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Series: 2012 in review

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The best photographs of 2012 - in pictures

From the camaraderie of the Tour de France to snipers in Syria, Sarah Gilbert selects her favourite pictures of the year

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Manhattan blackout by Iwan Baan

I took this from a helicopter, after the storm in New York, as we flew over Manhattan. It was a two-day scramble to organise it and to get across the city, since nothing was working – the tunnels and bridges were closed, there was no transportation. It was a cold, three-hour helicopter ride to and from the city. So when I took the picture I was trying to direct the pilot while I was freezing. It was essentially the water that knocked out the power. I thought it was important to show it in that way – it made us realise how fragile we are against nature and water. Photograph: Iwan Baan/Getty Images #
After the storm, Gandia by Pedro Armestre

On 29 September I saw on the ­news that a tornado had ripped through the east of Spain. When I saw the intensity of the devastation I decided to travel there. Gandia is about 400km from Madrid, where I live. It was festival time and usually it is filled with people, lights, music and laughter. But this time it was different. The ­situation was quite strange: the creaking of twisted metal, the debris after the tornado, and everything closed and empty. It was so bleak. I exchanged a few words with the man in the picture; he said that they had lost everything. Photograph: Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images #
One small step by Red Bull Stratos

On 14 October Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped into the record books when he plunged to Earth from a balloon floating on the edge of space. The 43-year-old travelled 24 miles up in the balloon wearing a specially designed survival suit, before leaping to the ground in New Mexico. This photograph, taken by the camera aboard his capsule, catches him as he steps out into space. Before he leapt Baumgartner said: “Sometimes you have to go up really high to see how small you are.” On his way down, he broke the sound barrier, at one point travelling at 833.9 miles an hour. Photograph: Red Bull Stratos #
Bombs over Aleppo by Maysun

I’ve covered other conflicts, but never an open war like this in Syria. There was a strong battle between ­the Syrian army and the rebels, with the army bombing the whole neighbourhood with heavy artillery shelling. I took the picture very carefully on the rooftop, as army ­snipers were shooting on the street. I was wearing a bulletproof vest and ballistic helmet. They help, but won’t save you if you get bombed. I think this photograph shows the horror that exists in Syria. When I see the picture today I feel anger and even more sadness about everything that was and still is happening in Syria. Photograph: Maysun/EPA #
Athens flag day by Aris Messinis

This was the last pre-election speech of Antonis Samaras, the Greek conservative party’s leader, before they won in June. You can see the enthusiasm among the young supporters as they wave their flags and light flares. The light was nice and it makes a beautiful picture, but when I look at it I see something different. I see Greek people still supporting an old style of party politics when we need something new. The majority of people here vote for their own personal interest, and not the interest of the country. If this does not change, we will be in the same situation for years. Photograph: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images #
Horse runs through fire by Jasper Juinen

Every January, on the eve of St Anthony’s day, to celebrate the patron saint of animals, horses are ridden through bonfires to clear them of bad spirits. It is held in San Bartolomé de Pinares, a little village in central Spain, on top of a mountain. The horses are not scared – or at least they don’t look scared. They are kept wet so they don’t catch fire. While I was ­shooting I saw the horse was going to go straight through the fire, and I knew the ­moment was good and it would make a great image. He looks so brave. Photograph: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images #
Jamaica's speed kings by Olivier Morin

Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir [who had just won gold, silver and bronze] were on their lap of ­honour ­after the 200m final at the Olympics. We saw them coming towards us on their lap of honour, and called to them. They posed for just about a second before they moved on, and I took the shot. I like it because it’s the story of those three athletes. I think you can see the relief in their faces, after the ­effort. It’s the emotional side of sport. Photograph: Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images #
Election night by Matthew Rourke

This was shot at the end of Obama’s speech during the election night party – you can see the confetti coming down. The crowd were mesmerised by his words. The first thing I saw when I turned round from the stage was the woman at the centre of the picture – you couldn’t miss her smile, she was beaming, just glowing. The woman next to her looks like she is in a snowstorm and is feeling the magic that happens when the first flakes come down. Everyone was just elated at what they had helped make happen. Photograph: Matthew Rourke/AP #
Yida refugee camp by John Stanmeyer

In the Yida refugee camp in South Sudan there were 60,000 displaced people and a malnutrition crisis, with three to five children dying everyday. I spent a week in the camp, and met the family of Hassan, who had died overnight of complications from malaria. I spent half a day with them as they carried out the final ablutions of the Islamic tradition, bathing the body and carrying it to a makeshift grave. The picture is more of a vignette. The whole family is involved in burying their loved one. The picture reminds you that we are all part of the earth and we return to it. Photograph: John Stanmeyer/VII #
The masked women by Chi Yin Sim

