PHOTOS: 2023 Photos of the year -- John Spink

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Atlanta Journal-Constitution photojournalist John Spink, who covers breaking news, shares some of his most memorable photos of the year.

Mother of two of three missing children, Britshonna McDaniel (center) embrace grandmothers Tadasha Wise (center) and Alkini Patterson (right) after learning Atlanta police found the 3-missing children on Friday morning, June 2, 2023 in Northwest Atlanta. Britshonna McDaniel felt the weight of the world lift when a news reporter nodded yes to her question: "Did they find them?" Her two children and their cousin had been missing for 18 hours after they wandered away from their northwest Atlanta neighborhood park Thursday afternoon. The 6-year-old, 10-year-old and 14-year-old were found safe at a friend's house at about 9 a.m. Friday. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Near the former Turner Field, a MARTA bus trudged through standing water along Pollard Boulevard on Wednesday morning, January 4, 2023. Several routes were canceled or delayed due to flooding. The rain that moved in Tuesday evening brought with it flash flooding, severe thunderstorms and tornado watches across the state. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Atlanta law enforcement was out en masse Monday morning, Feb. 6, 2023, at the site of Atlanta's proposed public safety training center, clearing the woods in anticipation of construction on the controversial facility beginning in earnest. SWAT teams from the Atlanta, DeKalb County police departments, as well as Georgia State Patrol troopers and representatives from other agencies, were seen at the site in southwest DeKalb County. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

A showdown between protesters and police occurred on Constitution Road. After a weekend of protest training, opponents of Atlanta's public safety training center began marching Monday morning, November 13, 2023, from Gresham Park Recreation Center to the site where the facility is under construction in what organizers called a nonviolent "Day of Action." A few hundred people participated in the march, most wearing masks and many donned in plastic painters suits. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

A domestic call that led a man to barricade himself in an apartment in southeast Atlanta's Summerhill neighborhood forced a standoff with heavily armed police Friday morning, Jan. 6, 2023. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

A Georgia Aquarium educational RV caught fire on I-285 in Clayton County on Wednesday morning, Jan. 11, 2023 authorities said. The driver was able to pull over, and no one was inside at the time of the fire nor sustained any injuries. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Miguel Flores sends off a bundle of rebar skyward by crane from his flatbed truck on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in downtown Atlanta as work on the Anthem Hotel Atlanta at Atlanta's $5 billion Gulch redevelopment on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, continued on a mild fall day. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

On a chilly morning, Keith Howard from North Adams, Massachusetts, begins his ascent to the top of Stone Mountain at Stone Mountain Park on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, along the 1-mile trek that reaches 1,686 feet above sea level. Howard was in town visiting a friend and loves to come to the park. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Juan Carlos Pantaleon serves up another bundle of hay at the horse barn at Chastain Horse Park on Powers Ferry Road NW in Atlanta on Monday, July 17, 2023. Temperatures were unseasonably hot this week in metro Atlanta, with heat indices exceeding 100 degrees by the middle of the week. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Georgia Tech environmental engineering student Mann Patel from India heads across the bridge on his scooter at 17th Street and Mecaslin Street near Atlantic Station in downtown Atlanta on his way to class - braving the cold, brisk winds Wednesday morning, Dec. 6, 2023. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Traffic on Briarcliff Road only got by in one lane after what appeared to be a large sinkhole that opened up overnight into Friday, September 1, 2023. Crews are worked to repair the collapsed road surface south of Lavista Road on one of the busiest stretches connecting motorists from North Druid Hills to Emory University, Brookhaven and beyond. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

A fatal crash blocked all northbound lanes of Ga. 400 at Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell for five hours Tuesday morning, June 27, 2023. Roswell police confirmed two fatalities. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

The driver of a tractor-trailer (right) appears to gather his thoughts after his rig overturned, causing a major traffic backup for Atlanta commuters. Like most days ending in Y in Atlanta, commuters were met with upheaval on the interstates Friday morning, June 23, 2023. On I-285 this toppled tractor-trailer carrying butter caused major delays for those trying to get to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Tail lights from vehicles on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive near Central Avenue in downtown Atlanta made for colorful wallpaper for passing pedestrians on the way to work on a rainy morning on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Having some summertime fun, Isannah Brightwell, 5, frolicked in the water at Rodney Cook Sr. Park at Vine Street and Joseph E. Boone Boulevard in northwest Atlanta on Thursday, June 15, 2023. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Cindy Mei (from left), Ding Wen and Sherry Mai, who were visiting the Carter Center from Chicago, pose near the pot of flowers at the base of the larger-than-life bust of President Jimmy Carter on February 20, 2023. The center had announced two days earlier that Carter had decided against any further medical treatment and entered home hospice care. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Blacks for Trump demonstrators gathered late Thursday morning, Aug. 24, 2023, outside the Fulton County jail, and they were prepared to wait for hours until the anticipated arrival of former President Donald Trump. He turned himself in on Thursday evening in connection with charges in the 2020 election interference case. He was processed, including having a mug shot taken, and then released on a $200,000 bond less than 30 minutes after arriving. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Kristen Sanchez (left) stands with resident and boyfriend Nikolas Waldschuetz in front of what was Waldschuetz's apartment for the last five years. Firefighters returned overnight into Monday morning, April 3, 2023, to keep water on the smoldering remains of the North High Ridge Apartments on North Avenue, where a least 28 people were left without a home Sunday morning. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Motorists plow through standing water along Techwood Drive near 16th Street on Monday morning, March 27, 2023, during early morning thunderstorms in Atlanta. A day after a radar-confirmed tornado decimated parts of Troup County, widespread heavy rain and severe storms pummeled west Georgia and the south side of metro Atlanta Monday morning. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Travelers filled Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, as the busy holiday period comes as the airport is in the midst of an array of construction projects that have caused disruptions for travelers. For Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, the day marked its busiest day of the Thanksgiving travel period. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Passengers move through the domestic North Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Monday, Aug. 8, 2023, after thunderstorms in metro Atlanta on Sunday caused mass flight disruptions that continued to prompt flight cancellations. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Atlanta police and a multi-jurisdiction police force swarmed Midtown Atlanta on Wednesday, May 3,2023, after five people were shot by an active shooter. This photo was taken while the suspect was still at large. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

