Each year, Cap Times photographers document the big moments — the protests, celebrations and concerts that define life in Madison and beyond.
But this year’s most memorable images also encompass quiet moments, in the homes of people who lost someone to tragedy or had a family member detained by ICE.
Photo director Ruthie Hauge has selected some of her favorite images of the year, from a child holding her dad’s ashes to an Appleton musician mid-flip onstage at The Sylvee.
Hauge said when she chooses these images, it’s not always the most newsworthy moments — look for the light and composition in a photo documenting Bus Rapid Transit. Photos of Morgridge Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and rice sloughs in the Bad River Reservation felt like making art.
Beyond Hauge’s own work, she’s featuring photos here by Ashley Rodriguez, Ilana Bar-Av, Jonás Tijerino and Patricio Crooker. As we head into 2026, consider this our invitation to look more closely at the world around you.
— Lindsay Christians
An ice shanty, which sunk during warmer temperatures, is frozen in the ice of Lake Waubesa on, Jan. 3.
Appleton musician Kenny Hoopla does backflip off a bass drum during the Joey’s Song Freezing Man festival at The Sylvee on Jan. 9. The annual concert raises funds for epilepsy research in honor of Madison’s Joey Gomell who passed away from the disease in 2010 when he was 5 years old.
In late January, notices to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents started showing up on the doors of Madison area buildings. This notice, posted on interior and exterior doors throughout Madison’s labor temple, read, “Private area: ICE cannot enter the Labor Temple without a judicial warrant.”
Lilith Kievskaya wears armor and firearms while representing the John Brown Gun Club, with the intention of intimidating any opposition who may be seeking violence at one of the early 50501 protests that occurred this year in Madison.
Snow falls on the Capitol square in February.
Rachael Hunter created this piece for the “As Long As It’s Safe To Do So” art show in February. Hunter tentatively called the piece, “what the hell is going on down there?” and made it specifically to hang on the ceiling. “I wanted it to seem like they were like trapped up there,” Hunter said.
A drawing and photo of Kevin Price sit atop a coffee table in the apartment of Price’s former boyfriend, Javier DeLuna. Price was shot and killed by Fitchburg police after calling for help in August 2024.
The American flag flies in heavy winds in downtown Mazomanie in this photo from March.
Lolo Carter takes a moment during a candlelight vigil marking the 10th anniversary of the fatal shooting of her nephew, Tony Robinson, by Madison police officer Matt Kenny. The vigil took place outside of the home where Tony was killed, 1125 Williamson St. in Madison.
The Babych family, refugees from Ukraine, hold the flag of their home country at their apartment in Stoughton. Folding the flag into the shape of a heart was an idea of 13-year-old family member, Nazar Babych.
Wisconsin Supreme Court’s newest justice, Susan Crawford waves to supporters before delivering her victory speech on April 1 at the Park Hotel in Madison.
The Raging Grannies sang songs in support of gun safety at the Farley Center for Peace, Justice & Sustainability. This photo was part of Ashley Rodriquez’s photo essay, documenting activism by Madison’s Raging Grannies.
Nora Adams and her daughter, Ruby Adams, 11, both of Milwaukee, stand together during the Hands Off! rally on the Capitol Square in Madison in April. The rally was part of the largest day of collective action since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, with record numbers turning out nationwide to defend what they see as threats to health care, wages, education, civil rights and democracy.
Amtrak train conductor Jarrett Room assists at a stop of the Borealis train at the Columbus train station.
Students walk below the Park Street pedestrian bridge near Bascom Hill during an unseasonably warm day in late April at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
An unhoused man sits outside the locked gate of The Beacon after the day shelter had closed for the day in this image from May.
Madison Mallards fans keep an inflatable baseball aloft, over the head of a feeding infant during a game against the Green Bay Rockers at Warner Park in June 4.
Toddler Jayla holds her own miniature urn containing the ashes of her father, Rashad Lamar Nelson. Nelson was killed in a crash during a high speed chase with Monona Police in 2024. Nelson’s fiancé, Sam Hamer, was nine months pregnant with Jayla when he died in the crash. Hamer gave birth to Jayla the day after the fatal crash.
Jeffrey Rupnow, father of Abundant Life Christian School shooter Natalie Rupnow, stands outside a courtroom at Dane County Courthouse following a status conference. Jeffrey Rupnow was formally charged of contributing to the delinquency of a child and two counts of providing a dangerous weapon to a person under 18 resulting in death, all felonies.
A demonstrator waves an upside-down American flag at the top of State Street (left) during the downtown No Kings protest in June while Louise Robbins, 81, carries a “hands off Medicare” sign on the seat of her walker during the octogenarian protest of the same name on Madison’s west side.
