Every day, Bloomberg photographers capture hundreds of images to illustrate the world’s top business and financial news stories. And every year, we ask our team of editors and photographers to weed through hundreds of thousands of images to select the strongest photos — the ones that illustrated the unillustratable, told a story in a single frame and helped Bloomberg and other news outlets around the world to tell the most important stories of 2014.
And then we asked the team to do the impossible — pick a favorite.
Here are the Asia-Pacific (APAC) team’s picks for the Best of the Best Photos of 2014:
The stunning photography for this years BoY selection showcases the diverse and talented range of photographers that work with us. My choice is Kiyoshi Ota’s Tokyo Christmas scene. The photograph succeeds for me on multiple levels. Firstly, it’s simply very beautiful with the lone figure ascending stairs flanked by shimmering lights. It’s also a great example of a photographer successfully negotiating a potentially difficult open assignment — in this case the challenges of the Japanese economy — without resorting to cliche. The timelessness and ambiguity of the image will also ensure a long potential archive life outside of its immediate subject matter.
— Maria Wood, Head of APAC Photo Team
The price and distribution of onions can be a contentious issue in India, not that you would know as Dhiraj Singh perfectly captures a worker peacefully resting on sacks of the vegetable in the back of a truck. Our sleeping subject provides a model-like pose as the vehicle’s tarp cover imbues the whole frame with a warm blue hue. Dhiraj lets symmetry do the rest to leave us with a serene and beautifully balanced shot.
— Joe Megson, Photo Editor, APAC
The weather gods had us in mind the day Charles Pertwee took this unique and breathtaking shot of Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Petronas Twin Towers — at one point the world’s tallest structure mdash; shrouded under heavy cloud. Taken following the disappearance of Malaysian Air flight MH370, the image gave a sense of foreboding as the nation’s leaders faced intense criticism over their handling of the air disaster, troubles that would eventually be further compounded by the second air tragedy of flight MH17.
— Elaine To, Photo Editor, APAC
A great frame captured by Brent Lewin here in Hong Kong of the message wall of the Occupy Hong Kong movement. Lots of other photographers have shot this wall before but his great use of light while adding a human element in an unexpected way. The photo is just so colourful and well-framed.
— Justin Chin, Photo Editor, APAC
A very rare and truly memorable moment. The sharpness of the lightning appears while crowds gather in a flow of blurry motion and a strong sense of purpose. An electrifying image.
— Jovelyn Fuego, Video Editor, APAC
I will choose Lam Yik Fei’s lightning image as the best photo in the best of the year selection because it tells the special moment of the historical news in the city. The photo shows all elements for the news. People occupying a main road with umbrellas, with the background of high rise buildings showing the protest being held in the big city and the lighting tells the unusual atmosphere of the night.
— Tomohiro Ohsumi, Photographer, APAC
SoftBank Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son and Pepper, the human-like robot, standing in the spotlight against black background really caught my eye. The nice proportion of the subjects in the center makes them stand out well on the stage during the news conference. The way Masayosh Son gestures to Pepper gives the feeling of the good relationship between robot servant and master human that reminds me of those Japanese cartoons I used to watch when I was a kid.
— Dennis Wong, Photo Editor, APAC
See the full collection of photos from the 2014 Best of the Year collection.
