A lone car is covered in snow in a downtown parking lot as a winter storm brings snow and freezing temperatures to North Texas on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021, in Dallas. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
Like 2020, 2021 has been a year of resilience. It began with an ice storm and a deadly winter freeze that swept across the state of Texas. As Texas residents hunkered down to fight off the dangerous cold and protect pets and pipes from the winter weather, the staff of The Dallas Morning News did all of those things, too, and then started reporting the stories of our community. Amid that terrible storm, the team of visual journalists found residents who had sought shelter from the cold winter night on a bus. In the days following, they found residents working to have water and power restored to their homes.
The visual storytellers of The Dallas Morning News have continued to present the stories of our community with empathy, grace, intrigue and wit. Each day, members of this team come together with only one goal in mind: to do better than the day before. We understand that on many days we encounter people experiencing some of the most impactful days of their lives.
Advertisement
Throughout the past year, we watched our community reawaken and celebrate, comfort and uplift each other. And because of the reputation of this institution, you have allowed us into your homes and your lives to tell your stories.
Dan Bryant and his wife, Anna, huddled by the fire with sons Benny, 3, and Sam, 12 weeks, and their dog Joey, who was wearing two doggie sweaters, in their home in Garland. The massive winter storm let the Bryants, along with millions of other Texans without power. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
Frisco Wakeland offensive linemen Cade Myer (58) and Jack Jones (60) carried flags as they lead their team onto the field to face Denton Ryan in a District 5-5A high school football game Sept. 23 at the C.H. Collins Complex in Denton. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)American gymnast Jordan Chiles competed on the balance beam during the women’s 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials in June at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. She went on to represent the U.S. at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)On Feb. 11, the area awoke to news of a deadly chain-reaction pileup in north Fort Worth. A massive crush of 133 passenger vehicles and 18-wheelers had occurred on the southbound lanes of I-35W about 6 a.m. Six people died in the pileup, which began as icy conditions slicked area roads. Emergency crews and people who escaped injuries worked frantically to free victims from their vehicles in freezing temperatures. More than 30 people are taken to area hospitals.
(Lawrence Jenkins / Special Contributor)
Advertisement
Emergency crews work to clear the mass casualty pile-up on I-35W and Northside Drive in Fort Worth on Feb. 11.(Juan Figueroa / Staff photographer)
Advertisement
Crews work to clear the mass casualty pile-up on I-35W and Northside Drive in Fort Worth on Feb. 11.(Juan Figueroa / Staff photographer)Blowing snow obscured pedestrians near DART’s Pearl/Arts District station as temperatures dropped in Dallas on Feb. 14. DART suspended all rail operations that night as North Texas residents braved the winter storm.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Madeline Daniel, 6, and her brother Riley, 8, played in the snow at Flag Pole Hill Park in Dallas on Feb. 14 as the area braced for even more severe weather to roll in. Their father, Matt Daniel, said he had both the sled years before when the family moved into their house, which sits on a hill. “I bought it in the middle of summer that year,” he said, laughing. “I’m glad they’re finally getting to enjoy it.”(Lynda M. González / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
Icicles lengthened on an arch on Inwood Road in Dallas on Feb. 18 as the storm lingered.(Juan Figueroa / Staff photographer)A lone car sat covered in snow in a downtown parking lot as the winter storm stunned North Texas with days of ice, snow and freezing temperatures.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)A crew worked to de-ice an American Airlines jet that was trying to take off ahead of the winter storm on Feb.14 at DFW International Airport.(Lola Gomez / Staff Photographer)Alfredo Colón warmed his hands over a fire in front of his family’s East Dallas home on Feb. 15. The family had lost power the previous night. "It feels better out here than it does in there," he said outside the house.(Juan Figueroa / Staff photographer)
Advertisement
