In 2024, photographs placed us in the thick of a number of historical turning points.

1. Climate carnage. In October 2024, images of cars swept away by flooding and torrential rainfall in eastern Spain spread across the world. The disaster, covered whole towns in mud and laid waste to roads, rail lines and bridges.

2. Soup coup. In September, two young people from Just Stop OilA UK environmental activist group which uses direct action to protest against fossil fuel production. threw soup over Van Gogh's sunflowers. Just hours after they were jailed, more protesters walked into the National Gallery to damage another famous painting.

3. Presidential potshot. Few would argue that this is anything other than the image of the year. On 13 July in Butler, Pennsylvania, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt.

4. Milkshake madness. Soon after Victoria Thomas Bowen ran into Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in her hometown of Clacton-on-Sea, startling photos went viral showing her throwing milkshake over his face.

Are images more powerful than words?

Yes! The brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text. It is a universal language which transcends language.

No! Words capture complex ideas and abstract concepts that you might not find in a photograph.