Marcus Yam

Staff Photographer

Marcus Yam is a Los Angeles Times staff photographer. Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he left a career in aerospace engineering to become a photographer. His goal: to take viewers to the frontlines of conflict, struggle and intimacy. In 2019, Yam was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Journalism Award for his unflinching body of work documenting the everyday plight of Gazans during deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip. Yam was part of two Pulitzer Prize-winning breaking news teams that covered the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist attacks in 2015 for the Los Angeles Times and the deadly landslide in Oso, Wash., for the Seattle Times. His other work has also earned the Scripps Howard Visual Journalism Award, Picture of the Year International’s Newspaper Photographer of the Year Award, Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.

Latest From This Author

World & Nation

‘Glory to Hong Kong’: A new protest anthem moves singers to tears

World & Nation

‘Glory to Hong Kong’: A new protest anthem moves singers to tears

Hong Kong’s new protest anthem has singing flash mobs springing up everywhere, much to the further consternation of Beijing.
California fire coverage: 18 blazes scorch 600,000 acres across the state

California fire coverage: 18 blazes scorch 600,000 acres across the state
Photos show chaos as Gaza protests turn deadly

Photos show chaos as Gaza protests turn deadly
World & Nation

Perspective: A brave soldier and one horrible day: two lasting memories of Iraq

World & Nation

Perspective: A brave soldier and one horrible day: two lasting memories of Iraq

As I fumbled with the straps of my body armor, an Iraqi gentleman looked at me kindly and said, “You look nervous.
World & Nation

Building by booby-trapped building, students work to reclaim Iraq’s Mosul University

World & Nation

Building by booby-trapped building, students work to reclaim Iraq’s Mosul University
‘One small mistake and you’re dead’: Defusing bombs in Mosul

‘One small mistake and you’re dead’: Defusing bombs in Mosul
Aerial look at devastation in Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa

Aerial look at devastation in Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa
California

Homeowner feared dead after flames destroy hillside home in Mt. Washington

California

Homeowner feared dead after flames destroy hillside home in Mt. Washington

Flames tore through a large hillside home Thursday night in the Mt.
California

Mother and her two children hit and killed by suspected drunk driver

California

Mother and her two children hit and killed by suspected drunk driver

A mother and her two young children were struck and killed Saturday night in Placentia by a motorist, who was later arrested on suspicion of murder and driving under the influence, authorities said.