Presented here is a selection of the best photos of 2018 from The Denver Post photo staff. Of the many thousands of images that Denver Post photojournalists record each year, only a fraction make it to readers鈥� eyes either in print or online. The photos contained in this gallery represent an even smaller proportion of images made this year. These pictures not only document the biggest news stories of 2018, they capture daily life across Colorado. Each of these pictures is special for a different reason 鈥� the quality of light, a graphic pattern, a moment between two people, striking perspectives, an intimate window into someone鈥檚 life, or simply a pop of color in the leaves of a tree.
In addition to the photographic timeline, every Denver Post visual journalist reflected on one story they covered this year that stuck out as being particularly interesting or meaningful to them.
Like every year, 2018 was a mix of tragedy and joy, change and tradition. Wildfires once again left our landscape scarred. Olympians from Colorado and beyond inspired. Shocking killings horrified. Polarizing politics played out in the midterm elections. The Colorado Rockies made it to the playoffs. And between the headlines, life went on in the beautiful way it always does.
Hyoung Chang
Covering the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea was an incredible experience for me. Aside from being able to document the world鈥檚 greatest athletes, the trip also held a personal significance. My grandparents left the Korean Peninsula and moved to Japan in the 1950s. Back then Korea was in chaos. It抖阴ap now been 65 years since the end of the Korean War. I鈥檓 a third generation Korean who grew up in Tokyo. I only visited Korea once before when I was 19, which was about 30 years ago. All of my grandparents are gone by now, but during my time in Korea covering the Olympics I met so many people who reminded me of them.
Joe Amon
Working every long-term story has its ups and downs. The months spent following Sarah Janeczko, a young woman in her early 20s who admittedly ran wild in the foster care system after the horror of her mother鈥檚 suicide and being taken from her father soon after, were filled with contrasting periods of happiness and security vs. anger and suspicion. There was always a rotating cast of roommates living with her and her boyfriend to help with the rent and bills. They would change frequently between friends trying to save money, sisters she had met in foster care, to people met during the even more turbulent times after being emancipated from the foster care system. Her caring and inclusive manor also carries an edge that she is not afraid to show. She will make sure you understand if she feels betrayed. To those close to her, she is fiercely loyal in times of conflict. She鈥檒l literally jump straight into a fight swinging to defend her family, not backing down for any reason. Her toughness of character from a life filled with tragedy and disappointments make her quest for joy and her accomplishments shine even brighter on each path she takes. It was an honor to be allowed into her world and to be able to share her story.
RJ Sangosti
I was driving to the office when I saw Tina pushing her blue shopping cart in north Denver. I parked my truck and ran over to meet this lady, who was collecting scrap metal while wearing a blonde wig and red high heels.
I spent the rest of the afternoon documenting Tina鈥檚 day. The 30-year-old homeless woman collects enough scrap metal to make a little over $10. Tina is like a lot of women living on the streets of Denver, battling substance abuse and dealing with family issues.
鈥淲e are seeing an increase in all populations of people experiencing homelessness, with the largest increase in families, single women and seniors,鈥� explains Cathy Alderman of Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. 鈥淭here鈥檚 just not as many shelter beds for women,鈥� said Alderman. In the past shelters mostly catered to men, but that is changing, as a third of all of Colorado鈥檚 homeless are now women, according to Alderman.
The woman removed her blonde wig and red high heel shoes and then put on sneakers. 鈥淚 like to dress up鈥� change clothes鈥� keep people guessing. Just cause I live out here doesn鈥檛 mean I don鈥檛 like to look sexy,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I never sell my body!鈥� she exclaimed as she referenced the fact that her dress may also help distract the guys running the scales at the metal recycling facility.
One of my favorite parts of this job is meeting all types of people, and Tina was definitely a character.
Helen H. Richardson
Being from Colorado, I grew up in love with the sweeping landscapes and natural beauty of the West. As we see more and more development throughout the state, I am drawn to stories that show a sliver of how life in Colorado used to be and how some people are trying to keep old traditions alive. Sombrero Ranches and their annual Great American Horse drive is one such story. I had been hearing about the drive for several years and wanted to see what it was all about. This year marked the 20th anniversary of the drive, which provided a perfect opportunity to document the event.
