altadena, CA, Wednesday, Jan 8, 2025 - Steve Salinas shields from intense heat as he tries to prevent the flames from igniting his friend’s home on Sinaloa Ave. as the Eaton Fire continues to grow. Salinas hosed hot spots down for hours, saving the house from the flames.
Altadena, CA, Wednesday, Jan 8, 2025 - Samuel Girma tries to outrun the heat of a smoldering house as he tries to prevent it’s spread Nextdoor on LaPaz Rd. as the Eaton Fire continues to grow.Altadena sits above Pasadena, nestled against the foothills of the mountains. But it isn’t considered a traditional mountain town.The fire left longtime residents in shock that it made it so far south, leaving many residents who live and work in the community without home or income. Nearly 42,000 people live in the largely working-class neighborhood.
Third Place - Ringo Chiu / Freelance
CSUN Matadors’ Keilani Claiborne (6) and UC Santa Barbara Gauchos’ Mya Delaney (30) compete for a header during the Big West Championship semifinal at California State University, Northridge, in Los Angeles on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. UC Santa Barbara defeated CSUN 3–2 in a penalty shootout.
A homeless man injects himself with a syringe on a sidewalk across the street from MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025.
A man lies on a walkway at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.
A Donald Trump-shaped balloon appears in the background behind a performer dressed as a Mexican Aztec dancer during the No Kings Day protest in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. Thousands of demonstrators fill the streets around the dancer, carrying signs and flags as the march moves through the city, blending political symbolism with cultural imagery during the large-scale rally.
A man reacts as a flash-bang device explodes near him during a demonstration following federal immigration operations in the Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 7, 2025. The protest erupted after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted raids in the area, leading to multiple detentions and escalating into clashes, the use of chemical irritants by police, and small fires set by protesters.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in riot gear advance behind armored vehicles during a nighttime demonstration following federal immigration operations in the Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 7, 2025. The protest erupted after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted raids in the area, leading to multiple detentions and escalating into clashes, the use of chemical irritants by police, and small fires set by protesters.
Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic (L) and New Orleans Pelicans' Yves Missi #21 fight for the rebound during an NBA basketball game at Crypto.com Arena on Friday, April 4, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Flowers and a parked car are coated in fire retardant as the Palisades Fire burns through Mandeville Canyon in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2025. The fire was one of several blazes burning across Los Angeles County.
A firefighter’s shadow is cast on the wall of a burning home as wind-driven embers fly during the Palisades Fire amid a powerful windstorm on the west side of Los Angeles on Jan. 8, 2025, as crews worked to contain fast-moving flames.
Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as a restaurant along Pacific Coast Highway burns during a windstorm on the west side of Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 8, 2025, as powerful winds fueled intense flames.
Judge comments: We selected three winners for Portfolio of the Year. Each of these Photographers rose to the top by demonstrating the most well-rounded photojournalism. Their work consistently captured peak action, genuine reactions, meaningful human connection, powerful moments, and exceptional caption writing skills.Choosing a first place was not easy, any of the three could have earned the top spot. Ultimately, the deciding factor was the level of access achieved in the transgender athlete story. The depth of trust and storytelling in that work particularly impressed us.