PHOTOS: The biggest moments of 2012

Inmates from the Cebu City provincial jail dance the worldwide hit 'Gangnam Style' in Cebu City on October 12, 2012. Dressed in tangerine jump suits, the roughly 1,500 convicted murderers, rapists and other inmates perform 'Gangnam Style' to entertain visitors and tourists amd also have helped boost their morale while also making them Internet sensations.

2012: What a year.

As we move forward into the new year, we reflect on some of the most important moments captured on film in the past twelve months.

Here are some of the most iconic images from 2012.

Aerial Views of the roller coaster from the casino pier damaged from Superstorm Sandy along the Jersey Shore on December 13, 2012 in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. Much of the Jersey Shore is still suffering the effects of Hurricane Sandy which caused extensive damage to parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The Princess Cottage Inn, victimized by Superstorm Sandy a month prior, remains devastated on December 5, 2012 in Union Beach, New Jersey. With a population of 6,200, roughly 1,000 homes were flooded and 200 rendered inhabitable.

An armed man waves his rifle as buildings and cars are engulfed in flames after being set on fire inside the US consulate compound in Benghazi late on September 11, 2012. An armed mob attacked the US consulate in Benghazi and set fire to the building, killing US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

A 10-year-old Syrian boy wounded by shrapnel is brought to hospital as the intense human and material cost grows from three months of intense fighting against rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on October 24, 2012 in Aleppo, Syria. In this critical battleground of Syria’s 20-month uprising, FSA commanders say they control more than half of Syria’s second city and commercial hub, though civilian areas – and especially long bread lines – have been targeted daily. The uprising against the government of President Bashar al-Assad has claimed an estimated 34,000 lives. (Photo: Getty)

Michael Phelps of the United States dives into the pool in the Men’s 100m medley Final on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on August 4, 2012. Phelps won six medals at this year’s game, making him the most decorated Olympian in history with a total of 22 medals. He is now retired. (Photo: Getty)

This file picture taken on July 6, 2012 by North Korean official Korean Central News Agency and released on July 9 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C), accompanied by a young woman (L), enjoying a demonstration performance given by the newly organized Moranbong band in Pyongyang. North Korean state television on July 25, 2012 confirmed that leader Kim Jong-Un is married and named his wife as Ri Sol-Ju, South Korea’s unification ministry said. South Korea’s unification ministry said it appeared that Ri was the woman who has been pictured several times at Kim’s side at public events in recent weeks. (Photo: KNS/AFP/Getty)

The space shuttle Enterprise, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), flies near the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, April 27, 2012, in New York City. Enterprise was the first shuttle orbiter built for NASA performing test flights in the atmosphere and was incapable of spaceflight. Originally housed at the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Enterprise was later placed on a barge that was moved by tugboat up the Hudson River to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. (Photo: Getty via NASA)

Members of the Sikh community along with other mourners attend a special service at the Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin for the victims of the shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin the previous day, on August 6, 2012 in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Wade Michael Page opened fire with a 9mm pistol at the Sikh Temple killing six people before being killed by police in a shootout. (Photo: Getty)

A Palestinian student from Birzeit University pushes a burning tire during clashes with Israeli soldiers for the second consecutive day as they protest against the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip in the West Bank town of Betunia on November 18, 2012. Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Israel would not negotiate a truce with Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers as long as rocket fire continues from the Palestinian enclave. (Photo: Abbas Momani/AFP/Getty Images)

This image, which went viral immediately, shows Carlee Soto as she learns of the death of her sister, Victoria Soto, a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. Soto was shot to death while trying to hide the students in her classroom from gunman Adam Lanza on December 14, 2012. The 27-year-old teacher told her students to hide in cabinets, then told the gunman they were in the gymnasium before he opened fire on her. 26 people were killed, but her students were not harmed. Carlee Soto came to the school searching for her sister after news of the shooting spread. She has since said in interviews that this photo is a constant reminder of that painful moment. (Photo: AP)