Name: CBC photojournalists reveal their most compelling images of 2025
Uploaded: 2025-12-20T00:59:47.862Z
Duration: 4 min 50 s
Description: CBC photojournalists Ben Nelms and Evan Mitsui captured thousands of photos over 2025. From the Blue Jays fighting for the World Series to Mark Carney’s ascent to prime minister, they each share their three defining images of 2025.

CBC photojournalists Ben Nelms and Evan Mitsui captured thousands of photos over 2025. From the Blue Jays fighting for the World Series to Mark Carney’s ascent to prime minister, they each share their three defining images of 2025.

Ottawa

CBC staff photojournalists Ben Nelms and Evan Mitsui presented their most memorable images from 2025, offering insights into the stories behind each photograph. Their selections include moments from the World Series, the rise of Prime Minister Mark Carney, the sinking of Vancouver's McBarge, a rural healthcare crisis in Ontario, and the aftermath of the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy in Vancouver.

The photojournalists emphasized the importance of timing, perspective, and ethics in their work, noting how photojournalism can provide unique viewpoints and serve as a reliable source of information. They highlighted the role of professional photojournalists in documenting significant events and bringing unseen moments to the public.

CBC photojournalists reveal their most compelling images of 2025

My goal is to show the audience things that they normally wouldn't ever be able to see. My name is Ben Nelms. I'm Evan Mitsui. I'm a staff photographer. I'm a staff photojournalist. At CBC. With CBC News based in Vancouver. Based in Toronto. I've got three of my favourite pictures. Favourite three photos. From 2025. So the first image was from the World Series when the Toronto Blue Jays were facing Los Angeles Dodgers in LA. I like this photo a lot because of the composition. There's a lot of dead space as we call it on the bottom sort of half of the image. And just how the shadow sort of frames the subject in this image kind of draws your eye towards him. There's a lot of luck involved in photojournalism. And you have to be good to be lucky and you're lucky to be good. But being able just to be in the right spot at literally the right moment when this picture was throwing a ball right in the sun was a little bit of luck and a little bit of preparation. Here is the first of the three pictures that I chose. And it's a photo of now Prime Minister Mark Carney. But at the time this was taken in February. And he was the Liberal leader at the time and a relative political unknown. This is a rally in Scarborough and he's just sort of quietly entering stage left. Which is I think how a lot of Canadians discovered him. And I picked this photo because I like that he's alone. It's something that you don't see a Prime Minister being alone much. Now that he's in the office he's surrounded by aides and security and other journalists. And I just liked this nice quiet moment. My next photo is a picture of the McBarge. This is a famous vessel from Expo 86 that served as a floating McDonald's. It has some history and some lore in Vancouver. And this year it sank. The McBarge in Vancouver is such an infamous vessel that when it sunk it was quite big news. And being able to see it from above in the Fraser River on its side was powerful for a lot of people. And I think that it sort of wrapped a story of the historic ship. Being able to use a drone is very important and it's a very useful tool in photojournalism. And it provides a perspective that readers might not be able to see every day. This is a line of people standing in the cold in Walkerton, Ontario in January. There was a new doctor moving to town. And sort of rural health care is in crisis in southern Ontario and a lot of other places. Thousands of people came to line up just for a chance of getting a doctor. And I think they were accepting 500 patients. And another 500 got to go on the wait list. And there were, you know, a lot more than that. A lot of people went home cold and doctorless that day. Really important story. The third photo is from just after the Lapu-Lapu Day tragedy in Vancouver. This was a very traumatic and many people died. I remember seeing this woman praying on the ground in the middle of the street the day after Lapu-Lapu. And it was just very strong to me in a very quiet way. I think a lot of people couldn't relate to a photo like this because it's just an unbelievable tragedy. And usually there's a silence of mourning that falls over a community after something like this happens. And I hope I was able to show that in a single image. So this is the celebration at the end of the World Series. It's Dodgers pitcher Yamamoto in the middle surrounded by his teammates. Otani's over there. And it's like this moment of pure jubilation. And to be totally honest, it's a better photo if you like crop it in here and like just focus on his face and fill the frame with the guys. But I was there, you know, to shoot the Jays. And so I left it loose because I don't know. I was just focused on the bat up here. That's Alejandro Kirk's broken bat. And, you know, it ended up being the last at bat of the Jays season that resulted in a crazy double play that won the Dodgers the pennant. Nice contrast there, like crazy jubilation and abject despair. The broken bat, the bat of broken dreams. The coolest part about being a photojournalist is I get to do a thing that is a lot of other people's hobby. It's my hobby too. My job and my hobby is the same thing. It's great. I feel like photojournalism can be a lighthouse in a sea of misinformation and photos that people digest every single day. Having a professional photojournalist who's accountable and responsible and uses ethics as a foundation of their craft is extremely important. And it's very, very valuable to readers and audiences and communities.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene to protect demonstrators amid a deadly crackdown by Iranian security forces.

Tehran

Iran warns Washington it will retaliate if U.S. launches an attack

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas showcased a wide array of AI-powered innovations, including paper-thin televisions, interactive Lego, and binoculars that can identify bird species in real time. Notable breakthroughs included .Lumen's AI glasses for the visually impaired and Roborock's Saros Rover, a robotic vacuum cleaner capable of navigating stairs and various surfaces autonomously.

Las Vegas

Rise of AI

AI-powered innovation dominates Consumer Electronics show

Human remains were found in Australia's southeast where bushfires raging for days have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swaths of bushland, police said. The blazes are burning out of control during a summer heat wave in Victoria state.

