Best of January Photography

PHOTO GALLERY: The Desert Sun’s best photography in January
The story behind four of the month’s best photos:

New Year’s Day is normally a slow news day. Take a photo of the New Year’s baby and call it a day. This geyser could be seen from the balcony of the Desert Sun a few miles away. I initially wanted to cross the street and through water to shoot from the other side. A Edison worker warned me that the water maybe electrified. So I stay where I was and got this shot that’s back lit. I think it turned out well. It’s dramatic and the street sign gives the exact location of the incident.
A worker with the Desert Water Agency tries to shut off the water to a busted fire-hydrant on the corner of Via Olivera and Indian Canyon in Palm Springs on Wednesday, January 1, 2014.
— Richard Lui


Actress Lupita Nyong’o winner of the Breakthrough Performance Award takes photos and is photographed at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Gala after party at the Parker Palm Springs on Saturday, January 4, 2013.
Lupita was on the other side of the room and I was trying to figure out a way to make her stand out from the crowd. When I saw someone’s iPhone flash light her I grabbed this shot.
— Richard Lui


This photo of Chelsea Clinton was my favorite for January.  It was nice for her to break away from her handlers to meet with the local children for an unscripted moment in old town Coachella.  The kids were happy to meet her and she seemed genuinely interested in them as well.
— Jay Calderon


My favorite image of this group is that of U2’s Bono mugging for a “selfie” with a fan during the Palm Springs International Film Fest Red Carpet arrivals. He didn’t hesitate in the least to get right with the fans, and in fact he and The Edge kept trying to get off the red carpet and back to the fans lined up across the street. He gave that particular fan a once in a lifetime memory.
— Michael Snyder