In 2011, we uploaded more than 5,500 photos from dozens of parades, festivals, protests, press conferences and nightlife events. Here’s our picks for the best photos of the year.

Players of the Knoxville Woodpeckers softball team put their cleats in with an empty cleat to honor a deceased teammate at the Big Peach Softball tournament hosted by the Hotlanta Softball League. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

Brandy performs at Black Gay Pride for Traxx Girls at a packed Georgia Freight Depot on Sept. 3. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

American Veterans for Equal Rights national president Danny Ingram (right) with World War II veteran Jack Strouss take part in a Retreat Ceremony at Piedmont Park on Sept. 19 to celebrate the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. (Photo by Laura Douglas-Brown)

CNN weekend anchor Don Lemon visited Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse on June 27 to discuss his memoir “Transparent” and coming out publicly. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

Traxx and Traxx Girls hosted a hospitality suite on Sunday, Sept. 4 for the annual Black Gay Pride gathering in Piedmont Park. (Photo by Brent Corcoran/RNZ Photography)

The Chocolettes dancers were a hit with the approximate 4,000 attendees to the Ninth Annual Toy Party & Silent Auction on Dec. 4 at AmericasMart 3. The party, presented by For the Kid in All of Us, collected more than 4,600 toys this year. (Photo by Brent Corcoran/RNZ Photography)

A group of young Atlanta Pride attendees sit on the hillside of Piedmont Park. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

This year’s Atlanta Pride Dyke March got kicked off with a bang as a couple made out before the marching began. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

Occupy Atlanta protesters in Woodruff Park are arrested by officers with the Atlanta Police Department on Oct. 26. (Photo by Ryan Watkins)

Thousands gathered at the Georgia Capitol on March 24 for the ‘Rally for Truth’ to protest immigration HB 87, which was eventually passed. Numerous local LGBT people were involved in organizing against the bill. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

Sir Jesse Beller plays ‘Taps’ at the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20 at the Georgia Capitol. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

The ‘Ship of Fools’ party was held April 1 at Bellissima and included DJ Vicki Powell with performers Melissa Coffey, Sadie Hawkins of Blast Off Burlesque, and Eli Reiman. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

Alissa Brooks performs at Nicole Paige Brooks’s “Sweet 16” birthday party at Jungle. (Photo by Justin Ziegler)

Couples exchange vows at Atlanta Pride’s annual commitment ceremony, this year held Oct. 6, 2011, at the W Hotel in Midtown Atlanta. (Photo by Brent Corcoran/RNZ Photography)

A baton twirler warms up his performance before the 2011 Atlanta Pride Parade. (Photo by Bo Shell)

The Lady Shabazz (front left) closes the 2011 Starlight Cabaret on the Coca-Cola stage in Piedmont Park with a curtain call featuring a wide variety of this year’s performers. (Photo by Laura-Douglas Brown)

2011 Pride Parade revelers pack the Zocalo parking lot near the corner of 10th and Piedmont. (Photo by Bo Shell)

Gay favorite Kristine W. performs at Augusta Pride. (Photo by Laura Douglas-Brown)

Hundreds of onlookers pack the Ocean’s Ballroom at the Georgia Aquarium awaiting a performance by Juju Bee from Ru Paul’s Drag Race. The aquarium kick-off party has become a popular tradition since it began in 2009. (Photo by Brent Corcoran/RNZ Photography)

A young girl views the AIDS Memorial Quilt at the 2011 AIDS Walk in Piedmont Park. (Photo by Brent Corcoran/RNZ Photography)

An Atlanta Cotillion deb performs during the group’s cabaret fundraiser at Opera in Midtown Atlanta. Each year, men are selected as drag debutantes to raise funds for AID Atlanta, culminating in a cotillion ball where the deb with the highest fundraising totals is crowned queen. (Photo by Brent Corcoran/RNZ Photography)

Jaky Alba performs as Lady Gaga at the 2011 East Point Possums show. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

A woman dressed at the Bride of Frankenstein checks herself in a mirror at the 2011 Jerusalem House Carnevale Halloween party. The event raises housing funds for those with or affected by HIV/AIDS. (Photo by Brent Corcoran/RNZ Photography)

Sissy Sweet Tea and Rapture Divine Cox (John Jeffrey and Rick Westbrook) perform a stirring drag number to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The performance culminates in the real life couple sharing the story of their own HIV status. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

A lesbian couple shares a quiet moment overlooking Lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park during the 2011 Pride Festival. (Photo by Bo Shell)