Kayla Bartkowski

Scenes from week 1 of Coachella!!

We got high at #Coachella. Our reporters went up in the @goodyearblimp and got a a rare look at the festival from the sky. Read all our Coachella coverage at the link in bio.

Scenes from the last three days after a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable in landmark lawsuit Social Media Addiction Trial. Families of victims and supporters of the plaintiff reacted outside the Los Angeles Superior Court after hearing the verdict. The coordinated lawsuits alleged that Meta and YouTube are designed to hook young users and cause them a variety of negative mental health effects. The jury found Meta and Youtube negligent, finding Meta 70% responsible for harm and YouTube 30% responsible. They awarded the plaintiff $3 million in compensatory damaged and an additional $3 million in punitive damages. @latimes

Some scenes from my first award season! @latimes

Recovery, rebuilding, and community one year after The Palisades and Eaton Fires destroyed over 16,000 structures displacing thousands of residents throughout California. Some work from the past couple months covering the aftermath for the @latimes Captions continued in comments 1. Tom Doran poses for a portrait in the remains of his home in the Pacific Palisades on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, CA after the early 2025 fires. Tom Doran, who has submitted plans to rebuild the home he lived in since 199, has said that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass should have done more to secure passage of a law giving residents relief from city rebuilding permits after the wildfires. 2. Remnants of the Pacific Palisades Business Block, which was completed in 1924, a year after the wildfires on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026 in Pacific Palisades, CA. 3. left to right, Craig Forrest poses for a portrait along side his three children, Gustav Forrest, 16, Liv Forrest, 14, and Axel Forrest, 19, in their new home on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, CA after the Palisades wildfire. Craig Forrest and his family plan on moving into their rebuilt home by the end of this month after their home burned down during the early 2025 Pacific Palisades wildfire and are the first in the area to move back. 4. Remnants of a home that was burned down by the 2025 wildfires along the Pacific Coast Highway on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025 in Malibu, CA. 5. Len Kendall, left, and Sharlot Kendall, right, hold hands with their 3 year old daughter while walking around the wildfire remnants of their home on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, CA. The Kendall family has begun rebuilding preparations after the Pacific Palisades fire 11 months ago burned down their home. 6&7. Aerials of the destruction and continued construction after the Eaton fire on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 in Altadena, CA. 8. Geraido Munoz, left, and Peter Kaiser, 2nd left, hug alongside Maria Luz Munoz, 2nd right, and Monica Koskey, right, after reuniting during a remembrance gathering in the backyard of Koskey’s home that burned down in the Eaton wildfires on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025 in Altadena, CA.

Fireworks, burnouts, and confetti as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays for their second consecutive World Series win during game 7. Scenes from the fan flooded streets in East LA after the Dodgers won and the World Championship Parade. @latimes

Life update… I’m moving to LA!! Super excited to announce that I will be spending the next year as the Los Angeles Times photojournalism fellow! I’ve had an amazing time living in Washington, DC these past 8 months. Words can’t express how grateful I am for my time here and everyone I’ve met who have welcomed me, pushed me, and helped me along the way. I will greatly miss working alongside my DC friends everyday, but am extremely excited to see what this next year brings. Next stop: cross country road trip to California!

Recent work the past couple weeks following U.S. President Donald Trump’s deployment of federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to place the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital. For @gettyimages and @washingtonpost

U.S. Naval Academy graduates during the 2025 Naval Academy Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony on May 23, 2025 in Annapolis, Maryland. 1,049 men and women graduated in the class of 2025 and will enter the Navy or Marine Corps, where they will serve for at least five years. @gettyimages

Behind on some posts… U.S. Naval Academy freshman (“plebes”) are sprayed with water during the annual Herndon Monument climb at the U.S. Naval Academy on May 14, 2025 in Annapolis, Maryland. In the annual tradition, the plebes attempt to scale the 21-foot greased monument to knock off a “dixie cup” hat and replace it with an upperclassman’s hat. The 2028 midshipmen’s class took 2 hours 27 minutes and 31 seconds to scale the monument and replace the hat. @gettyimages

U.S. Naval Academy freshman “plebes” participate in the annual Sea Trials at the U.S. Naval Academy on May 13, 2025 in Annapolis, Maryland. During the annual Sea Trials, the Naval Academy plebes take part in a 14-hour physical and mental challenge modeled after the Marine Corps’ Crucible and the Navy’s Battle Stations recruit programs. @gettyimages

Exercising the first amendment rights around our nations capital @gettyimages