A system failure at the Federal Aviation Administration disrupted flights across the country early Wednesday morning, January 11, 2023, causing thousands of flight delays and prompting calls for the agency to modernize its aging digital infrastructure. After the overnight failure of a pilot notification system, the FAA put in place a nationwide ground stop until that kept many flights from departing during the early morning rush. The ground stop caused traffic congestion at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world's busiest, prompting the agency to rush to resume flights from Atlanta. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

A single-vehicle fatal crash investigation on I-285 West closed an exit ramp heading toward Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for hours Wednesday morning, April 26, 2023. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

The full Worm Moon reached its peak illumination Tuesday morning, March 7, 2023, seen here sandwiched between the two glass fins extending upward from the north and south walls of the 657-foot tall 1180 Peachtree building, also known as Symphony Tower in Midtown Atlanta. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

In this black-and-white image, DeKalb County firefighters are at the scene of Feb. 10, 2023, house fire on Whisper Wood Trail in a neighborhood south of Stone Mountain. No residents or firefighters were injured. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

A large fire engulfed three homes in a northwest Atlanta neighborhood Wednesday morning, Oct. 11, 2023, officials said. Crews with Atlanta fire responded around 6:20 a.m. to a structure fire in the 600 block of Tazor Street, according to Battalion Chief Derek Hullender. At the scene, one house was destroyed and the fire had already spread to two neighboring homes. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Firefighters were called to a house fire on Whisper Wood Trail in a neighborhood south of Stone Mountain just after midnight Feb. 10, 2023. No residents or firefighters were injured but two cats and a dog perished in the fire early Friday morning in DeKalb County. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Neighbors comfort a family member who became distraught at the scene after learning about a deadly multivehicle crash that shut down a portion of Chamblee Tucker Road near the Mercer University Atlanta campus for hours Wednesday morning, July 12, 2023. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

One firefighter was injured while extinguishing a blaze at a home in Chamblee early Friday morning, May 26, 2023, according to DeKalb County fire officials. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Fire Captain Jason Johnson of Truck 14 makes his way up Joseph E. Boone Boulevard along a civil rights mural after a fire around the corner at an old home converted into apartments in northwest Atlanta on March 2, 2023. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

DeKalb County police were on the scene investigating a death of a woman who was found in the parking lot of an apartment complex near Stone Mountain on Thursday morning, June 22, 2023. People who knew the deceased victim were emotional after learning of the death from police at the scene. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

The GBI is investigating Wednesday, May 10, 2023, after Cobb County police shot a man and a woman after a pursuit that ended in Lithia Springs just before midnight Tuesday, according to officials. Police were called to a home on Drennon Drive near Austell Road at around 11:50 p.m. about an armed man, according to the GBI. Responding officers saw a suspected vehicle leaving the area. Immediately following the shooting, Thornton Road was shut down in that area for close to nine hours. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

A woman was gunned down Tuesday morning, May 30, 2023, during an Uber ride in Buckhead, according to Atlanta police. The incident happened near the intersection of Lindbergh and Adina drives shortly before 4:30 a.m., according to Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. Police blocked the roads as they canvassed the area for evidence. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Firefighters continued to battle a massive gas fire in southwest Atlanta on Wednesday morning, Sept. 20, 2023, that shut down several roads, including a major highway. The blaze was reported around 10:45 a.m. at 2049 Sylvan Road near the entrance to Langford Parkway in the Sylvan Hills neighborhood. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

A student prayer rally "Solidarity with Palestine" occurred outside the student center on the Georgia Tech campus on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, as Palestinians fled northern Gaza after Israel ordered them to evacuate while an Israeli ground attack loomed in the war against Hamas. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Fires, homicide scenes, traffic-stopping accidents, SWAT standoffs — these are a normal part of photojournalist John Spink’s day. The award-winning visual journalist is synonymous with the breaking news beat, having covered it almost exclusively for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1996. It can be a delicate balancing act, photographing events when people are experiencing what could be the worst day of their lives. Just as reporters take notes, visual reporters take notes visually of law enforcement. As Spink explained in an essay about what it’s like to cover homicides, “these images of grief and anguish usually hit readers the most. Homicide victims are not statistics. They are people who had family, co-workers and friends.”

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Credit: John Spink

Mother of two of three missing children, Britshonna McDaniel (center) embrace grandmothers Tadasha Wise (center) and Alkini Patterson (right) after learning Atlanta police found the 3-missing children on Friday morning, June 2, 2023 in Northwest Atlanta. Britshonna McDaniel felt the weight of the world lift when a news reporter nodded yes to her question: "Did they find them?" Her two children and their cousin had been missing for 18 hours after they wandered away from their northwest Atlanta neighborhood park Thursday afternoon. The 6-year-old, 10-year-old and 14-year-old were found safe at a friend's house at about 9 a.m. Friday. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

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