Brinnleigh Payne, 6, and Olivia Payne, 4, watch as the mermaid Seirios Moon swims across the nation’s largest mermaid tank at MerFest International 2021 in South Haven, Michigan on Friday, August 20, 2021.

Bardo Calvo calms a horse as large animals are evacuated from a number of wildfires, at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, California, U.S. January 8, 2025.

Olin Schneider “Holden” (left) locks in with Paulo Diaz “Brawlo” (right) at the Trans Dudes of LA ,“T Boy Wrestling,” event at the Hollywood Los Feliz Jewish Community Center in Silverlake Calif. on Sept. 21, 2024.

(Left to Right) Scott Rogers, Alex Woolums, and Jesse Wright gather together before the bull riding competition at the Fox Hollow Rodeo in Waynesville, Ohio, on Saturday, September 28th, 2019. There was tension in the air as this was the final competition of the year’s riding series

Travis Andrews, Washington D.C., casts out on Hoopers Island Bridge in Fishing Creek, Md., patiently waiting through a thunderstorm to catch rockfish or trout on June 6, 2020. Hoopers Island is home to a still-thriving commercial fishing industry but also acts as a tourist destination to fish its tidal brackish water.

Jeremy Droscha ignites the burners of his balloon “The Flash,” with his son Aubrey and wife Jessica at the Kalamazoo Balloon Fest at Gull Meadow Farms in Richland, Michigan on August 28, 2021.

Gianna Puccio, 12, is teased by her mom, Lina Puccio (left) while preparing to fly as the angel for the second year in a row at the Feast of the Fisherman in the North End of Boston, Mass. on Aug. 20, 2023.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks at a town hall event where he criticized former President Donald J. Trump’s policies and announced his candidacy for President of The United States at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. on June 6, 2023.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters rallies a coalition of black women in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign at the Proud Bird Event Center in Los Angeles, Calif. on July 26, 2024.

Firemen work on flooded area in Tarzana, in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, February 1.

Demonstrators congregate at the Lincoln Memorial after marching from the National Museum of African American History and Culture in protest during the aftermath of George Floyd Jr.’s death, in Washington D.C. on May 30, 2020. Floyd’s death five days prior sparked national outrage leading to demonstrations across the United States.

Members of the honor guard port arms at the funeral of Seaman 1st Class Wesley Ernest Graham at Fort Custer National Cemetery on Wednesday, October 27, 2021. Graham’s remains were finally returned to the United States to be put to rest 80 years later after falling during the Pearl Harbor attacks on December 7, 1941.

A Revolutionary War reenactment group fires muskets at the Bunker Hill Day Parade in Charlestown on June 12, 2022.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in a protest near the perimeter of the 96th Academy Awards, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Los Angeles, Calif. on March 10, 2024.

Demonstrators drag a doll representing Russian president Vladimir Putin across Santa Monica Blvd. at the Stand with Ukraine Los Angeles rally against the start of the war in Ukraine in Los Angeles, Calif. on Feb. 26, 2022. The rally took place outside of Calif. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office in Los Angeles.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with reporters at LAX after welcoming firefighters from Mexico to help combat the Pallisades and Eaton fires on in Los Angeles, Calif. on Jan. 11, 2025

Kevito Clark, who took a 3-month vow of silence from June 2024 - Sept. 2024, sits at ORA in Leimert Park in Los Angeles, Calif. on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. His vow was inspired by his six-year wait for a kidney transplant and the back-to-back losses of two longtime friends and mentors.

Jacqui Sweeney wipes a tear from her face during a memorial video montage at the Massachusetts 9/11 Fund’s official Annual Commemoration where families and dignitaries payed tribute to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the event’s 21st anniversary at the Massachusetts State House on September 11, 2022.

Zenon Vasquez tosses a Red drum overboard Captain Boo Polly’s fishing boat near the shore of St. Mary’s County, Md. on July 27, 2020. The fish has a maximum size limit of 25 inches, so this one was returned to the Bay.

A man falls trying to traverse the jagged salty shallows of Lake Manly in Death Valley after an atmospheric river brought heavy rainfall to the region, on March 3, 2024. The lake overnight moved 2 miles due to high winds and continued to draw tourists to see the natural phenomenon.

Sam Droege reaches into his bug net to pull out a firefly he captured on his property in Laurel, Md., on July 2, 2020. While it’s uncommon to see “unkempt” yards like his, they are incredible habitats for a variety of wildlife pushed out by development and light pollution. The environment is also a great place to observe the behaviors of different firefly species, some of which prefer higher trees to lower vegetation.

Filmmaker Vera Drew stands inside her apartment in Pasadena, Calif. on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. Drew took up clowning over the pandemic and created a feature length Joker parody, The People’s Joker, which fought against Warner Bros. for distribution over a IP copyright issue.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley speaks to supporters before a Squad panel discussion with congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush at the Somerville Theater in Somerville, Mass. on Sept. 24, 2022. The discussion was moderated by MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Dr. Ibram X. Kendi.