Gloria Sanders, 76, comforted by her mother, Maria Barajas, 100, as they spent the night on a warming bus at Dallas’ Pleasant Oaks Recreation Center. Their house had been without power for days.(Lola Gomez / Staff Photographer)Marleny Almendarez, 38, cupped Little Rainbow, her pet parakeet, in her hand after the bird froze to death during power outages at her Dallas home. On Feb. 18, Almendarez and her two children spent the night in a bus that the city provided as a warming center. (Lola Gomez / Staff Photographer)Homeowner Joe Ellery listened as plumbers Geovanni 'Geo' Marino (center) and Nick Paulk of Baker Brothers Plumbing explained the damage to Ellery’s water pipes on Feb. 18. Ellery’s house flooded after a pipe broke during the deep freeze. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)A man walked home with drinking water that was distributed at the nonprofit Literacy Achieves in the Vickery Meadows neighborhood in Northeast Dallas on Feb. 18 as area residents reeled from the effects of the winter storm.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
Dallas residents Maria Mata (right) and her daughter Dariela Mata carried a large bucket of water to their upstairs apartment at Villas Del Solamar Apartments in Vickery Meadow on Feb 22. Some areas of the city were left without water for more than a week. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)Florence Mullins, 89, sat in a chair as a family member held her place in the long line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 11 at Fair Park in Dallas. Later, the Dallas County megasite became a drive-through operation and, at its peak, ran 18 lanes and administered more than 12,000 doses a day.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Vehicles made their way through multiple stations in early February at a COVID-19 drive-through vaccination clinic at Texas Motor Speedway. Denton County Public Health staff said the megasite could administer 10,000 vaccines per day using 16 drive-through lanes. On April 29, 17,003 people received the vaccine at TMS, setting a Denton County record for total vaccinations administered in a day.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)Penny Mayo, LVN gave a COVID-19 vaccine shot to a person at a drive-through vaccination clinic at Texas Motor Speedway on February 2 in Fort Worth.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
Lines of vehicles snaked around Fair Park on Feb. 10 as Dallas residents turned out to receive COVID-19 vaccinations after the megasite shifted from a walk-up model to a drive-through.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)Dallas Fire-Rescue officer Corey Nix filled out some paperwork with Albert Garza, 75, after Garza received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine at home.(Lola Gomez / Staff Photographer)Rosa Sanchez received her vaccine aboard a bus April 7 at Fair Park. Dallas County provided a ride from Bachman Recreation Center for those who didn’t have transportation.(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)A single vehicle made its way to the Fair Park megasite on July 17, the site’s last day, although it did open again for occasional clinics. (Elias Valverde II / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
David Barger, who said he had been homeless since the beginning of the year, spend’s the night in a DART bus stop on Malcom X Boulevard near downtown Dallas in August. In addition to enduring the summer heat on the streets, he lived outdoors during the February freeze, he said.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)Jonnay Mckinley hugged her oldest daughter, Yannoj Young, 8 as Mckinley talked about her Feb. 1 eviction from her apartment despite a nationwide halt during the pandemic. On the other bed, daughters Courtney Young, 7 and Trinity Young, 5 rested in their hotel room. After The Dallas Morning News began asking questions about the young mother’s eviction, the property management company that took her to court reinstated her lease. She was but one of millions of women in the U.S. who lost their jobs during the pandemic. (Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)Mom Jenny Marr read to Henry, Harrison, Hudson, and Hardy, identical quadruplets born March 15, 2020, in their home in Grapevine in January. In a time of isolation during the pandemic, Jenny and her husband, Chris, learned to tackle being first-time parents.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)Harrison, Hardy, Henry and Hudson Marr had lunch in February as the family dog, Zeke, awaited “treats” to rain down from above.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
Hudson smiled at his father, Chris Marr, while having cake at the quads’ first birthday party in March at the family’s home.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)Sally Bultmann (left) and Leslie Cave (right) took photos of the quads at the Good Things for All Seasons in March.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)Southlake Carroll High School head coach Riley Dodge kissed his son Tate, 5, on the AT&T Stadium sidelines before the Class 6A Division I state football championship game against Austin Westlake, coached by his own father Todd Dodge. The elder Dodge’s team triumphed, winning 52-34.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Dallas Cowboys first-round draft pick Micah Parsons held his sleeping son, Malcolm, 3, after a press conference to introduce the team’s new linebacker from Penn State on April 30 at The Star in Frisco.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