A festival attendee dons a pair of Viking horns during the Syttende Mai parade in Stoughton on May 18.
A middle school musician practices the cello in her family’s east Madison home on June 16. She is one of many members of Madison’s community of transgender youth navigating the Trump Administration’s disapproval of transgender rights.
Geraldine Cruz Dip, Vivianne Jerez Robles and Celeste Robles Chacón discuss the status of their family member, Miguel Jerez Robles, a Cuban immigrant and refugee, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers after a scheduled immigration court hearing in Miami.
Joseph Hubbard, 5, swims at Brittingham Beach on Lake Monona in June. The goal of monitoring Madison’s beaches for water quality is to increase the public’s confidence in the safety of the lakes, said Caitlin McAleavey, the watershed programs manager at Clean Lakes Alliance.
Madison band Spooner held a 50th reunion concert at Atwood Music Hall in July. Spooner drummer and founder of Mad City Music store Dave Benton passed away just two months after the show.
Competitor Ty Majeski poses next to his Toyota race car before the 2024 ASA Midwest Series race at Madison International Speedway. Majeski, a popular racer from Wisconsin, competes at the national level in various categories. He enjoys coming to the MIS and has won multiple races there.
Chris Martin of Coldplay smiles at a roaring crowd at Camp Randall in July. Madison was one of a handful of U.S. stops the band made on their global tour, “Music of the Spheres.”
Legendary Madison drag queen and advocate for the transgender community Cass Marie Domino was honored with an exhibition at The University of Wisconsin-Madison this year. She has always loved to ride. “Horses are resilient, strong and brave,” Domino said. “They’re real sensitive too.”
Leah Portz, left, and Faith Belt, right, use distance to manipulate the size of their limbs during a shadow puppet workshop at the first-ever Puppets in the House festival in Verona.
At Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin in Spring Green, one of the principle tenets of his work is on display: the idea of compression and release. Low ceilings and hallways lead to bigger spaces.
Gentle waves roll through wild rice on Beartrap Creek and the Kakagon Sloughs, near Lake Superior on the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin. The rice is harvested each year by members of Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The Bad River tribe has been in litigation with Canadian oil company, Enbridge, which has an oil pipeline going through the reservation.
Three Bharatanatyam dancers, part of Kripa Baskaran’s Natyarpana Dance Company, jump in the air during their dance piece at Wirth Court Park in September.
Students arrive for the first day of classes at Orchard Ridge Elementary School.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s newest building, Morgridge Hall, is home of the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences.
Two people have a private moment as students move busily around them during a passing period on the first day of classes for the 2025-2026 school year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Cap Times members attend a reception during the Idea Fest Celebration of Journalism at the Edgewater Hotel.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker waves to a cheering crowd after talking with Karen Tumulty, chief political correspondent at The Washington Post, during Cap Times Idea Fest at Shannon Hall.
Tenzin Nawang plays with a Rubik’s Cube during his enthronement ceremony at Deer Park Buddhist Center.
Bicycle stencils notify passengers of the Madison Metro Rapid Transit bus Route A1 where to board with their bikes.
Madison’s most successful musical group, Garbage, returned for a concert at The Sylvee in October. Pictured is the band performing “I Think I’m Paranoid” from their second album, “Version 2.0,” which was recorded at Smart Studios in Madison in 1998.
Sydney Marz, left, and Lauren Engle joined a lawsuit against David Kruchten and the Madison Metropolitan School District, hoping the legal pressure would spur policy change to prevent educator sexual misconduct from happening again.
A classroom sits empty at East High School. Estimates show one in 10 students experiences sexual misconduct from educators during their K-12 schooling, according to a U.S Department of Education report. In Wisconsin, that rate would amount to more than 93,000 school children.
A Madison East High School student scrolls videos on TikTok after school. Every public school district in Wisconsin will be required to restrict cell phones in classrooms at the start of the next school year
Another No Kings march took place to rally against the Trump Administration in Madison on Oct. 18.
Dr. Adam Brinkman, a UW Health pediatric surgeon, is pictured in a trauma room at American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison. Brinkman operated on one of the student victims of the Abundant Life Christian School shooting on Dec. 16, 2024.
The moon peeks through heavy cloud cover as holiday lights decorate the Capitol Square in downtown Madison.
Ruthie Hauge is photo director for the Cap Times and the recipient of more than 80 photojournalism awards. Email story ideas and tips to Ruthie at [email protected] or call (608) 252-6450.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source captimes.com ’
