Democracy’s Darkroom: Tell It, Read It, Decode It, Survive

We need imagery and analysis that exposes how Trump—in all the rapid-fire, misdirecting, and gaslighting—remains able to manipulate the culture in such a neurologic way. By Michael Shaw and Cara Finnegan Pain and fortitude. Age and motion. Animation of the white guy and the flag. The “national barrier.” All...

What’s in a “Top 100 Photos of the Year” List?

TIME’s Top 100 Photos of 2024 captures the year’s defining crises, from war and climate disasters to political polarization. This analysis explores what the images reveal—and what they leave out. By Michael Shaw Every year-end, media organizations and news photo publishers ritually curate their choice of best images. Both...

Chatting the Pictures: A Telling Photo from Howard University on Election Night 2024

The Great Shattering: Scenes from America’s Political and Psychic Electoral Rupture

November 5th, 2024, sent shockwaves across the nation. From Howard University to Palm Beach, election night photos captured a seismic shift that will profoundly reshape America. By Michael Shaw In an election night defined by dashed expectations and visual ironies, the 2024 presidential race revealed itself through a series...

Harris vs. Trump: On Gender, Power, and the Future of America

Through key visuals, we explore the deep divisions laid bare by the 2024 campaign—especially along gender lines—and the great uncertainty that lies ahead. By Michael Shaw The presidential election has exposed all kinds of fault lines, but one fracture has come to define Kamala Harris’s historic run. In the...

The 13 Most Telling Photographs of the Harris-Trump Presidential Debate

Harris outmaneuvered Trump using psychological tactics to expose his weaknesses potentially reshaping the 2024 election narrative.

The Picture Perfect Democratic Convention – Part 2

In part two of my visual round-up of the 2024 DNC, I look at the wooing of the middle class, the visibility of the Uncommitted delegates, the rush of the Content Creators, and the tweaking of Trump. By Michael Shaw While Part 1 focused on the Democratic National Convention’s...

Chatting the Pictures: A Single Image Tells the Story of the 2024 DNC

The Picture Perfect Democratic Convention – Part 1

In Part 1 of my DNC roundup, I explore the pivot from Biden, Dems laying claim to the flag, women’s empowerment in Harris’s rise, and family, inclusion, and generational change. By Michael Shaw How dynamic was the Democratic Convention? Well, the Dems have an election to win, and the...

Visual Blindspots and Media Bias: The “Disappearing” of Kamala Harris

While framed as “missing-in-action,” Kamala Harris tackles the hardest jobs and is everywhere fighting for social justice.