As 2024 comes to a close, we decided to look back on the year and the many Vermonters we captured in VTDigger’s photography. Whether it was summer flooding, the total solar eclipse or a major election, our photographers and freelancers were there to capture it all.
Staff photographer Glenn Russell and Senior Editor Natalie Williams reflected on 20 of their favorite images and what makes them stand out.
I was walking up to where downed power lines had closed a road during a windstorm when a driver passed by me and headed directly to where trees were hanging on the wires. Only after much high-volume remonstration, gesticulation and recrimination by the deputy sheriff was the driver convinced to turn around. I could see the driver articulating his displeasure as he drove by me the other way.
(Shot in RAW and converted to jpeg. Photographed with a 70-200mm zoom at 200mm in aperture priority at f4.5 at 1/500th of a second at auto-ISO 2000 and under-exposed by 1/3 of a stop. Big enlargement from the original frame. My cameras capture files at about 6000 pixels across on the long side. After toning and editing, I file jpegs that are 2500 pixels. This allows me quite a bit of lossless cropping.)
— Glenn Russell
This is one of those photos I didn’t expect to take but ended up loving. I was covering the vote on the next sergeant-at-arms for Vermont. There was an interesting moment when the Legislature broke for a quick recess due to the close vote, and around 20 people swarmed the podium at the front of the chamber to discuss the results before quickly disbanding. The rush of people reminded me of something out of a Renaissance painting. Although I can’t credit myself with creating something that beautiful, I did get a kick out of the historical resonance alive in the image.
— Natalie Williams
When the man accused of shooting three Palestinian students appeared in court for the first time, his lawyer asked the judge to have his manacles removed during the proceeding. This is not the lead photo (for one thing you can’t see his face), but it adds a layer of texture to the coverage.
(Shot in RAW and converted to jpeg. Photographed in manual at 1/250th of a second at f/2.8 using a 70-200mm zoom at 116mm and under-exposed by 1/3 of a stop with an auto-ISO of 1250. State court proceedings are open to the media, but are generally limited to one still photographer and one videographer. These pool photographers must share their work in the courtroom with other media outlets.)
— Glenn Russell
There were lots of photos produced during the total solar eclipse in April, but I think this moment that freelance photographer Jeb Wallace-Brodeur captured is so special. It features a glimpse of the immense crowds that visited the state for this rare celestial event and really places you beside all these people gathered on the Statehouse lawn, looking up at the sky as the sun peeks over a state office building.
— Natalie Williams
When VTDigger editors told brand-new intern Juan Vega de Soto that on a rainy spring night, some residents head outside with their spatulas to go rescue salamanders, he thought we were messing with him. Before he knew it, he was out in the field learning that amphibian counts are, in fact, a real thing. I was lucky enough to join this adventure and see this rare spring salamander that filled our North Branch Nature Center guide with delight.
— Natalie Williams
News photographers work at the intersection of information and aesthetics. With preparation and luck, the two converge. This image is just one in an ongoing body of coverage that hopefully helps to illustrate a complex issue.
(Photographed in aperture priority with a 20mm at f/7.1 at 1/800 of a second using an auto-ISO of 100 under-exposed by a stop. Shooting wide from down low is a tried-and-true technique to keep the background clean with a dramatic foreground.)
— Glenn Russell
The media is no longer allowed on the perimeter of the floor of the House of Representatives chamber, in a break with long-standing precedent. So we have to make pictures where we can, in this case from the public gallery during a break in debate.
(Shot in RAW and converted to jpeg. Photographed with a 70-200mm at 135mm, 250th of a second at f2.8 in manual and auto-ISO of 125, under-exposed by 1/3 of a stop. Exposed for the highlight of the subject in the window. Exposed and color-balanced towards daylight (more blue, exterior light) for the subject while letting the chamber go tungsten-colored (more yellow, interior light) and darker.)
— Glenn Russell
This farmer played a secondary role in a story I was covering but he had such character I had to photograph him. He was a real old-timer, with a thick French accent, and he was dressed in Dickies top and bottom.
(Shot in RAW and converted to jpeg. Photographed in aperture-priority at f2.8 at 1/2000th of a second using an auto-ISO of 100 and under-exposed by 1/3 of a stop using a 70-200mm zoom at 200. Using auto-ISO ensures the highest quality (lowest-ISO) file. Under-exposing at ISO 100 makes it easy to retain the most detail in the highlights while being able to get detail in the shadows.)
— Glenn Russell
I photographed Nancy Morin at her flood-ravaged home that she has had to abandon. It’s a weird gig I have. I interject myself into people’s lives at their most sensitive moments. I get close quickly, I make that connection, I take pictures and I leave.
(Shot in RAW and converted to jpeg. Photographed with a 50mm at f/2.8 at 1/500th of a second in aperture priority at auto-ISO 250 under-exposed by 1/3 of a stop.)
— Glenn Russell
Josh Kuckens, one of our freelance photographers, is based in the Northeast Kingdom. With so much of the 2024 flooding focused in Caledonia County towns like Hardwick, Kuckens captured many images of the high waters and damage in the area. This one stands out to me since it has so many layers to it — the people, the cars, the homes, the high water, the mud, the Hardwick Farmers Market banner, etc. Your eye has so many things to look at, and the photo illustrates just how significant and harrowing these floods have been for Vermonters.
