Ukrainian refugee Vova Alleksieieva holds his hands up to volunteer Natasha Takhmazova, also from Ukraine, through a train window at the Krakow Glowny train station as he waits for his train to leave for Berlin in Krakow, Poland, on Saturday, April 16, 2022. Takhmazova is Ukrainian, helping to translate for English-speaking volunteers and Ukrainian refugees. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Hannah Murdock

By Hannah Murdock

Deseret News photographer Kristin Murphy was awarded the Utah News Photographers Association prestigious Photographer of the Year award for, alongside a wide array of other photos, her coverage of one Ukrainian family’s journey of finding a new home in Utah.

“It was remarkable work and the recognition is incredibly deserving,” Deseret News Executive Editor Doug Wilks said. “Sometimes it is the quiet moments in difficult circumstances that provide the most compelling images. Kristin is marvelous at this.”

Former Deseret News photographer Spenser Heaps was awarded second place in the category.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Murphy, with reporter Kyle Dunphey, traveled to the border of Ukraine in Poland and surrounding countries to view the impact of the refugee crisis.

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Murphy’s photos can be seen in several stories covering the refugee crisis in Ukraine. Read some of those stories below:

Judges Patrick Breen and Rob Schumacher of the Arizona Republic were complimentary of Murphy’s work.

“The Ukrainian Refugees story takes you on a journey with the Karnaukh family leaving their home in Ukraine to resettle in Utah,” the judges wrote. “This picture story has meaningful moments of refugees fleeing the Russian war. The overall portfolio presentation was nearly perfect with properly cropped images, tightly edited, with in-depth captions.”

See some of the powerful winning photos below:

