WABE 2023: A year in photos

By Matthew Pearson
WABE News Photographer
As journalists, our job is to witness and document the stories of the communities around us. As a photojournalist, my job is to show you those events. This year, our newsroom brought you stories of communities all around Atlanta celebrating, publicly grieving, advocating, protesting, and calling for justice.
As WABE’s only photojournalist, there are only so many stories I can physically and realistically help tell. Still, we did our best to show our audience the stories that matter most. Even though there are some issues I regret not being able to cover this year, it amazes me how many photos I made all over the state of Georgia. From the mountains of north Georgia and the forests of south Atlanta to the courtroom, under the Gold Dome, the production floor of a bus factory in central Georgia, and in the very homes of your neighbors, I have been honored to be able to show you what our audiences used only to be able to hear about.
Below are just a fraction of the thousands of photos I made this year documenting our communities—your communities. This is what life was like in Atlanta this year.

Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman is sworn in as the first muslim woman to serve in the Georgia House of Representative and the first Palestinian elected to any public office in the state on January 9, 2023. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)


Fulton County Judge Robert McBurney on January 24, 2023, hears arguments on releasing a special grand jury report on efforts by former President Trump and allies to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)



Senate Majority Caucus holds a press conference on the South Steps of the Capitol outlining priorities for the 2023 Session on January 26, 2023. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

A boy rides a toy motorcycle as he departs a rally held in downtown Atlanta, calling for justice for Tyre Nichols on the evening that Memphis Police released the body camera footage of Nichols’ death on Friday January 27, 2023. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)






Georgia State Rep. Esther Panitch speaks at a press conference in support of HB 30 in Atlanta on February 22, 2023. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)






































