Our cameras went to a lot of places this year. Here are our favorite shots from 2025
share
DENVER — Rocky Mountain PBS will observe a publishing pause between Dec. 24 and Dec. 31. We hope you’ll join us in taking this time to slow down and reflect on the past year.
We recently published a list of our favorite stories from 2025. As a multimedia newsroom, visuals are an important part of our reporting and storytelling. Here is a collection of our staff’s favorite shots from 2025.
Sunset at the July 4th Quint Valley Rodeo in Byers. Video: Chase McCleary, Rocky Mountain PBS
While filming for our Colorado Experience episode "Black Cowboys," RMPBS multimedia journalist Peter Vo and I visited the July 4th Quint Valley Rodeo in Byers, Colorado.
We were there to film Maurice "Mo Betta" Wade, a 77-year-old Hall of Fame cowboy who still today is calf roping in rodeos across the country. Before he rode, we were fortunate enough to catch a beautiful sunset backlighting the hallmark of American culture that is the rural, small town rodeo.
- Chase McCleary
This is Cassandra Atencio, the former historic preservation officer with the Southern Ute Tribe. She spoke to us about the importance of hot springs in Ute culture. She is pictured here along the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs in March 2025.
- Amanda Horvath
Trail ambassador John Mashburn on the Ice Lake Trail. Video: Ziyi Xu, Rocky Mountain PBS
This is John Mashburn, a San Juan Mountain Association trail ambassador, chilling on the Ice Lake Trail.
- Ziyi Xu
My favorite photo from this year was from the Myers Rodeo at Quint Valley Fairgrounds. As a journalist, we often get into unique positions to get shots, and I loved being above the rodeo fence to see this cowboy participate in the horse bucking event.
- Peter Vo
Firefighter AJ Alvarado starts a prescribed fire in Greeley, Colorado. Video: Cormac McCrimmon, Rocky Mountain PBS
One of my favorite shots from this year is of firefighter AJ Alvarado as she used a drip can to set fire to the prairie during a prescribed burn in Greeley, Colorado. I had looked forward to this shoot for a while, but nothing quite prepared me for the experience of filming next to the blaze, smoke rising all around.
- Cormac McCrimmon
My favorite shot is of artist Shannon Palmer painting a mural on the Arkansas River levee. The levee's history connects artists of the past to the artists of today.
Built in 1921 after a devastating flood, the Arkansas River levee became a canvas for local artists. It held the Guinness World Record for the largest outdoor mural from 1995 to 2016, until aging and cracks led to its demolition, wiping out nearly all murals. In October 2021, artists flocked back to the levee, reviving the concrete walls with color.
- Priya Shahi
A luchadora jumps from the top of the rings to crush an opponent. Video: Carly Rose, Rocky Mountain PBS
My favorite shot from this year is from a lucha libre tournament in Golden, Colorado. I had to stick my camera lens between the ropes of the wrestling ring to get this one. Peter Vo (who joined me for the shoot) and I had several close calls that evening where we almost got squashed by an airborne luchador.
- Carly Rose
This is my favorite photo of 2025. It was the closest I ever stood to a bear. For most of the day, I was excited to report on the bear cub release. It wasn't until they opened the latch on the case to release them into the wild when I had an "oh sh*t" moment about how close those bears were to me.
- Chelsea Casabona
My favorite photo I took this year was a portrait of the McCarthy family in Northglenn. They were kind enough to let me into their home for a story about Coloradans who own chickens, and they posed with some of the birds in their backyard.
It ended up being an interesting story, in my opinion, but my favorite part of the reporting process was seeing the family wrangle a handful of birds and hold them for a photo. They made it look a lot easier than the chicken-chasing scene in "Rocky."
- Kyle Cooke
A look around the Silverton mine. Video: Ziyi Xu, Rocky Mountain PBS
Colorado has such a rich mining history, and it was really fascinating to go inside one via Ziyi Xu’s piece about a mine tour in Silverton, Colorado. I felt like the unexpected shot of the roof, showing the intricate inner-workings of the mine systems, really illustrated the incredible feat that is modern mining.
- Sarah Shoen
My favorite photo this year was of this group of kids participating in a "bike bus." It's a new initiative taking hold across the country where students and their chaperones bike to and from elementary school together.
It's a way to keep kids healthy, excited about going to school and safe by traveling in large groups, and it’s more environmentally friendly than cars. Participating in it myself brought me so many smiles — and I was happy to capture some of the energy in my photos.
- Andrea Kramar
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.