TIME’s Best Photojournalism of 2012

Throughout 2012, TIME’s unparalleled photojournalists were there. We stood within the tumult of Tahrir Square and shared moments of quiet with the world’s most powerful President. We documented both the ravages of war on Syria’s blasted cities and the devastation nature wrought on our own backyard in New York. At a time when so much hangs in the balance, bearing witness can be the most essential act — and that’s what we do.