John Wallace tossed his son Ryan, 3, into the air as he and his wife Kim, stood in a field of bluebonnets near Zion Cemetery in Frisco. In a springtime tradition, the family visits the same field every year for a new photo.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz played with his son, Theodore, after a practice at training camp in Oxnard, Calif. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Mohammad Mahbobyar, 19, held his 1-year-old nephew Suvan Yasiney at a rally in downtown Dallas on Aug. 21 to denounce the Taliban and to call for more action from the U.S. government to send aid to those trying to flee Afghanistan.(Lola Gomez / Staff Photographer)Nick Schmidt of Farmers Branch rocked his son Ezra during the Addison Kaboom Town Fourth of July celebration.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
Dallas police officers joined community members at a candlelight vigil for Officer Mitchell Penton in February in Dallas. Penton. Penton, 27, was fatally struck by a car as he worked a crash scene on U.S. 75. At his funeral, he was remembered for his upbeat attitude for life and his love for his job.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Dallas police officer Colton Upchurch raised a shot of whiskey at Penton’s funeral. They were police recruits together and close friends. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)Penton’s widow, Noel Bergenske Penton (center), and son, Cashton, gripped folded U.S. flags given to them by Dallas police Chief Eddie Garcia after the funeral service Feb. 22 at Prestonwood Baptist Church.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)Andis Applewhite and nephew Calvin Wallace Gloria, 8, stood in Applewhite's vineyard in Lockney in June. Applewhite was among 57 wine producers and grape growers suing chemical companies that produce the herbicide Dicamba over crop damage allegations.(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
Robert Kent, Texas State Director of the Trust for Public Land, hiked in the Five Mile Creek Greenbelt in March as he and other officials toured southern Dallas. If there’s any silver lining to the pandemic, columnist Sharon Grigsby wrote, perhaps it’s that brought the ned for “green space” — parks and trails — in the area to everyone’s attention in a profound way. (Ben Torres / Special Contributor)Members of the Dallas Rowing Club and its Juniors program glided across the water during a morning training session in July on Bachman Lake.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)Brazil’s Dora Varella competed during the women’s skateboarding prelims Aug. 4 at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics at Ariake Urban Sports Park in Tokyo. Skateboarding made its Olympic debut in 2021.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)China’s Wang Han completed a dive in the women’s 3-meter springboard semifinal competition at the Tokyo Olympics.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
Team USA’s Kieran Smith pierced the water in the men’s 200 meter freestyle at a qualifying event at the Aquatics Centre. Team USA’s total medal tally in Tokyo was 30.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)Team USA swimmer Kate Douglass sped through her lane in the women’s 200 meter individual medley semifinal in Tokyo. She won the bronze medal in the finals.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)Team USA’s Jasmine Moore competed in the women’s triple jump qualification round in Tokyo.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)Justine Wong-Orantes of Team USA digs for the ball in a volleyball game against Argentina at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena. The U.S. women defeated Argentina and went on to beat Brazil in the final to bring home the first gold medal in team history.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
The Bull gave a competitor an impromptu flying lesson at the 32nd Texas Black Invitational Rodeo at Fair Park Coliseum in Dallas on July 31.(Lola Gomez / Staff Photographer)The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders performed during opening ceremonies at the football team’s training camp in Oxnard, Calif., in July. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders high-kicked during a performance at the preseason game against the Houston Texans at AT&T Stadium.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)North Garland High School’s Mam’selles drill team performed in the stands during a game at Williams Stadium in Garland.(Brandon Wade / Special Contributor)
Advertisement