— Natalie Williams
The devastating floods of July 2024 washed away much of Plainfield. I walked down to where the now-quiet waterway had destroyed a building the night before. The person in red was doing the same thing and turned to leave as I raised my camera.
(Shot in RAW and converted to jpeg. Photographed in aperture-priority at f/5.6 and 1/500th of a second, under-exposed by 1/3 of a stop at auto-ISO 220 with a 24-120mm zoom at 24mm. The human element, out of focus in the foreground, adds a compositional and emotional element to the photo of the damage across the river.)
— Glenn Russell
Another scary flood moment, this time captured by freelance photographer Jeb Wallace-Brodeur, shows a red car caught up in flood debris. The high waters can be so powerful, and this really depicts a single instance of just how floods can tear through trees, power lines and cars, among many other things. From the amount of debris to the downward angle of the car, I found this moment to be so striking.
— Natalie Williams
This is the photo that’s not the photo. By that I mean that this picture of a congressional visit to a flood-ravaged farm doesn’t show the farm, the farmer, the senator or the storm damage. It shows someone struggling with an umbrella as rain begins to fall. The photo is intended as a metaphor, not a literal representation of loss.
(Shot in RAW and converted to jpeg. Photographed with a 20mm at f5.6 at one 500th of a second, under-exposed by 1/3 of a stop at auto-ISO 1400.)
— Glenn Russell
These ladies initially took notice, but quickly forgot about me as they got down to business. Whether knitting or gossiping, relationships demonstrated by gazes and gestures is what I was looking for.
(Shot in RAW and converted to jpeg. Shot in manual with a 50mm at f1.8 and 125th of a second at auto-ISO 1600 and under-exposed by 1/3 of a stop. This is just one frame from a take where I used the 20mm, the 50mm and 70-200mm. The 20 and 50 are very fast (very light-sensitive) f1.8 maximum aperture prime (meaning fixed focal length lenses) and the 70-200 zoom lens is a fast 2.8 (albeit one and one third of a stop slower – less sensitive to light – than the f1.8 lenses I use).)
— Glenn Russell
We met Terri and her granddaughter Sarah at a neutral spot where they told us about their experience of being unhoused. I have to build trust quickly and to try to get people to be themselves during often fraught moments. Sarah forgot about me for a moment while Terri spoke, and that’s when I took this picture.
(Shot in RAW and converted to jpeg. Photographed with a 20mm lens in aperture priority at f/5.6 and 1/125th of a second, under-exposed by 1/3 of at stop at auto-ISO 100.)
— Glenn Russell
It got pretty somber pretty quick at the election night viewing party hosted by the Democrats in South Burlington. By the end, there were only a few stragglers straggling. This is the last photo I shot that night, Shot in RAW and converted to jpeg.
(Shot loose to show the emptiness with a 20mm f1.8 at 125th of a second in manual at auto-ISO 1400 and under-exposed by 2/3 of a stop. I could have burned down (darkened) the TV screen a bit and I’m not pleased with the person’s arm in the background coming out of the woman’s face, but otherwise OK.)
— Glenn Russell
This is a moment of personal loss in public, which is always a dicey situation. The caucus takes place in a small room full of senators and onlookers. I was able to discreetly move to be where I needed to be so I could get Sen. Clarkson’s reaction in the foreground. I only wish Senator Baruth on the right was also looking at her when she bowed her head. But maybe him looking away is part of the story.
(Shot in RAW and converted to jpeg. Shot in manual with a 20mm at f2.8 and 250th of a second at auto-ISO 2500 and under-exposed by 2/3 of a stop. The room is window-lit from two sides. Your exposure has to change as you move around the room.)
— Glenn Russell
Lia Menard spoke eloquently about her brother’s life and the circumstances around his death and the death of his wife as an unhoused couple living in a tent. It’s never easy to photograph people in distress, but it has to be done in an honest and respectful way. I just try to be quiet and look and listen.
(Shot in RAW and converted to jpeg. Shot in manual with a 50mm at f1.8 and 125th of a second at auto-ISO 2000 and under-exposed by a stop. I photograph with two mirrorless cameras which are much quieter than DLSRs. There’s no sound from the mirror flapping up and down with each frame taken.)
— Glenn Russell
I am always a fan of photos that can take you behind the scenes of an event — in this case I got to see drag queen Lavender Homicide getting ready for a photoshoot. As she puts on her lashes and a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” poster looks on, it sets the scene of her aesthetic and the performance that is to come.
— Natalie Williams
This is one of a series of frames I shot just as the winning goal in overtime was about to be scored. The moment is all about anticipation. The next frame that shows the crowd’s reaction (which is bonkers) after the goal was scored is cool but this picture is the one.
(Shot in RAW and converted to a jpeg with a 50mm f1.8 at 125th of a second in manual, under-exposed by one stop using auto-ISO 7200. I almost always under-expose my digital files — paradoxically, the darker it gets, the more I under-expose.)
— Glenn Russell
Read the story on VTDigger here: VTDigger photographers look back on their 20 favorite images of 2024.