I was in Qingdao, China for the New York Times. There had been reports of Chinese women wearing masks because they were obsessed with keeping their skin fair. In traditional Chinese society, ­being dark is not considered beautiful. A woman was coming out of the water with a mask on and I just thought: “Oh My God!” – she looked like Spiderwoman. But the women wearing them were very blasé; they just saw it as part of their ­swimming costume. The picture was widely ­circulated – it got more attention that any of my political photographs from China, just because they look so bizarre. Photograph: Sim Chi Yin/New York Times/Redux /Eyevine #
Floods in Hoboken by Brendan Smialowski

I had heard about the taxis, and it was certainly an image that illustrates the devastation of Hurricane Sandy within the New York area, because the yellow cab is so iconic. It was taken from a viaduct in Hoboken [New Jersey], a day or so after the hurricane passed through. The water level had receded. What you see is a very subtle mirror reflection of a beautiful puffy sky. I guess it’s a magnetic image: the beautiful immaculate new yellow cabs and this dark reflection. They are clear, bold colours – a contrast to the other pictures I had taken of mud and devastation. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images #
The Obamas by Jim Watson

It is hard to keep political photographs interesting. I took this when Michelle Obama had just introduced the president at a campaign event in Iowa. It shows a personal side of them that you don’t get to see very often, but this ­embrace seemed very genuine and real to me. A very similar picture was tweeted from the president’s ­account [this became the most liked and retweeted post in social media ­history] and I ended up being interviewed about the picture for months and months. ­People felt it summed up his campaign – showing a personal, family-values side to him. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images #
Parkour in Gaza by Ali Ali

I took this picture in Khanyonis town in the south of the Gaza Strip, in a graveyard. The subject of parkour attracts me, because it is very rare here and people are not familiar with it. These children are the only team that do this kind of sport. What I was really interested in was showing how they do it, and also how extremely happy they are despite being in a place of death, a graveyard – which seems the only place they can find joy. It is one of my favourite pictures because it is so surprising. It was a lovely moment. Photograph: Ali Ali/EPA #
The Mobot by Mark Blinch
I took this on Super Saturday when Team GB won three gold medals. There was a real electricity in the air, and after Mo Farah won the men’s 10,000m final it was a great atmosphere. People were just cheering so loudly, and then when they played God Save the Queen and everyone was singing, it gave you chills. You can see how happy he looks – exhausted, but happy. Taking ­pictures of athletics is great because it’s something everyone knows the rules to, so it’s the big event. Photograph: Mark Blinch/Retuers #
Woman in laser burqa by Seamus Murphy

I took this picture in February this year. I had been working on a project about Afghan women’s poetry and was trying to find images that were not the usual misery pictures of women in Afghanistan. I discovered this underpass in the city; a dark area with a little shop that was pumping out these lasers, and I wondered how they would look on a woman walking by in a burqa. I think the shot works because of the element of surprise. It’s trying to subvert not the burqa itself, but the image of the burqa, because I’m bored of the cliches around it. Photograph: Seamus Murphy/VII #
The hunter hunted by Dan Kitwood

There were a lot of photographers outside Southwark crown court [when Rebekah Brooks was charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice on 22 June]. I wanted a shot with the press pack around her, so I positioned my stepladders around the back of her car and chose my wide-angle lens. I used a slower shutter speed than I would normally, to increase my chances of catching someone else’s flash. I feel it can add extra drama. It was all over very quickly. It’s not perfect, but I was happy to have achieved what I set out to do. The hunter had become the hunted. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images #
Milk protest, Brussels by Yves Herman

I took this in November. About 2,000 farmers came to Brussels to demonstrate and spray milk on the European parliament. They wanted to bring 1,000 tractors, but couldn’t get them into the square. Still, they had 50, which was impressive. The building was surrounded by riot police, so the farmers used big hoses to cover them in thousands of litres of milk. It was really smelly. The farmers weren’t there to smash things, just to make sure people noticed them. The story behind the picture isn’t funny because people are suffering, but it is funny to see the police flooded with milk. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters #
Syrian snipers by Javier Manzano

This was taken in the Karmal Jabl neighbourhood in central Aleppo – which locals are now calling little Stalingrad. A lot of the fighting by both sides is now done by sniper. They punch walls through homes to create tunnels to unite them so they can move around undetected. I underexposed the picture slightly because I wanted the light coming in on the right – it was lighting the soldier’s face really nicely. I like how the rays of light coming through the bullet and shrapnel holes come towards you and draw you back into events. I also think it shows what Aleppo has become. Photograph: Javier Manzano/AFP/Getty Images #
Tour de France by Scott Mitchell

I met Bradley in Spain a few years ago and we hit it off straight away. At the start of this year Sky asked me to join them [to photograph the team in the tour]. It was a real privilege to be there when history was made. This was the first British winner. I think it works because you can see the camaraderie between the eight riders, summed up in the way they are holding each other’s shoulders and looking at each other. It shows that, ­although this is a professional sport, it is about friendship. They are like brothers in arms, really. There was only 20 seconds when they are all in a line - but I liked the haphazard nature of this shot. My only regret with it is you can only just see the eight rider. I never really thought this was one of my best, but looking at it in hindsight it's a nice shot. Sometimes you get a nice surprise. Photograph: Scott Mitchell #