A pair of fans tossed a ball while sitting in a social distancing square on the outfield lawn as Texas Rangers pitcher Kohei Arihara warmed up before a spring training game against the Chicago White Sox on March 2 at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)San Diego Padres second baseman Tucupita Marcano didn’t let his face mask stop him from perfecting his bubble gum game in the Globe Life Field dugout in April.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Fans (from left) Fred Aurbach, girlfriend Leslie Lehman, daughter-in-law Melissa Aurbach and son Wilson Aurbach helped to make the Rangers’ home opener a sellout April 5 at Globe Life Field in Arlington. The Rangers lost 5-0 to the Toronto Blue Jays.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)Texas Rangers co-chairman Ray C. Davis reacted as catcher Jonah Heim went into the netting after a foul ball in a game against the Oakland Athletics in August at Globe Life Field.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts’ baseball talismans bounced around his neck as he ran off the field during a spring training game against the Texas Rangers in March in Surprise, Ariz. Betts said his father gave him the gold chain in high school, and a young fan presented him with the plastic bat and ball when he played for the Boston Red Sox.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Fans on the outfield lawn chased a home run ball off the bat of San Diego Padres third baseman Nick Tanielu during the first inning of a spring training game against the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium, in Surprise, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Minnesota Twins center fielder Nick Gordon was safe at second base with a double, beating the tag from Texas Rangers shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa in a game June 18 at Globe Life Field in Arlington.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Katy defensive back Colton Cable flipped over his teammates as the team took the field Jan. 16 for the Class 6A Division II state football championship game against Cedar Hill at AT&T Stadium.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
A dejected Javien Clemmer, a Cedar Hill wide receiver walked off the field after the 51-14 loss to Katy. The Katy team dominated the game leading start to finish and denying Cedar Hill the state championship title.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Aledo players, including offensive lineman Jurrien Loftin (70) and offensive lineman Brady Wood (57) waited to take the field before the Class 5A Division II state football championship game Jan. 15 at AT&T Stadium. The Aledo Bearcats tied the state record with a 10th UIL state title beating Crosby 56-21.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Rockwall-Heath wide receiver Jordan Nabors (2) lost his helmet when Southlake Carroll defensive back Max Reyes (24) broke up a pass during the game Sept. 2 at Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium in Rockwall.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Frisco Liberty’s Jazzy Owens-Barnett (left) tried for a steal on Sarai Estupinan of Cedar Park in the Class 5A state championship game on March 11 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. No. 1-ranked Cedar Park stopped defending champ Frisco Liberty 46-39 to win.(Ron Cortes / Dallas Morning News)
Advertisement
DeSoto basketball team members celebrated their win against Duncanville after the Class 6A Region II UIL playoff game March 2 in Waxahachie. DeSoto won 52-39.(Juan Figueroa / Staff photographer)Over 73,000 people, an all-time attendance record for an indoor boxing event in the U.S., filled AT&T stadium to see Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez defeat British boxer Billy Joe Saunders in their world title fight on May 8.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)Billy Joe Saunders (right) got a clean shot to the face of Canelo Alvarez during their super middleweight title fight in Arlington. Alvarez won with an eighth-round TKO victory. The event was reminiscent of what live sports were like before the pandemic.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)A supporter of President Donald Trump shouted at counter-protesters outside the Texas State Capitol in Austin as Congress met in Washington D.C., to certify the Electoral College presidential election results on Jan. 6. As news of the pro-Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol broke, the Texas Capitol grounds were closed.(Lynda M. González / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
Mask mandate foes yelled at Dallas ISD trustees in an August meeting. The board voted to join a lawsuit, defying Gov. Greg Abbott’s oder that banned local officials from requiring the COVID-19 precaution.(Elias Valverde II / Staff Photographer)A man holding an American flag passed in front of a rally in support of President Donald Trump, who paid a final visit to the U.S.-Mexico border wall, his signature project, on Jan. 12 in McAllen.(Lola Gomez / Staff Photographer)A crowd of 1,500 marched in downtown Dallas on May 23 calling for a free Palestine during a "Rise Up for Palestine" event, part of demonstrations worldwide after violence left hundreds dead in Gaza.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)Wally Funk, 82, waved during a parade in her honor Aug. 7 in Grapevine after she flew into space alongside billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and two others on his Blue Origin rocket. Funk had spent 60 years waiting for the moment. The female aviation pioneer had trained to go into space since 1961.(Lola Gomez / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
