The Most Interesting Photo Stories Of The Week

8 series of images, 8 different interests to enjoy.

1. "The New York Times Black Women and Braids: Images Align Their History" —New York Times

Shani Crowe

"There is something almost tactile in the braids in these images, the models themselves beautiful but secondary to the texture and contours of the gorgeously woven hair. It's an interesting take on portrait details, allowing the hair to tell a story." —Kate Bubacz, senior photo editor, BuzzFeed News

2. "Synchronised and Upside Down" —Reuters

Michael Dalder / Reuters

"It’s such a simple thing these Reuters photographers did — flipping photos of synchronized swimmers upside-down. But really, wow! What an amazingly different way to view the sport. These are photos we’ve seen from many different outlets over and over, but by presenting them this way, it’s eerie, magical, and bizarre all at once." —Anna Mendoza, Photo Editor, BuzzFeed Australia

3. "A Love Story" —Time

Callie Shell / Aurora Photos

"Politics is messy, dirty, underhanded — it's not lovely like this series put together by Time. Whatever your political leaning, it's hard to look at this series and not feel a little tender toward the couple that's been in the White House for the past eight years." —KB

4. "Meet the Supermodels of the Goat and Sheep World" —Slate

Kevin Horan

"Washington photographer Kevin Horan in his series called “Chattel” photographed approximately 32 goats and sheep. The mashup of the animals' human-like expressions mixed with Horan’s expert idea to capture them in a throwback portraiture setting makes these images 💯." —Dennis Huynh, design director, BuzzFeed News

5. "Marvel at the Horsemen of Semonkong and the Breathtaking Backdrop of the Highlands of Lesotho" —Slate

Thom Pierce

"Thom Pierce put together this incredible portrait series of Lesotho’s mountain kingdom where no cars exist and horses are the travelling gods. He photographed these horsemen so majestically, perched atop their steed, swaddled in interesting robes, and posed against the grand backdrop of the countryside. They look like powerful knights of some mystical land." —AM

6. "Heading Camera-First Into the Storm" —National Geographic

Mitch Dobrowner

"Imagination and movies and details and atmosphere captured on film. These are magic. That is all." —KB

7. "Baskitan: Photographer Spends Five Years Documenting Basketball Courts in the Philippines" —CreativeBoom

Richard James Daniels

"Richard James Daniels’ curiosity about the undeniable popularity of basketball in the Philippines led him to very interesting and remote provinces, where even the poorest of the poor find ways to erect makeshift rings so they can shoot some hoops with friends. His ongoing project is now over 200 photos strong, and it shows not just the country’s obsession for the sport but also how the sport can influence and bring people together." —AM

8. "Looking for Pedro… and Finding Stories of Immigration Instead" —Washington Post

Sofia Munoz Boullosa

"Damn, I love this. It shows the diversity of the human beings united by a simple conceit — a name — and causes one to rethink the gross generalizations that can run rampant by that unification. Instead of thinking of all those Pedros, you're forced to reflect, but wait, which Pedro, and that inquiry is the beginning of listening, understanding." —KB