The drive starts every year in early May outside the coal town of Craig. During the two-day ride over 62 miles of open rangeland, cowboys and riders move 400 to 500 Sombrero horses from their winter range in Brown鈥檚 Park to their Big Gulch Ranch just west of Craig for the summer.
While the drive has become a popular tourist attraction with paying riders joining in to experience what it is like to be a cowboy, it still has a feel of the old West. Ranch owner Rex Walker, who has owned the ranch since 1960, is a true cowboy. With his annual drive he has helped to preserve an iconic western tradition. He could easily round up the horses with ATVs, put them in tractor trailers and deliver them in an hour or two drive back to the ranch. But instead he continues this enduring and difficult tradition.
As far as Rex Walker and his cowboys are concerned, whether there are paying riders or not, they will continue the drive as long as they can. 鈥淚t is the most visible sign that the horse ranching that emerged with the 19th-century settlement of the West may survive as an economic and cultural mainstay in northwestern Colorado,鈥� wrote Denver Post reporter Bruce Finley in the May article. 鈥淟ocals here claim the area to be 鈥� as they put it on the town sign at Maybell 鈥� 鈥榳here the West is still wild鈥欌��
AAron Ontiveroz
I went to my hometown 鈥� Laramie, Wyoming 鈥� to document the 20th anniversary of Matthew Shepard鈥檚 murder. The crime against the 21-year-old gay college student led to many changes throughout the country, both socially and legislatively: hate crime laws being among the most prominent. I was going to write about what I experienced firsthand as a 14-year-old watching this story unfold in my hometown, but Sheriff Dave O鈥橫alley (In grid, left column, second from top) has much more profound words.
Dave O鈥橫alley and Rob DeBree of the Laramie Police Department were tasked with investigating the murder of Matthew Shepard in October 1998. Both men were fundamentally changed by the events. Before the murder, O鈥橫alley now admits that he was homophobic, 鈥淚鈥檝e spent 20 years talking about it and it抖阴ap hard for me to… I almost feel hypocritical. When this case started, I was homophobic. I was mean spirited when it came to the gay community. I鈥檇 walk into a locker room and be the first one to say, 鈥楬ey, did you hear the one about the three [expletives] that walked into a bar?鈥� Never caring or even thinking about if somebody standing next to me was gay or struggling with sexual identities. I was a real asshole. I think my kids understood that dad was an asshole. I embarrassed them with the way I talked. I never called anybody gay. It was any other term than that. This investigation forced me to interact with our gay community. A switch went on. I started losing my ignorance. All I succeeded in doing when I was that way was precluding a really fine group of folks from being my friends. I have some really spectacular people in my life because I changed my attitude.鈥�
Andy Cross
In Rocktober of 2007, I had the privilege of photographing the World Series between the Colorado Rockies and the Boston Red Sox. That experience gave me a full appreciation for playoff baseball 鈥� the energy on the baseball field and in the crowd was palpable.
This Rocktober was no different with the exception of the outcome of course, which fell a bit short. Nonetheless, I feel fortunate to have photographed the Colorado Rockies this season and their playoff run in Los Angeles, Chicago, Milwaukee and Denver.
The 13-inning NL Wildcard game at Wrigley Field was particularly thrilling for me for a number of reasons. Being at the historic Wrigley Field was exciting in itself, but after 13 innings we (The Denver Post) were pushing deadlines with a few minutes to spare. I texted my boss seconds after the Rockies defeated the Cubs and asked him if he would prefer on-field celebration photos or champagne celebration photos from the clubhouse in consideration of our fading print deadline. On field celebration was the choice, so I was able to transmit several pictures from the photo well along the first base near the Rockies dugout. Shortly after transmitting, I managed to get to the clubhouse to capture and send a few images of the champagne celebration as well.
When you go into a clubhouse to photograph a champagne celebration, you must wrap your cameras and strobes in plastic and wear rain gear because baseball players don鈥檛 discriminate when celebrating with champagne. One of the players poured, what felt like an entire bottle of champagne, down the back of my neck.
Rocktober, what a rush!