Dallas Mavericks mascot Champ welcomed kindergartner Iris Vallesa, 5, on the first day of school at Adelle Turner Elementary School on Aug. 9in Dallas. DISD officials sought to assuage families’ fears as students returned to in-class instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.(Brandon Wade / Special Contributor)Sylar Watts, 11, reacted as a giant Jenga tower collapsed during a tailgate party outside Arlington’s Globe Life Field before a game between Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays on Opening Day April 5.(Lola Gomez / Staff Photographer)A man riding tall on a John Deere tractor waved to residents along the route of the Arlington Independence Day Parade on July 5. The parade, the city’s longest running event, had been canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Distinctive feather lashes circle the eye of Kune, a southern ground hornbill that was hatched at the Dallas Zoo in the summer and cared for by Ann Knutson, assistant zoological manager of birds. The zoo has a family of hornbills and has raised hornbill chicks since 2017.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
Bowie, an Asian elephants, waded into a waterfall during the grand opening of the Fort Worth Zoo’s new Elephant Springs habitat in April. The multi-yard habitat for the zoo’s elephant herd includes a 400,000-gallon water feature and is part of $100 million campaign of renovations at the zoo. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Handler Courtney Pineda held Arboretum Annie after the ground hog predicted six more weeks of winter on Feb. 2 at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden in Dallas.(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)A Texas horned lizard hatchling sported a harmonic radar tag at the Fort Worth Zoo in September. The tag, which is flexible and won’t get tangled in brush, allows researchers from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth to track the hatchlings after they are released into the wild. Horned lizards have been threatened in Texas since the 1970s.(Elias Valverde II / Staff Photographer)On June 10, city and county officials, residents and fitness enthusiasts celebrated the opening of the eastbound and westbound pedestrian and bicycle bridges of the Margaret McDermott Bridge with a ribbon-cutting. For several years, the bridge had been open only to vehicle traffic on I-30.(Lola Gomez / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
People on their lunch hour scurried through the rain and past the towering Man With A Briefcase sculpture in downtown Fort Worth as a band of shower passed through the area in March.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)The Trinity River, sen here near the Westmoreland bridge in Dallas, has become known for its massive alligator gar. Viral videos of Odell Allen, who with his wife, Beverly Rasnick Allen, fishes for the prehistoric-looking fish, have made it so, drawing anglers to the river from all over the world. Texas Parks & Wildlife says the native species is being overfished, and the department has limited how many gar people can harvest. It should be noted that Allen catches and releases his gar. “We need the fish to keep our waters right. They’re there for a reason,” he says.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)The sun sets behind Jerry Scales, a Duncanville High School offensive lineman, as he is enveloped in the mist from a cooling station on the sidelines during a game against Mater Dei of Santa Ana, Calif., on Aug. 27 in Duncanville.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)Fireworks exploded over a spinning windmill on July 3 at Addison’s Kaboom Town festival. Freedom had added meaning in North Texas as health experts said those who had been fully vaccinated could gather more safely. In 2021, the Fourth of July marked the return of neighborhood parades, softball games and more.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)
Advertisement
A couple wearing vaquero hats danced under the lights in June at Club Los Rieles in Dallas.(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer)
Vernon Bryant joined The Dallas Morning News photography staff after a 2000 fall internship. He interned at the Austin American-Statesman for two summers, USA TODAY and The Dallas Morning News before joining the staff at the News. He shoots stills and video for the paper and subject’s range from sports, news, portraiture and documentary.