Politicians exit the Senate chamber of the Massachusetts State House on August 1, 2022. Lawmakers continued to deliberate behind closed doors on high-stakes bills from Sunday into early Monday morning.

Valery Echavarria applies lipstick in a mirror backstage before the performance of “In the Heights” where she plays Luisa, a Salon Lady, at Revere High School on April 12, 2023.

Belarusian opera singer Ilya Silchukou looks at his son Lawren, 3, through a window during a rehearsal at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts on September 10, 2022. Silchukou was fired from his job back home and had to flee the country when he publicly sided with protesters to oppose Lukashenko's fraudulent election in 2021.

Keith Melling, Athens, Ohio, carries the stars of an American flag to a burning barrel to properly retire it in the backyard of VFW Post 7174 in The Plains, Ohio, on Veterans Day, November 11, 2019. The process requires the stars and stripes to be burned separately so the flag does not “recombine” in the air into a complete flag.

Lindsey Doughty sits with her son, Aiden, and daughter, Grace, outside by a campfire after Thanksgiving dinner at their home in Corning, Ohio, on November 28, 2019. Doughty finds more comfort having a quiet celebration with her two children than dealing with the drama and conflict she usually encounters at family gatherings.

Chad Fletcher (center) shows Ian McKendry (left) and Dawson Daigle a stroller full of deer antlers he shed hunted and brought to Huntstock at Wildwood Farm in Westminster, Mass. on August 12, 2022.

Ranger Emily Wright (center) and Ranger Simone Joseph (right) respond to a man who collapsed from heat stroke at a souvenir stand in the Boston Common, the second incident of the day, on July 23, 2022. Temperatures reached into the high 90’s, increasing the potential of dehydration and heat stroke, “Just to be sure people are ok, that’s why we are always around,” says Ranger Joseph.

A Venezuelan migrant lead her children onto a bus to the Vineyard Haven ferry terminal outside of St. Andrew's Parish House in Martha’s Vineyard in September 2022. About 50 migrants were sent to the island as part of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations.

Environmental activists stand atop a hill in a clear-cut in the Camp 5 Timber Sale, a part of the Green Mountain National Forest’s Robinson Integrated Resource Project, in the Green Mountain National Forest, Vt. on Nov. 12, 2022.

The statue of Saint Anthony is carried through the streets of the North End at St. Anthony's Feast on August 28, 2022. The statue stops by the front doors of homes and businesses where people then pin money to it.

Damage from a severe thunderstorm caused power lines to fall in Allegan County, Mich. the night of Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021.

Angie Hubbard tends to her beehive frames, checking for yellow jackets after a recent attack and locating the queen to make sure she is still alive at her hive in Racine, Ohio, on October 4th, 2019. In addition to selling honey, Hubbard also sells frames to buyers who wish to start their own hive.

Capt. Joey Jobes searches for shallow areas in the Susquehanna Flats, Md., to body boot from on October 13, 2020. Body booting is a form of duck hunting where hunters don survival suits and stand halfway submerged in the water waiting for ducks to approach.

Two men enjoy the end of summer as Kites fly over Revere Beach in Revere, Mass. on September 3, 2022.

Laney Szczygiel shields her eyes as she soaks up the sun at Mirabella Pool in the North End on June 25, 2022. It was the pool’s opening day this summer with temperatures reaching the high 80s.

Bhargavi Garimella (left) embraces Allanah Rolph during a gathering to remember the life of Rodrigo Ventocilla and demand action from the Peruvian government at Statler Park in Boston on September 4, 2022. Ventocilla, a trans activist and Peruvian national, died in custody in Indonesia after his arrest on alleged drug charges.

Pastor Sharon Cornelius leads a prayer before performing artists take the stage at the 2022 Gospel Fest in Franklin Park in Boston, Mass. on August 7, 2022.

Portrait of Deandre Jones at his home in the Northside of Kalamazoo on July 28, 2021. Deandre contracted asthma due to the environmental hazards believed to be a result of the pollution from Graphic Packaging International, a factory nestled in the Northside neighborhood. Jones had to be put on life support after an asthma attack and now requires assistance from a breathing machine. "They gotta’ do something about the toxic that the factory is putting in the air… I don’t know what can it cause, but it’s toxic. I just want to be normal again, but I know that might not happen," says Jones.

Michael Stanfill, 61, plays guitar in his car at the Ampersee Avenue homeless encampment in Kalamazoo on Wednesday, August 25, 2021. Residents were ultimately evicted from the encampment in the months of September and October with the city having no direct relocation plan for around 150 people.

A horse works up a sweat during a cattle sorting at Smoke Rise Ranch in Glouster, Ohio, on February 8, 2020. Smoke Rise hosts riders from all over the United States who journey to the ranch to participate in various riding events.

A deer peeks out of a shed at Donald Dutiel’s Wagon Wheel Ranch, his home property and local tourist attraction riddled with antiques, random paraphernalia and a makeshift zoo in New Lexington, Ohio on Oct. 30, 2020.