One Last Look at 2012

Like any sizable news outfit, we here at the NewsHour sift through an enormous amount of photographs over the course of a year. It’s just part of the job, and, as many of us can attest, not a bad one at that. So, from runways to rooftops, refugee camps to campaign stumps, here is a smattering of our favorites from 2012.

Can I Take Your Order

For Americans, much of the year was tinged with politics.




Here, a woman dines at Mary Ann's Diner as reporters and cameramen crowd around Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum Jan. 9, 2012, in Derry, N.H.




The New Hampshire Republican primary was held the following day. Photo: Mike Segar/REUTERS

Forward Planning

A teleprompter blocks U.S. President Barack Obama's head as he speaks at a campaign rally Aug. 21 at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.




The President's road to re-election proved to be a rocky one at best, pockmarked by a lagging economic recovery and sharp criticism from conservative opponents.

Photo: Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS

The Challenger

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney preps for a campaign rally Oct. 26 in North Canton, Ohio.




The former Massachusetts governor fought as a self-described champion of small business and vowed to boost jobs and cut unnecessary government spending. Photo: Brian Snyder/REUTERS

A Nation Waits

Audience members listen as Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign rally Oct. 24 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.




As election season ticked on, focus narrowed to a handful of so-called swing states. Photo: Brian Snyder/REUTERS

Reaching for Votes

The hands of U.S. President Barack Obama are seen with his teleprompters at a campaign event Nov. 1 in Las Vegas, Nev.




The President spent much of the campaign trail defending his administration and actions made during his first term, including a major overhaul of the country's health care system Photo: Larry Downing/REUTERS

The Raindrops Keep Falling

Commuters dodge high wind and heavy rain during a thunderstorm July 18 in midtown Manhattan.




Erratic weather patterns affected hundreds of thousands of Americans and countless communities abroad. Photo: Adrees Latif/REUTERS

A Storm of Debt and Downgrades

In Europe, a storm of debt and downgrades plagued countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal. The financial woes became a central concern for Germany because of its strong economy and subsequent role as debt-reducing ringleader.




An assistant holds an umbrella above German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi before talks in Berlin, Oct. 4. Photo: Tobias Schwarz/REUTERS

Flash of Fashion

Despite the profusion of wicked weather and economic uncertainty, fashion persevered.




Audience members watch a model during the J. Mendel Spring/Summer 2013 show at New York Fashion Week Sept. 12. Photo: Andrew Burton/REUTERS

A Skin-Deep Canvas

Other traditional artistic outlets also held strong. Female contestants wait in line to have their tattoos judged at the National Tattoo Association Convention Apr. 13 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo: Larry Downing/REUTERS

Mom of Steel

A Brazilian woman lifts weights next to her 11-month-old son at a gym under the Alcantara Machado viaduct in the Mooca neighborhood of Sao Paulo July 18.




Alcantara Machado gym was founded in 2009 by Brazilian former professional boxer Nilson Garrido with the aim of getting young people out of drugs and crime through sports. Photo: Nacho Doce/REUTERS

Preventing a Plunge

Rescuers and relatives stop a woman from committing suicide by jumping off a building in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province on Aug. 14.




The woman was rescued as she tried to commit suicide after killing her nephew following a family dispute, local media reported. Photo: Stringer/REUTERS

China Looks to the Future

A girl next to a portrait of the late Chairman Mao Zedong at a souvenir shop in Nanjie village of Luohe city in China's central Henan province Sept. 24.




Nanjie village, with more than 3,100 residents, is touted to be one of the last remaining models of communist China, where the principles of morality and collectivism of the late Chairman Mao still strictly guide the people's daily lives. Photo: Jason Lee/REUTERS

A Buried Conflict

A Palestinian girl plays on a beach in Gaza City on a summer's day Aug. 26.




The quest and debate for Palestinian statehood once again drew worldwide attention, particularly after an eight-day missile confrontation broke out between Israeli forces and militants in Gaza. Photo: Mohammed Salem/REUTERS

Refugee Camps Mushroom

Internally-displaced Afghan children shield themselves from dust picked up by wind June 20 at a refugee camp in Kabul.




With the conflict in Syria still waging, hundreds of thousands of refugees are now living in camps throughout the Middle East. Photo: Omar Sobhani/REUTERS

Ocean Casualty

Police and wildlife rangers stand next to a dead humpback whale lying in a rock pool Aug. 1 at Newport beach in Sydney, Australia.




Residents of Newport, a popular surfing beach in Sydney, woke to find the corpse of a 30-ton humpback whale washed up in an ocean swimming pool, according to local media. Photo: Daniel Munoz/REUTERS

Beached Concordia

Vacationers bask in front of the wreckage of capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia near the harbour of Giglio Porto, Italy, June 20.




While travelling under clear skies and in calm waters, the cruise ship hit a rock Jan. 13, 2012, that immediately flooded the engine room and caused loss of propulsion and electrical systems. Photo: Max Rossi/REUTERS

Effects of War Reverberate

Jake Beaudoin, a U.S. Army private of 508 BSTB, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, takes cover during a controlled detonation to clear an area for setting up a check point May 31 in the Zahri district of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. Photo: Shamil Zhumatov/REUTERS

Tightrope Over a Looming Cliff

Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walks a high wire from the U.S. side to the Canadian side over the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, June 15. Photo: Mark Blinch/REUTERS