Victoria

'Gut-wrenching': Australian bushfires expected to burn for weeks

Anti-government protests in Iran show no sign of stopping. Human rights groups are putting the death toll at 116 with 2600 detained. U.S. President Donald Trump has reaffirmed U.S. support for the protesters.

Protests in Iran defy government crackdown

Iran's army is threatening to join the crackdown on protesters as demonstrations against the regime grow and the death toll mounts. Huge crowds have taken to the streets across the Islamic Republic. Iran's Revolutionary Guard calls them "terrorists." Haley Ott has more details.

Iran's army threatens to join crackdown against protesters

President Trump said, "We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not," earlier this week. But Greenland, a territory of Denmark and a NATO ally, is rejecting the threats.

Nuuk

Greenland rejects Trump's threats

Trump, who often cites national security interests as the reason for taking Greenland, said that if the US does not do something, 'Russia or China will take over Greenland'.

Trump says U.S will act on Greenland, 'whether they like it or not'

Protests across the U.S., including in Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Miami, are taking place following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Police declared the demonstrations in downtown Minneapolis an 'unlawful assembly'.

Philadelphia

Protests spread across the U.S. over ICE shooting of woman

Internet and phone lines in Iran have been cut off as anti-government protests enter their second week. Reports say at least 65 people have been killed and more than 2,300 others detained. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned of a possible U.S. response to the government crackdown.

Internet blackout in Iran enters second day as protests intensify

Rescue workers are trying to find dozens of people trapped under a collapsed landfill in the Philippines. At least four people have been confirmed dead. The incident took place on Thursday, with more than 100 workers on site at the time.

Cebu City

Philippines: Dozens still missing in landfill collapse

BRICS nations have launched joint naval exercises off the South African coast. Supporters say the drills will strengthen co-operation among emerging economies.  But critics warn they could deepen global divisions.

Simon's Town

South Africa hosts Russia, Iran and China for military exercise

Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned on Saturday that safeguarding security was a "red line" and the military vowed to protect public property, as the clerical establishment stepped up efforts to quell the most widespread protests in years.

Iran authorities signal intensified crackdown as unrest grows

Luigi Mangione was back in court on Friday, where his lawyers worked to block the Justice Department from seeking the death penalty in his federal trial for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione pleaded not guilty in April 2025.

New York

Luigi Mangione's lawyers fight to block death penalty

Fire crews battle spreading blazes while communities face evacuations and power cuts.

Thousands of firefighters deployed to fight bushfires in Australia

The protest comes amid wider rallies against US immigration enforcement and over the fatal shooting of the 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good.

Minneapolis

Several arrested in Minneapolis during anti-ICE protest

Trump says U.S. will act on Greenland, 'whether they like it or not'

U.S. President Donald Trump began a meeting to discuss Venezuela with executives from some of the world's largest oil companies at the White House, saying he wants them to invest $100 billion in the country to vastly expand its production.

Washington

Venezuela Strikes

Trump urges U.S. oil giants to repair Venezuela's energy industry

The U.S. seized another oil tanker linked to Venezuela in the Caribbean, U.S. Southern Command confirmed on Friday (January 9). The seizure of the vessel comes as President Donald Trump prepares to meet with oil company executives at the White House.

U.S. seizes fifth tanker linked to Venezuela

U.S. President Donald Trump is reiterating his threats against Iran's regime if violence and deaths continue during protests. CBS News' Imtiaz Tyab has more.

Trump: U.S. to hit Iran 'very hard' if violence continues at protests

Russia fired a powerful hypersonic missile overnight at a target in Ukraine near the border with NATO-member Poland, in what Kyiv's European allies described as an attempt to intimidate them from supporting Ukraine.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Russia fires hypersonic missile at Ukraine target near NATO border

A majority of European Union countries have agreed to sign a trade deal with the South American trading bloc, Mercosur. It'll be the EU's biggest free-trade pact and comes after decades of negotiations.

Brussels

EU approves Mercosur trade deal despite protests

The Trump administration is pulling the U.S. out of dozens of international organizations, including key UN agencies and the treaty underpinning global climate talks, marking a deepening retreat from multilateral cooperation.

Trump admin. withdraws from dozens of international organizations

The brother of Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, and head of the country’s national assembly has announced the release of a wide raft of political prisoners. It's being viewed as a gesture to seek peace less than a week after the capture of President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces.

Cúcuta

Venezuela releases political prisoners

Residents in Portland, Oregon, protested Thursday after officials say two people were shot by Border Patrol agents. Gwen Baumgardner has more on how the shooting unfolded.

Portland

Two shot by border patrol agents in Portland

Russia launched a massive attack in Ukraine using drones and missiles, including a nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile. Michael Bociurkiw, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, joins CBS News with more.

Odesa

Russia strikes Ukraine with hypersonic missile

Four crew members aboard the International Space Station will be brought home more than a month early in the coming days as NASA cuts its mission short due to health concerns.

NASA cutting current International Space Station mission short

Iran's supreme leader has condemned anti-government protests, denouncing demonstrators as vandals and saboteurs. Iran has shut down the internet and cut off international calls and is promising decisive punishment.

Iran's Supreme Leader defiant as protests grow

The U.S. Senate advanced a resolution that would bar President Donald Trump from further military action against Venezuela without congressional authorization, a rare rebuke of the Republican leader.

U.S. Senate advances measure curbing Trump's Venezuela war powers

U.S. officials have discussed sending lump sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to convince them to secede from Denmark and potentially join the United States, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

Trump administration mulls paying Greenlanders to join U.S.

Iran’s connectivity drops sharply nationwide – As authorities tighten controls amid growing protests over the economy. NetBlocks says the apparent blackout follows ‘a series of escalating digital censorship measures targeting protests’.

Breakdown