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A tear streams down Christina Miller’s cheek as Miller and Julia Sasine rest their heads against each other during a vigil to honor the victims of the Club Q shooting at the Utah Pride Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Josh Coates, founder of the B. H. Roberts Foundation, poses for a portrait at the B. H. Roberts Foundation office in Holladay on Friday, May 20, 2022. The B. H. Roberts Foundation supports research and education related to some of the more controversial aspects of culture, doctrine, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. | Deseret News
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Sky View’s Jaxon Tueller wins the men’s 100-yard backstroke during the 4A state swim championships at the Richards Building at BYU in Provo on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Utah’s Cristal Isa reacts after completing her beam routine, which was a perfect 10.0, as the Utah Red Rocks compete against Oregon State in a gymnastics meet at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. Utah won. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Protesters gather in Washington Square Park before marching to the capitol to protest the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 24, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Dried lake bed is pictured in Farmington Bay, looking at Antelope Island, as the Great Salt Lake experiences record low water levels on Friday, July 22, 2022. | Kristin Murphy
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Ukrainian refugee Victoria Teslia, from the Kyiv region, cries to her mother as her brother Vladislav sits on a suitcase in a crowded Przemsyl Glowny train station in Przemsyl, Poland, on Saturday, April 23, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Ukrainian refugees Roman and Nikita play with a soccer ball outside of a large house they are sharing with around 80 other refugees in Rzeszow, Poland, on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Ukrainian refugee Vova Alleksieieva holds his hands up to volunteer Natasha Takhmazova, also from Ukraine, through a train window at the Krakow Glowny train station as he waits for his train to leave for Berlin in Krakow, Poland, on Saturday, April 16, 2022. Takhmazova is Ukrainian, helping to translate for English-speaking volunteers and Ukrainian refugees. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Ukrainian refugee Anastacia Luschyk holds the leashes of her dogs Alica and Sonic in a school behind the Greek Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist, where she is staying with around 20 other refugees including her mother and brother, in Przemysl, Poland, on Friday, April 22, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Elvira Karnaukh, right, wakes up her children Kira Karnaukh, left, and Artem Karnaukh in Chervonohrad Kindergarten No. 12, where they have been living with dozens of other refugees for five months, in Chervonohrad, Chervonohrad, Ukraine, on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. On Sept. 20, they left Ukraine to move to Lehi, Utah, with the help of WelcomeNST, a nonprofit that builds neighborhood support teams to facilitate refugee resettlement. They plan to move back to Ukraine as soon as it is safe to do so. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Graves of Ukrainian soldiers killed during the war with Russia are decorated with flowers, flags and photos in an overflow area just outside the fence of the historic Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Artem Karnaukh, 5, plays with a toy gun outside of Chervonohrad Kindergarten No. 12, where he has been living with his mother, sister and dozens of other refugees in Chervonohrad, Ukraine, on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. On Sept. 20, he left Ukraine with his mother and sister to move to Lehi, Utah, with the help of WelcomeNST, a nonprofit that builds neighborhood support teams to facilitate refugee resettlement. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Artem Karnaukh, in yellow, holds his hands in prayer before all the students pray together for a brother of one of the school’s teachers, who was just killed in the war, on Artem’s last day in kindergarten before moving to the United States at Chervonohrad Kindergarten No. 13, in Chervonohrad, Ukraine, on Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Kira Karnaukh playfully pulls her brother Artem Karnaukh in for a hug in Chervonohrad Kindergarten No. 12, where they have been living with dozens of other refugees for five months, in Chervonohrad, Ukraine, on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. On Sept. 20, they left Ukraine to move to Lehi, Utah, with the help of WelcomeNST, a nonprofit that builds neighborhood support teams to facilitate refugee resettlement. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Artem Karnaukh sprays his older sister Kira Karnaukh with water from his toothbrush as they get ready for bed in Chervonohrad Kindergarten No. 12, where they have been living with dozens of other refugees for five months, in Chervonohrad, Ukraine, on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. On Sept. 20, they left Ukraine to move to Lehi, Utah, with the help of WelcomeNST, a nonprofit that builds neighborhood support teams to facilitate refugee resettlement. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Kira Karnaukh cries and her mother Elvira Karnaukh comforts her as they pull away from Chervonohrad Kindergarten No. 12, where they have been living with dozens of other refugees for five months, and start their journey to the United States in Chervonohrad, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. With the help of WelcomeNST, a nonprofit that builds neighborhood support teams to facilitate refugee resettlement, they will live in Lehi, Utah, until it is safe to return to Ukraine. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Kira Karnaukh ties a bracelet on her mother Elvira Karnaukh’s wrist as they sit in a van and wait to start their journey to the United States, outside of Chervonohrad Kindergarten No. 12, where they have been living with dozens of other refugees for five months, in Chervonohrad, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. The bracelets were parting gifts from other refugee residents of Chervonohrad Kindergarten No. 12. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Kira Karnaukh looks out the window on her first plane ride ever as the plane approaches Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. After fleeing her hometown of Pavlohrad, Ukraine, and living in a kindergarten with dozens of other refugees for five months, Karnaukh, her mother and brother decided to move to Lehi, Utah, with the help of WelcomeNST, a nonprofit that builds neighborhood support teams to facilitate refugee resettlement. They plan to return to Ukraine when it’s safe to do so. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Artem Karnaukh, 5, meditates as he fights a fever while flying from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Salt Lake City, Utah, on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. After fleeing his hometown of Pavlohrad, Ukraine, and living in a kindergarten with dozens of other refugees for five months, Karnaukh, his mother and older sister decided to move to Lehi, Utah, with the help of WelcomeNST, a nonprofit that builds neighborhood support teams to facilitate refugee resettlement. They plan to return to Ukraine when it’s safe to do so. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Elvira Karnaukh, Kira Karnaukh and Artem Karnaukh look at photos of iconic locations in Utah as they walk through Salt Lake City International Airport after traveling from Ukraine in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. With the help of WelcomeNST, a nonprofit that builds neighborhood support teams to facilitate refugee resettlement, they will live in Lehi, Utah, until it is safe for them to return to Ukraine. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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WelcomeNST team members cheer as Ukrainian refugees Elvira Karnaukh, Kira Karnaukh and Artem Karnaukh arrive at the Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. NST is an acronym for neighborhood support teams, which WelcomeNST helps build to facilitate refugee resettlement. Jason Norby, right, and his wife, Kristin Norby, second from right, hosted the Karnaukhs at their home until they found their own apartment. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Ukrainian refugees Kira Karnaukh and Artem Karnaukh carry a lamp and mattress as they move into an apartment in Lehi on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Through WelcomeNST, the family has resettled in Utah until it is safe to return to Ukraine. WelcomeNST is a nonprofit that builds neighborhood support teams to help resettle refugees. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Ukrainian refugee Artem Karnaukh reacts after checking out his new bedding as he moves into an apartment in Lehi on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Beck Norby checks out the room with him. The Norby family volunteered through WelcomeNST and has been hosting Karnaukh, his sister and his mother and helped find them their own apartment. WelcomeNST is a nonprofit that builds neighborhood support teams to help resettle refugees. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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Ukrainian refugee Artem Karnaukh roasts marshmallows over a campfire as Lucy Norby cooks a hot dog in American Fork Canyon on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. The Norby family hosted Karnaukh, his mother and sister in Lehi and helped find them their own apartment through WelcomeNST. WelcomeNST is a nonprofit that builds neighborhood support teams to help resettle refugees. Behind them, Elvira Karnaukh, Beck Norby and Kristin Norby watch. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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