Our favorite LI Life photos of the year

Newsday’s LI Life section is the place for uplifting and inspiring Long Island stories, but it’s also where we like to spotlight the paper’s talented visual journalists. Our staffers and freelancers illustrate our stories with striking portraits, such as filmmaker Briana Atkins, looking through the viewfinder of her camera and by capturing unique moments, like those of the historical reenactors in the Suffolk Society for Creative Anachronism, above. As we get ready to ring in the new year, let’s look back on some 2025 editions and enjoy their work.  — VERA CHINESE, LI LIFE EDITOR

A DRONE, ART AND NATURE / NOV.2

East Hampton photographer Sutton Lynch uses a drone to capture aerial images of ocean life like sharks moving through the water or a school of cownose rays. Above, he carries his equipment to Amagansett’s Atlantic Avenue Beach on an October day.

BLACK HISTORY IN ROCKY POINT / AUG.24

The Rocky Point Historical Society has been investigating the 19th-century history of Black and Indigenous farmers in the area. Setalcott Nation member Chiitra Wells, of Bellport, above, joined them to review land once occupied by an ancestor.

MAYHEM LI / APRIL 27

The band Mayhem Long Island — made up of eight neurodivergent musicians — celebrated its 10th anniversary in April, which is National Autism Acceptance Month. Members Michael Korins, from left, Xavier Martini, Andrew Crisanti, Brian Falzon and Jackson Katz rehearse in the basement of a home in Merrick.

TELLING THEIR STORIES / FEB. 9

Young Black filmmakers on Long Island are making web series, writing for network shows and more. Briana Atkins, of Lakeview, screened a short film that was shot in Melville.

HOMESTEADING ON LI / JUNE1

For some Long Islanders, farm animals are more like family. Lisa Fitz and Bill Wilkinson, of Southold, invited their sheep Clover into their living room for a photo shoot. Before Clover got too large, she slept in the bed with the couple (wearing diapers, of course).

ART WITH A MESSAGE / APRIL 20

Discarded bottle caps, fishing twine and vape cartridges are tools of several LI artists including Cindy Pease Roe, right, who hopes her work, including “Lobster Buoy Boy,” above, encourages action against plastic pollution. At left is Bri Sander, a director of UpSculpt, the nonprofit Roe founded.

A SMILING HEART / MARCH 2

Addison Garvey, of Melville, left, was born with Moebius syndrome, a rare neurological condition that causes facial paralysis and other complications. She is nonverbal. To help others who are like her, she and her family established the Kindness Is Everything campaign in 2019 to raise awareness for her disease. With Addison at home are her mother, Jennifer, and sister, Ellie.

DISABILITY ADVOCATE WITH A FOLLOWING / NOV. 16

Rebecca Koltun, of Plainview, who was paralyzed in a skiing accident five years ago, entertains and educates thousands with her enlightening and darkly funny social media accounts, including @notparalyzedjustlazy. Above, she paints as her nurse Deatra Fowler looks on.

FABULOUS SOUTH ASIAN WEDDINGS / MAY 25

Known for their extravagance and adherence to custom, South Asian weddings are thriving on Long Island. Bride Bhavsuprit Kaur dances with family and friends as she arrived for her pre-wedding “jaggo” celebration in May.

GIRLS JOIN THE RANKS / MARCH 30

Scouting America, formerly the Boy Scouts of America, has seen a more than 10% annual increase in female enrollment on Long Island since allowing girls to join its ranks in 2018. Scouts Daniella Aiello, front, and, from left, Mariela Molina, Pamela Ardila, Alexa Kosinski, Samantha Vasquez and Gabriella Burk

THE NONBINARY EXPERIENCE/ JUNE 22

Micah Schneider, who identifies as nonbinary, meaning they don’t identify with either gender, waits to see their intended, Grace Mullen, for the first time on the couple’s wedding day in Calverton. “It’s OK if you never understand what it means to be a nonbinary,” Schneider said. “. . . You don’t need to understand to still see us as human.”

CELEBRATING MEDIEVAL LIFE / SEPT. 21

Newsday’s Thomas A. Ferrara spent months photographing the Suffolk branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism — an international living history group dedicated to research and reenactment of historic periods. Here, Brett Kessler, of Oceanside, receives a favor from Eva Coppola, of Brooklyn.

ELDER SKATESMEN / APRIL 13

These Gen X skateboarders, known informally as The Old Bones Brigade, still gather weekly to shred at Veterans Park in East Northport. Above are Howard Cho, front, and, from left, Stephen Buith, Tristan D’Graves, Nancy Lee, Ron Boettcher and Tom Bruckner.

BOOKSTORE BOOM / MARCH 9

More than a half-dozen independent bookshops have opened on Long Island since 2020.  At left, Daniel MacGowan, owner of Tiny Raccoon Books in Sayville, with one of his favorite reads.

WOMEN IN MALE-DOMINATED FIELDS / MARCH 16

Only about 5.3% of welders are women, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Taylor Terhaar, 32, of West Babylon, is one of them. Terhaar, a welding instructor at the Eastern Suffolk BOCES Islip Career Center in Oakdale, said she “wake[s] up every day looking forward to work.”

PETS ON THE SET / JULY 6

Making extra money and rubbing elbows with stars are two of the perks for Long Islanders whose pets are cast in movies and TV shows. Among those pet owners is Josephine Ciuzio, of Plainview, whose English bulldog, Minnie, has appeared as Winnie, Martin Short’s dog on the Hulu series “Only Murders in