The month of January brought dragons and space encounters, high-flying riders and battles on the field. Our photographers are out in Orange County every day, capturing these moments and many more.
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Eli Tomac, right, flies high during a qualifying round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross competition at Angel Stadium on Saturday, January 10, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Nancy Duong takes a photo of her sister Loan Duong in a field of mustard at the Northwest Open Space in San Juan Capistrano, CA on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Liam Estuardo Mendez holds on to his toy haul as he leaves the annual Downtown Santa Ana Holiday Celebration in Santa Ana, CA, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. The event, usually a party, was cancelled due to rain and reschdueld as a toy/food distribution event. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
A man looks into the mouth of a giant dragon head at the Dream Glow Festival at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine on Friday, January 2, 2026. The Dream Glow Festival has been extended through January 10. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
The Oxford Academy Show Choir performs to the song, “Good Morning,” during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Huntington Beach Homeless Services Manager Jessica Kelly talks to Darin, who didn’t want his last name used, in the early morning darkness on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. Kelly was with a team taking part in a survey of the homeless community. Darin, who was brewing coffee in his car at a Huntington Beach Walmart parking lot, says he has been unhoused since 2015. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Chewbacca greets visitors at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge inside Disneyland at the Disneyland Resort Anaheim, CA, on Friday, January 16, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Matt Bryant hustles through Garden Grove traffic with an unkempt dog he found wandering the street with a wire wrapped around its leg, he said on Monday, January 5, 2026. He was on the way to the vet’s office to get the animal checked out. He was hoping to keep the friendly dog. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
A man runs around the soccer fields at the Great Park in Irvine, CA on Monday, January 5, 2026. Conditions remained partly cloudy as rain continued to move through the area. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Beach goers walks their dogs along the boardwalk at Main Beach in Laguna Beach, CA, on Monday, January 5, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Kristy Chen, left, and Eunice Chow take a selfie in the “Under the Sea” lantern and light display at the Dream Glow Festival at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine on Friday, January 2, 2026. The Dream Glow Festival has been extended through January 10. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Lisa Levinson, left, and Jill Ajioka, offer each other support during a ceremony on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, the one-year anniversary of the Palisades fires. They were mourning Arthur Simoneau, who lost his life. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Carter Biondolillo (6) of JSerra is called for a foul after tripping up Nico Pacelli (10) of Servite in a boys soccer game at JSerra Catholic High in San Juan Capistrano on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
A group of friends dress as desserts during the Surf City Splash in Huntington Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 1, 2026. Denise Stanek, dressed as a sugary treat said they chose to costumes, “to ring in a sweet 2026”. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Orange County Clerk-Recorder Hugh Nguyen marries Ashley and Luis Gomez outside thier new mobile van in Santa Ana, CA, on Friday, January 9, 2026. The OC Clerk-Recorder’s office will use the van to perform wedding, issue passports, marriage licenses and other records. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Women chat on the second level of the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove on Friday, January 9, 2026. ISOC, the largest muslim community center in Southern California, celebrated its 50th anniversary on Monday, Jan. 5. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Women gather for the prayer service at the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove on Friday, January 9, 2026. ISOC, the largest muslim community center in Southern California, celebrated its 50th anniversary on Monday, Jan. 5. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Juan Alvarez Ramirez, a revert to Islam, attempts to balance a bottle to feed his 3-month-old son, Zechariah, during prayer at the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove on Friday, January 9, 2026. ISOC, the largest muslim community center in Southern California, celebrated its 50th anniversary on Monday, Jan. 5. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Reverts to Islam, Juan Alvarez Ramirez and his wife Brianna Jimenez, reunite after the congregational prayer with their 3-months-old twins, Zechariah, left, and Xiomara, outside the Islamic Society of Orange County
in Garden Grove on Friday. “We’re always looking for a place to worship, but we like coming here (ISOC) because they are so welcoming, especially with the babies,” said Alvarez Ramirez. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Robert Yee and his son, Nicholas, 8, of Fullerton, watch high-definition imagery from the James Webb Telescope during Discovery Cube’s Solar System Encounter exhibit in Santa Ana on Saturday, January 17, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Pageant of the Masters volunteer Linda Ward laughs at the awkwardness of measuring the waist of 6-foot 5-inch-tall Rich Harkey (6-foot 7-inches on a good-hair day, he says) during Pageant of the Masters auditions on Sunday, January 11, 2026. Harkey has never been selected for the pageant despite trying for 11 years, he says. “They have no big-guy roles,” (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Ducks goalkeeper Lukáš Dostál at Great Park Ice in Irvine, CA, on Monday, January 12, 2026. Dostál is headed to the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, next month to play for the The Czech Republic. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Timber, a highly trained ATF accelerant detection dog, takes part in a press conference on Tuesday, January 13, 2026 in Irvine announcing his addition to the Orange County Fire Authority. The 1-year-old yellow labrador couldn’t help showing off his sweet temperament to reporters. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
