With Mosul being declared recaptured this week, The Intercept could not have picked a better time to publish this stunning photo essay by Cengiz Yar. Yar has been covering the invasion since the beginning, and his closeness to the subject is apparent in the intimate access and broad scope of the work. The photos, some of which are difficult to look at, are a reminder of the bittersweet victories of war.
—Kate Bubacz, deputy photo director, BuzzFeed News
Teresa Mathew explores how immigrants and first-generation Americans alike celebrate their culture and identity through traditional clothing. From gold-embroidered saris to intricately designed earrings, these women are taking pride in their identity.
—Jade Cardichon, photo intern, BuzzFeed News
For those who skipped history class (or who just need a refresher), this essay offers a quick recap of US–Russia relations through the Cold War. In light of the newest drama, its interesting to remember how our favorite frenemy has spurred us to literal great heights and gotten us mired into conflicts beyond our control.
—K.B.
I’m not particularly fond of guns (sorry, America), so the only bullets I’ve seen were what I assume are unfired ones. This is why Garrett O. Hansen’s photo series is fascinating to me. Shooting them in macro makes you appreciate how unique each bullet is and how much story and information a single piece of metal can tell. And when taken out of context, these bullets are simply beautiful, in a modern art gallery display kind of way.
—Anna Mendoza, photo editor, BuzzFeed Australia
In this photo story, Danish Siddiqui shows both the history and the present crisis in India’s holy river. The images give you a fair understanding of the sacredness of the place and how important it is to the people there, not just for their spirituality but also their survival. Juxtaposed to that are the photos no one wants to see — the trash and the grime — to drive the point home that something really needs to be done.
—A.M.
This fascinating window into the early days of photography chronicles the career of Samuel F.B. Morse, the inventor of Morse code and an avid artist during the 19th century. Morse was absolutely captivated with photography after viewing a new invention called the daguerreotype (the first photographic process) while on a trip to Paris in 1839. After returning home with a camera of his own, Morse went on to take the first photograph ever made in the United States. Needless to say, his invention of the telegraph overshadowed his strides in photography, and the rest is history.
—Gabriel H. Sanchez, photo essay editor, BuzzFeed News
It seems impossible that these images were taken this century. The photographer, Rodrigo Abd, used 19th-century technology to capture Peruvians in traditional dress celebrating the Snow Star festival, and the resulting portraits are, in a word, poetic. The images are reminiscent of Edward Curtis’s work, although as of now this catalog is less fraught with the weight of political history. In addition, the AP does us the favor of going behind the scenes to see how the the technology dictated some of the seriousness in the poses of the subjects, which offers insight into how we view older projects in a neat trick of photographic time travel.
—K.B.
Photographer Sohail Karmani captures the lives of fisherman inside the dhows for five days on the Gulf of Abu Dhabi. From their early-morning traditions of shaving to afternoons of gutting and cleaning fish, Karmani invites you to explore this personal journey with the rest of the crew members.
—J.C.
"24 Of The Most Powerful Photos Of This Week" — BuzzFeed News
Here are the most moving, sorrowful, and breathtaking pictures from the past week.