Search - Reading The Pictures

International Focus Photo July 28, 2014

Gaza's 9/11?

Depending on how associative your mind is, this AP photo from Gaza City can be seen to draw an analogy between 9/11 and the shattering hurt still unfurling in Gaza this deathly season.

Middle East Watch Photo July 27, 2014

Israel/Gaza: Photos at Two Ends of a Week

Never finding full repast, Till I eat the world at last.

International Focus Photo July 25, 2014

The Skies These Days are a Fiery Hail

What with all the jetliners and missiles falling out if the sky, what's truly stunning about this photo is that all those projectiles are simply weather.

International Focus Photo

I Could Show you Photos from the Air Strike on the Beit Hanoun U.N. School Yesterday. Or….

What is commanding the world's attention in this latest war and the Israeli bombardment is the toll it has taken, and continues to take on children.

International Focus Photo July 23, 2014

Israeli War: How the Cracks Are Beginning to Show (in 4 Wire Photos)

These photos reflect the growing sense that Israel and the IDF are not going to survive this latest war with the swagger intact.

Visual Practices & Ethics Photo

Yes, News Photos are Becoming More Graphic ... and Beautiful

I think the degree of artistry and the level of poetry in these photos only increases with the horror. Apparently, the artistry is acting like a buffering agent, the beauty and mystique confounding the more amplified violence and gore.

International Focus Photo July 21, 2014

And Then, There's Burma

While the world is fixated on Gaza, the Muslims in Burma/Myanmar bear the added trauma of being ignored or considered not worth saving.

International Focus Photo July 20, 2014

These Are the Days of Scorched Earth

It seems fateful phrases are coming more easily at the moment than regular words.

Visual Practices & Ethics Photo

On That Over-Processed Times Cover Photo of MA17 Crash Site

If something happened at night, you can't turn it into day.

Photo July 17, 2014

On the Brilliant Michelle Obama Brown vs Board of Education Site Visit Photo

What's brilliant about the photo is how it's plays the "post-racial" ideal against the reality of continuing racism and discrimination.

International Focus Photo July 16, 2014

The Death of Four Gazan Cousins, Children of Fishermen

All that intensity makes the rest more unspeakable as we view the broken body of another cousin, futilely hanging on to life, as he's carried like a sack.

Immigration/Migration Photo

The Importance of News Photography Treating Migrants Like People

Surely images are published from time to time that slip through the editing process. The question, however, is where does one draw the line between documenting and exploiting, between reporting and voyeurism?

International Focus Photo July 15, 2014

What's More Deplorable, the Killing of Journalists Or Hardly Noticing?

Journalists have become targets in that many places for that long now that their vulnerability, and ultimately their fungibility, has ceased to even be noteworthy.

Sports Focus Photo July 14, 2014

The Second Coming: The Messianic Visuals of LeBron's Return to Cleveland

These images are only a small sampling, but the symbolism should be clear: LeBron James is still a savior, the prodigal son awaiting his redemption.

Media Focus Photo July 12, 2014

Beyond Print: Larger Meaning of the NYT Sports Page LeBron Cover

If the layout is a twist on the ability of a news page to capture the impact, it’s also a commentary on how anachronistic the paper has become.

President Obama Photo July 11, 2014

7 Takes On Obama and the Horse Head Guy

1. And they want to get married

International Focus Photo July 10, 2014

The Latest Israel/Hamas Missile War: Fear at the Beach

If you are open to the comparison, the photo can't help but speak to "who's on top."

Culture Focus Photo

David Schalliol from Chicago: On the South Side, as in Detroit, Rumblings of Something Different

I continue to seek the right balance between the challenges that plague the community and the life that goes on in response to – or in spite of – them. After all, it is difficult to make sense of what we observe without falling back on our preconceived...

Immigration/Migration Photo July 9, 2014

Immigration in Pictures: Despite the Noise, not all Border Ranchers are Haters

If the facts of this photo would strain believability for some, it’s further testament to the dominance of controversy and contentious political narratives.

International Focus Photo July 7, 2014

#BringBackOurHashtag: Activism, Hacktivism & Photography in the Social Media Sphere

Social media activism is an undeniably important part of public protest, especially when pictures are involved. However, the unintended consequences of these forms of online protest remain unclear.