Freelance photographer Daniel Cole used contacts he’s built over the past 18 months to secure unique access to an intensive care unit in Marseille, France, documenting how staff, patients and their families were coping during the holidays. His work was front and center of AP’s coronavirus coverage over the holiday period.

Cole spent Christmas and New Year's in La Timone Hospital as medical staff cared for COVID patients and celebrated Christmas with their colleagues, not with their loved ones. He also captured intimate moments as family members visited patients.

But beyond the outstanding still images, Cole was reporting in all formats: His text piece perfectly complemented the photos, while his Only on AP video saw prominent usage by AP customers in France and internationally.