In the month of June, Los Angeles Times photojournalists embedded with the U.S.-backed Afghanistan air force, witnessed migrants’ dangerous trek across the U.S.-Mexico Border, explored the reopening of Los Angeles after a tumultuous year of COVID-19 restrictions and much, much more.
Below is a curation of photographs from photo editor Taylor Arthur as released on @latimesphotos Twitter with the hashtag #PhotoOfTheDay, chronicling images taken or published in June.
Follow us on Twitter at @latimesphotos for more #PhotoOfTheDay posts and visual journalism.
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Lighting strikes over Lake Mead, which is at the lowest level that the reservoir has been since it was filled in 1937 due to drought, as a storm rolls through the area Tuesday, on June 29.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Mileydi Barrela, 26, of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and daughter Zoe Barrela, who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, wait to be loaded on a bus to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol, Rio Grande Valley Sector, on June 2.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
People enjoy a waterslide at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor water park in Valencia during California’s reopening day.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
After being knocked out by Big Cheese in the third round and laying on the mat for what seemed like two minutes, Albert Marion, aka Black Blade, is comforted by his girlfriend ringside as he recovers from a hard-fought match on May 30.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
A lone hiker is dwarfed by the walls of Buckskin Gulch near Kanab, Utah.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Actress Jurnee Smollett of the show “Lovecraft Country†is photographed at home in Los Angeles on April 26.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
A Palestinian struggling to breathe is carried away from a protest against the West Bank Israeli settlement outpost Eviatar, which was recently established on the hilltop of Jabal Sabeeh adjacent to the village of Beita, near the city of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank on June 25.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
The wind made it slightly challenging for the unveiling of a new rainbow-colored lifeguard tower at Long Beach on June 10 to replace one that burned down in March. The tower serves as a symbol of LGBTQ+ pride.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
American musician Questlove, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, poses for a portrait at the Whitby Hotel in New York City on June 15.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Turbines spin as the Blood Moon lunar eclipse sets behind the towers on the Shiloh II wind farm in the Montezuma Hills near Bird’s Landing, Calif., on May 26.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Drag queen Nico Cervantes, stage name “Borgia Bloom,†performs at the Boulevard, the only gay bar in Pasadena that is once again fully open with no social distancing and live entertainment.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
A boat navigates Lake Mead, where a white “bathtub ring†along the shore shows how far below capacity the nation’s largest reservoir currently is. Water levels at Lake Mead have hit their lowest points in history amid an ongoing megadrought, creating uncertainty about the water supply for millions of people in the Western United States.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
A UH-60 Blackhawk prepares to land at an outpost near Kandahar, Afghanistan, on May 6. The U.S. and its partners have supported the Afghan air force to the tune of $8.5 billion since 2010.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
A soldier surveys the terrain out the window during a resupply flight on a UH-60 Blackhawk towards an outpost in the Shah Wali Kot district north of Kandahar, Afghanistan, on May 6.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
Nyjah Huston, the top-ranked skateboarder in the world, is seen in a tintype photograph made outside his skate park in San Clemente, Calif., on May 4. Huston will be representing the United States as a member of the skateboarding team, as it debuts at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Jessica sings “California Uber Alles†by Dead Kennedys at Punk Rock Karaoke at Gallagher’s Pub HB on June 13, in Huntington Beach.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Sunrise over Los Angeles County marks a new post-COVID era for California. The state at 12:01 a.m. on June 15 rescinded most mask rules for vaccinated people and ended capacity limitations on businesses and venues.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Jacket Rashad, a street barber, gives Rashad Karim, a food vendor, a haircut on Degnan Boulevard on June 15, the day California reopened.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Jamelle Knight holds on as a bull bucks during the Bull Riding competition at the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo on June 13 in Las Vegas.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Joe McMenimen, 44, and his pet Nubian goat Tom Brady, in Hollywood on June 15. McMenimen said he lost his apartment during the pandemic and he is now living in a bus in Hollywood with his goat.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Fire tore through a three-story commercial building in downtown Los Angeles early on the morning of June 8. Firefighters responded about 1:50 a.m. to the 100 block of Third Street, near Los Angeles Street, and found flames shooting from the building.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)