The Westminster Mall in Westminster, CA, on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. Over the last few weekends vandals broke in to the shuttered mall, covered it in grafattii and destroyed the interior. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Savannah Aquino (20) of Capistrano Valley and Jayden Smythers (14) of San Clemente battle for the ball in a girls soccer game at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Juan Garcia searches for treasure as he wonders the coastal dunes south of the 1st street parking lot in Seal Beach, CA, on Thursday, January 15, 2026. Surfrider Foundation is partnering with the City of Seal Beach on a new project to protect and restore the 2.3 acres coastal dune habitat. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Mater Dei goalkeeper Sienna Sorensen (1) makes a save on a shot by Orange Lutheran in a girls water polo game at Santiago Canyon College in Orange on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Partners, a 1993 copper statue by Blaine Gibson, depicting Walt Disney holding the hand of Mickey Mouse outside Sleeping Beauty Castle inside Disneyland at the Disneyland Resort Anaheim, CA, on Friday, January 16, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Five-year-old Hunter Yee helps load food boxes during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at the OC Food Bank in Garden Grove, CA on Monday, January 19, 2026. Hunter was volunteering with his parents Ken and Lilly Yee. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Cristian Martinez, 16, left, reacts to the cold water as he and Samuel Lee, 14, play in the ocean after picking up trash from Long Beach Peninsula. They were taking part in Leadership Long Beach’s 17th annual MLK Day of Service on Monday, January 19, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Karina Perez wipes a tear from her eye as she stands with her mother, Sonia Garcia, at Country Place Mobile Home Park on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, in Fullerton, CA. Garcia lives next to a mobile home where one person was found dead and two others were injured after a fire tore through a mobile home in the 1800 block of Orangethorpe Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Tyson Christensen (13) of San Clemente fouls Owen Hatch (24) of Tesoro as he drives to the basket in a game at Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita on Wednesday, January 21, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Piano tuner Silvana Olea, from Paru, poses poses in front of giant letters during the first day of The NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center on Thursday, January 22, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
The band Ladrones performs during the first day of The NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center on Thursday, January 22, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Women model costumes from Asian countries during a press conference for Flower Street on Historic Main in Garden Grove, CA on Thursday, January 22, 2026. The free event happens February 13 – 15, 2026. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins performs after accepting the TEC Innovation Award during the 41st NAMM TEC Awards in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, January 22, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Derick Santiago, at his home studio in Tustin, CA on Friday, January 23, 2026, is the author of The Mocktail Club. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Exhausted after hours of rehearsing, Dylan Untal, 17, left, Emily Wong, 16, of the Kennedy High School Executive Order, catch a quick nap in the balcony before their upcoming performance as part of the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Josephine Beltran, 17, with the Cypress High School High Voltage checks her makeup before the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
The Hope School Singers sign the word, forever, after performing “Time After Time” during the reopening ceremony for the historic William A. Cook Auditorium at Anaheim High School in Anaheim on Friday, January 23, 2026. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Sunday, January 25, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
The view from a mountain bike at Santiago Oaks Regional Park in January, offers a green landscape instead of the dry, brown brush that is common this time of year. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Sunday, January 25, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
A man who said he was at the hoispital to visit his mother tussles with protesters as he crosses their picket line at the entrance at Kaiser Permanente in Anaheim, CA, on Monday, January 26, 2026. As nurses and healthcare professionals start an open-ended strike against Kaiser Permanente, the Oakland-based healthcare system says it has contingency plans in place to provide patient care at medical facilities in California and Hawaii. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Nurse Delia Lopez, center, joins fellow health care workers as they get driver’s attention during a strike at Kaiser Permanente in Anaheim, CA, on Monday, January 26, 2026. As nurses and healthcare professionals start an open-ended strike against Kaiser Permanente, the Oakland-based healthcare system says it has contingency plans in place to provide patient care at medical facilities in California and Hawaii. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Nurse Raquel Tinoco holds her 2-year-old son, Frankie, as she and 31,000 healthcare workers strike against Kaiser Permanente. Dozens of Irvine workers demonstrated outside the hospital on Monday, January 26, 2026.
“We want more staffing to protect our patients,” she said. “You can’t be in 10 places at once.” (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
A cyclist rides the trails at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley, CA on Monday, January 26, 2026. Temperatures in the 70’s were expected to last through the week. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
City Net Data Specialist Stephen Su and Julie Bechtol, manager in the OC Office of Care Coordination, right, talk to a man for the Everyone Counts, Point In Time survey in Tustin, CA on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. The county-wide survey provides data on the homeless population. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Workers protest at Kaiser Permanente on Alton Pkwy. in Irvine, CA on Friday, January 30, 2026. Protesters have been on the picket lines for a week during the open-ended strike by 31,000 nurses and healthcare professionals. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Students at Irvine High School staged a walkout in Irvine, CA on Friday, January 30, 2026, in opposition to ICE enforcement. Students marched to Heritage Park, next to the high school, to listen to speakers. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG) -
Dressed like an astronaut and holding her stuffed Elmo doll, 5-year-old Clare Dornan of Corona is in her element while looking at videos during Discovery Cube’s Solar System Encounter exhibit in Santa Ana on Saturday, January 17, 2026. Her mother, Summer Dornan, says Clare already knows a lot about the solar system from watching educational TV and wants a job in the space industry when she grows up. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Eli Tomac, right, flies high during a qualifying round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross competition at Angel Stadium on Saturday, January 10, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG) (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Check out the photos and follow The Orange County Register on Facebook and Instagram. Here are our staff photographers’ individual pages: Paul Bersebach, Jeff Gritchen, Jeff Gritchen’s Aerial Images, Leonard Ortiz, and Mindy Schauer.
Stay safe and stay healthy!