Search - Reading The Pictures

COVID 19 Photo April 6, 2020

How Could the Strongest Country in the World Fall So Far?

The grief and the sorrow of these medical workers for their fallen co-workers in the second photo is so raw, they can’t even look at the camera.

Coronavirus Photo April 5, 2020

The Grim Reaper

We were told repeatedly we were two weeks behind Italy, but denial and disbelief are powerful effects. A reflection on two haunting phots by Alex Majoli.

Chatting the Pictures Video April 3, 2020

Chatting the Pictures: More Pandemic—New York Harbor; Las Vegas Homeless; NYC ICU

This webcast on the pandemic looks at a symbolic scene in New York Harbor, a troubling Las Vegas shelter image, and an emotional Brooklyn hospital photo.

COVID 19 Photo March 31, 2020

The Elbow Move

There will be plenty of memories from the coronavirus crisis. But our bodies, if pray we stay well, will best remember the basic contortions.

Coronavirus Photo March 30, 2020

About Feeling Crazy Right Now

The photo isn't about eccentricity, it's about mental health. And it's about the symptoms we are all experiencing from the virus these days.

Coronavirus Photo March 26, 2020

What Should and Shouldn’t We Be Seeing?

This virus photo from a Belgium hospital has a "sensitive material" warning. But perhaps it's necessary to see--and not just for the obvious reason.

COVID 19 Photo March 25, 2020

Virus Meets Cat Gramming

As the coronavirus grips Washington and the nation, this cat photo by Alex Wroblewski is not just sweet. It offers a dose of emotional immunity.

Coronavirus Photo March 23, 2020

Coronavirus and Stock Photography

Stock photography is tricky. Take, for example, the meaning and messaging of this "stop coronavirus" image in the midst of the pandemic.

Chatting the Pictures Video

Chatting the Pictures: Coronavirus Culture, From Vatican, to Apartment Block, to Corner Bar

This webcast looks at the Pope addressing an empty St. Peters Square, the social power of the Italian balcony, and young revelers before the lock-down.

Chatting the Pictures Video

Chatting the Pictures: Coronavirus Politics–From the White House, to the Cafe, to the Gun Shop

This week, our webcast looks at a snapshot of the White House coronavirus task force, the virus and social class in a Rome cafe scene, and the run on guns.

COVID 19 Photo March 22, 2020

Drive-Up Confession and other Pandemic Improvisations

The drive-up church confession is just one of the creative adaptions being made on the fly as the coronovirus upsets the familiar rituals of life.

COVID 19 Photo March 20, 2020

The Coronoavirus and the World Atilt

Suddenly, the media is filled with images that situate the coronavirus into the most well-known backgrounds. This example from Pisa is striking.⠀

COVID 19 Photo March 19, 2020

Coronavirus: Looking at the Next Wave

What informs this photo and the fear it stirs is the knowledge that the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. is not quite as far along as it is elsewhere.

COVID 19 Photo March 16, 2020

White House Flickr Exposes Trump’s Oval Office Coronavirus Speech

While the crisis calls for selflessness, what the photos reveal is an obsession with the camera, and Trump acting the role of first responder.

Disaster Focus Photo March 15, 2020

As the Coronavirus Shutters Broadway

Photographers are using their symbolic gifts to process the loss of normality from the coronavirus. Here, the focus is on Broadway.

Coronavirus Photo March 10, 2020

Drawing on Contagion

This drawing by a young girl in Italy is a poignant illustration of the threat of coronavirus, and also the health of the planet. ⠀

Chatting the Pictures Video March 9, 2020

Chatting the Pictures: Virus Cover-up; Racial Politics in Selma; Women Covering the Weinstein Trial

This week, our webcast looks at a coronavirus photo from Washington, African-Americans making a campaign statement, and a tribute to woman journalists.