The Cinematic: Our Twitter / Instagram Favs of the Week

If Instagram pulls for more artful and cinematic news photos, we tried this week to put words to the attraction. That’s where we were going with the Palmyra and the “stake out” pictures. On the other hand, Koci’s photo is not editorial at all but we’re also interested in how more impressionistic Instagram pictures play with political themes. In contrast, the Megyn Kelly and the Trump photos come straight from online news sites. You’d have to say, though, that style still plays a prominent role.

(Note: our take on the Instagram photos consists of the text before the repost tag.)

The true novelty of the photo is that an ancient ruin (Palmyra finally wrested back from ISIS, thank god) could blow someone to bits. But really, the visual attraction (4,400 ❤️, and counting) is the sci-fi cool. #Repost @reuters ・・・ A Russian army sapper works at the historic part of Palmyra, Syria, in this handout photo released by Russian Ministry of Defence on April 9, 2016. REUTERS/Russian Ministry of Defence/Handout via Reuters #russia #palmyra #syria #war #conflict #ReutersPhotos #picoftheday #ruins #sapper

A photo posted by @readingthepictures on Apr 10, 2016 at 2:42pm PDT

This pic from a January #GOP #debate accompanies a new #nymag article on @megyn_kelly01 and the future of #foxnews. It speaks to plenty on its own, though. Including the wedge Trump’s misogyny is driving through the network and the right. And the extent to which orgs can be reduced to shop windows for the personal brand. Caption: #MegynKelly at the #Republican #debate on January 28. Photo: JoeRaedle/@GettyImages Article: . Article: http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/04/what-megyn-kellys-meeting-with-trump-means.html?mid=twitter-share-thecut via @TheCut #campaign16 #tv #tvnews #cable

A photo posted by @readingthepictures on Apr 15, 2016 at 1:41pm PDT

Don’t text while staking out #terrorists? According to the caption, these #French special forces are tracking a man after an explosion in #Paris. This building was hit in the November terror attack. If the description doesn’t mention the #cellphone, the power of the photo surely comes from our widespread addiction to the devices. Reading the pictures of the week. Via The Atlantic via AFP/Getty. Caption: French special forces sit in a #car near Rue Bichat in the 10th district of #Paris on April 7, 2016, after a “detonation” was heard in the area where a man was holed up in an apartment, according to police sources. The man who was holed up in an apartment on Rue Bichat, which was hit during the November 13 attacks, was arrested without incident, according to police sources. Dominique Faget / AFP / Getty #stakeout #politics #terrorism #news #newswire

A photo posted by @readingthepictures on Apr 10, 2016 at 8:55am PDT

It’s a clever and subtle picture, one that’s cool as a composition but might strike a deeper chord with Hillary’s followers. In other words, those who have taken her to heart. #Repost @yanapaskova ・・・ From boredom comes reflection – or less cryptically, I discovered H. Clinton’s mirrored likeness in glass adjacent to an otherwise dull campaign moment. Real life’s mimicry of double exposures is quite an exquisite thing. | for @washingtonpost #reflection #hillaryclinton #hillary #hillary2016 #campaign16 #newyorkprimary #photojournalism @hillaryclinton

A photo posted by @readingthepictures on Apr 13, 2016 at 10:56am PDT

What’s so distinctive about this photo? You might see a quiet, solitary newswire shot of a Sri Lankan roadside candy vendor. Or you might see a photo of (light emitting from) burning tires in an impoverished Sri Lankan neighborhood. But you’d hardly see both together. Reading the pictures of the week. Via @MSNBCphoto Week in Pictures: April 2 – April 8 via AP. Caption: A Sri Lankan #candy floss #vendor awaits customers by a road side at #dusk as #light emits from #burning #garbage from behind an adjacent house, right, in Colombo, #SriLanka on April 3, 2016. The #Colombo Port is seen in #silhouette far behind. Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP

A photo posted by @readingthepictures on Apr 10, 2016 at 9:36am PDT

#Trump and Melania @911memorial museum. 1st visit btw (30 min) #NYvalues #accessorizing #blackandblue (via @nypost) pic.twitter.com/JlTI6FBvBc

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) April 11, 2016

All’s fair with war as love? @Koci is not mixing metaphors as much as modern life is. Democratic culture, including social media, not only woos us but brilliantly buffers us from a world full of war and strife. (It’s all part of the show.) In a curious way, this photo from Hanoi is reminiscent of Thomas Hoepker’s famous picture of youngs on the Brooklyn waterfront watching The World Trade Center smolder. (The photo made them appear completely casual.) I don’t know about the wire here, but if there is something reassuring between society and the languorous militarism, it’s the haze. #Repost @koci ・・・ #fromthearchives #hanoi thanks to @adorama for featuring a video of me making images on the streets of SF. link in my bio. #war #park #romance #relax #water #military #randr #soldiers #hats #silhouette

A photo posted by @readingthepictures on Apr 15, 2016 at 9:53am PDT

Trump photo: New York Post; caption: Donald Trump and wife Melania Trump at the 9/11 Memorial Museum, April 9, 2016.