9 Incredible Photo Stories You Absolutely Can't Miss

Here are the most interesting and powerful photo stories from across the web.

1. "Time's 100 Most Influential Images of All Time" —Time

Unknown

"This series is the incredible result of three years of research, including interviews with the photographers, behind-the-scenes notes, and a continued conversation about what influence is. It’s a powerful compilation showing the impact that photography has on history, and vice versa." —Kate Bubacz, senior photo editor, BuzzFeed News

2. "Photographer Captures the Heartbreaking Reality of Alzheimer’s" —Huffington Post

Maja Daniels

"Like the disease itself, photographer Maja Daniels’ series Into Oblivion is slow and tragic, offering a window into the effects of Alzheimer’s. In a particularly poignant image that repeats itself, elderly patients continue to peer longingly through their hospital windows for loved ones to arrive, day after day to no avail. Daniels’ project offers a face and awareness to what is perhaps one of the most dehumanizing and heartbreaking diseases. " —Gabriel H. Sanchez, photo essay editor, BuzzFeed News

3. "Before Black Friday, There Were Dollar Day Sales" —Los Angeles Times

/ Los Angeles Times

"As Black Friday arrives it’s easy to forget that the day after Thanksgiving wasn’t always so hurried and hectic. Black Friday, as we know it today, took shape sometime in the late '80s but the idea of a day of blowout deals for eager shoppers isn’t so new. This photo collection captures the energy of Los Angeles Dollar Days as seen by LA Times news photographers. Aside from showing a liveliness in the downtown area that is only now beginning to return some 60 years later, the faces of the shoppers also reveas that the determination and excitement around scoring that ‘amazing deal’ is the common thread that makes these events so successful." —Laura Geiser, photo editor, BuzzFeed News

4. "Dramatic Photos Show Dakota Pipeline Protesters' Clash With Police in Freezing Weather"—BuzzFeed News

Amber Bracken

"In a fog of tear gas and against a backdrop of barbed wire, these pictures capture the troubling events that took place on the evening of Nov. 20, 2016, at the Dakota Access Pipeline standoff in Cannon Ball, North Dakota. A sick irony is revealed in photographer Amber Bracken’s pictures, as protesters, many demanding protection of their lands from contaminated water, are met instead with high-powered water cannons in subzero temperatures." —GHS

5. "Trump Tower, the Center of the Political Universe" —New York Times

Todd Heisler / New York Times

"Trump's relationship with the media, already complicated, has become more so as he keeps the press at bay — often to their deep chagrin. This series by Todd Heisler captures the peculiarity of being in a press pool, but still feeling like you're on the outside looking in. The excruciating war of meetings that played out between Trump and the New York Times earlier this week is only a small taste of the frustration (and confusion) of what it means to be a journalist under his presidency." —KB

6. "There’s a Stunningly Creepy Pier in Somerset That You Have to See" —BuzzFeed

Ben Birchall / PA

"There’s something about urban decay that is so interesting and alluring. Perhaps it’s a morbid curiosity about how something that was once so new, grand, and celebrated could become so decayed, poor, and forgotten. One can imagine the opulence of the Birnbeck Pier when it first opened in 1867, but Ben Birchall’s photographs capture the ramshackle state it remains in today. There’s a wonder to the images, laying the once imposing pier so bare and detailing all of its imperfections and deterioration. Perhaps we see ourselves in these structures – we all start out new, grand, and celebrated, and our curiosity lies in the possibility of such an ending." —LG

7. "19 Photos Show What Life Is Like in Newly Red Michigan" —BuzzFeed

Theophil Syslo for BuzzFeed News

"The US election result was a surprise felt around the world, and an unsettling shock for many. This BuzzFeed-commissioned series shows scenes from Michigan, which is now newly red having voted Republican. As a Brit, I still felt some of that jaw-dropping reaction to the result, seeing parallels with the Brexit vote of June 2016. Theophil Syslo’s photos show tranquil American scenes amid the political upheaval and discussion across the US, as though to say life goes on for many Americans. Or, more accurately, the true effects of a Trump presidency won’t be felt for many months or years to come." —Matthew Tucker, picture editor, BuzzFeed UK

8. "Aerial Photos Show the Horrifying Scars Humans Leave on the Planet" – PetaPixel

J Henry Fair

"The president-elect of the most powerful country on Earth, Donald Trump, is a climate change denier and is reportedly making plans to undo some of the initiatives the US has introduced to tackle climate change. So photos like this, which show the effects of pollution on a large scale, help us to keep perspective on the true damage our activities do to the planet. In his book Industrial Scars: The Hidden Costs of Consuption, photographer and environmentalist J Henry Fair shows us sobering views on man’s environmental impact, including pulp waste from facial tissues and heavy metal waste. Here we see a incandescent glow from the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. These images are beautiful in themselves, but their bright colours hide deadliness." —MT

9. "Rarely Seen Photos by Jack London" —New York Times

Credit Jack London/Henry E. Huntington Library

"Jack London was both a writer and a photographer. He was also, according to the New York Times, 'a Socialist, a hobo, a sailor, a war correspondent and an oyster pirate.' I was drawn to this photo as it shows my home city, London, some 114 years ago. The light from the policeman's torch illuminates the man sleeping on the ground. Despite his incredibly awkward position, the man looks comfortable and peaceful; it's an eye-catching image." —MT