An American flag flies in the distance as a rare snowy owl looks down from its perch atop the large stone orb of the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at the entrance to Union Station in Washington, D.C., Friday, Jan. 7. Far from its summer breeding grounds in Canada, the snowy owl was first seen on Jan. 3, the day a winter storm dumped eight inches of snow on the city. (Carolyn Kaster / AP)
Each week, news photographers across the globe capture slices of life in a way that only a camera lens can do, yielding singular moments of beauty, drama or humor. Some of their best work often slips by unnoticed as the news media zero in on the latest scandals or political battles. Here, then, are a few scenes from this week that are worth stopping to savor.
Game Day
A Georgia fan waits for the start of the College Football Playoff championship football game against Alabama Monday, Jan. 10, in Indianapolis. (Charlie Riedel / AP)
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China in the Spotlight
A resident wearing a mask exercises with a colored ribbon in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Jan. 11. The Chinese capital is on high alert ahead of the Winter Olympics as China locks down a third city elsewhere for COVID-19 outbreak. (Ng Han Guan / AP)
Coming of Age in Japan
Kimono-clad women who will turn 20 years old this year take a selfie near the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa district Monday, Jan. 10, in Tokyo. Held annually on the second Monday of January, Coming of Age Day is a special time for Japan’s young people, marking their entry into adulthood. (Eugene Hoshiko / AP)
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Crossing the Desert
Polish biker Konrad Dabrowski competes during Stage 8 of the Dakar Rally 2022 between al-Dawadimi and Wadi Ad-Dawasir in Saudi Arabia, on Monday, Jan. 10. (Franck Fife – AFP / Getty Images)
Brazil Floods
People wade through the water as they remove belongings from their homes in the flooded Brazilian municipality of Juatuba, located in the state of Minas Gerais, on Monday, Jan. 10. Extremely heavy rain has fallen in recent days in the southeastern part of the country. (Douglas Magno – AFP / Getty Images)
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Snow in the City
Cidra Shamsi, 30, of India, visits Summit One Vanderbilt during the first snowstorm of the season with the Empire State Building in the background on Friday, Jan. 7, in New York City. (Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty Images)
Elvis tribute artists, from left, Arron Walker, Rob Willis and Phoenix Dean pose for the media as they wait to perform during the European Elvis Championships on Friday, Jan. 7, at the Hilton Hotel in Birmingham, England. The competition returned for 2022 after last year’s event was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions. Elvis impersonators took place in three days of competition to be crowned the king of Europe’s Elvis tribute artists. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)
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A Sea of Color
An aerial picture taken Wednesday, Jan. 12, shows a worker collecting dried incense sticks in a courtyard in Quang Phu Cau village on the outskirts of Hanoi, ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations, known in Vietnam as Tet. (Nhac Nguyen – AFP / Getty Images)
