The Most Interesting Photo Stories Of The Week

Social issues, cows, parades, parties — this list has everything

1. "25 Photos That Show How Much Obama’s Presidency Matters to Young Black Americans" —BuzzFeed

Stan Honda / AFP / Getty Images

"A picture is worth a thousand words — and for what’s not spoken in the eyes and expressions of these young black boys and girls at the moment of meeting President Barack Obama. BuzzFeed’s Sylvia Obell has so eloquently written on what it means for an entire generation of children to know that anything is possible in America, regardless of race or upbringing." —Gabriel H. Sanchez, photo essay editor, BuzzFeed

2. "At Larkin Street" —SF Homeless Project

Preston Gannaway

"Preston Gannaway’s incredible series on the LGBTQ youth community of San Francisco is a sad reality of the struggles of the LGBTQ commnity, but also the homelessness issue facing the city that once accepted them. Gannaway’s series shows the tough lives these youths live in order to survive but also in order to feel somewhat accepted. Gannaway’s storytelling shots are very raw, very intimate, and very powerful." —Jared Harrell, photo editor, BuzzFeed News

3. "Volte-Face" —CreativeBoom

Oliver Curtis

"It’s been a long time since I was last intrigued by travel photos. Easy access to decent cameras means a plenty lot of amazing sceneries, but also a plenty lot of the same thing. Oliver Curtis puts a twist to the traditional holiday snaps, by quite literally showing you the view that, seemingly, only the world’s most famous landmarks tend to appreciate." —Anna Mendoza, photo editor, BuzzFeed Australia

4. "The Residents of This Louisiana Island Are America's First 'Climate Refugees'" —Smithsonsian Magazine

Ben Depp

"Ben Depp's images show the fragile beauty of an ecosystem under duress. From the aerial vantage point, climate change stops being a sterile political concept or an assignation of blame and becomes instead a comment on what we will have left to protect." —Kate Bubacz, senior photo editor, BuzzFeed News

"Glamour Shots of the World's Sacred Cows" —Slate

Daniel Naude

"Daniel Naudé traveled to Uganda and, with the help of a guide, photographed the personalities of the sacred cows he encountered. Naudé specializes in medium-format photography and used this aesthetic and approach to slowly and carefully capture these beautiful creatures. 'Strike a pose. Strike a pose.'" —JH

5. "Photographing a Crisis" —Magnum

Chris Steele-Perkins

"Since the Second World War, Magnum photographers have earnestly documented the movement of displaced people in war-torn regions of the world. Today, their photographers carry forth that tradition while facing history’s largest migration of people since WWII. Here, the image-makers themselves discuss the moral and emotional implications of their line of work." —GHS

6. "The Most Powerful Images of World War I" —BuzzFeed

Press Association Images

"These images provide a harrowing glimpse of the birth of modern warfare, and the toll it exacted on its participants. Indeed, we are confronted with the horrors, tedium, and even moments of levity found within the excruciating and protracted conflict." —Ben King, deputy art director, BuzzFeed News

7. "54 Photos of the Post-Apocalyptic Horror That Was Glastonbury 2016" — BuzzFeed

Henry Nicholls / SWNS

"This year’s Glastonbury music festival, in Somerset, UK, was the muddiest since it began in 1971. In an interview with The Guardian, festival founder Michael Eavis said: “There was just thousands of happy people with smiles on their faces despite the adverse conditions. It is extraordinary.” It’s interesting that dreary, bleak, messy photos actually fascinate people. I think there is an element of schadenfreude in seeing fun-loving music lovers wallowing in mud. Also, this year’s barren landscape reflected the political fallout of the EU Referendum in the UK, which happened the day before the festival." —Matt Tucker, picture editor, BuzzFeed UK

8. "Street Style: All the Color at New York’s Gay Pride Parade" —NYMag

Dina Litovsky

"Dina Litovsky’s colorful pride photos from this year’s New York City Pride Parade are full of life, love, and all the colors of the rainbow. Litovsky’s stylistic approach captures these incredible moments, sometimes dramatic, that are raw and visually stunning. Dina Litovsky and LGBTQ ftw!" —JH

9. "Rediscovering Joy After War, a Photographer Returns to Africa" —NYT Lens Blog

FInbarr O'Reilly

"Fashion photography, as Finbarr O'Reilly notes, is often dismissed as frivolous. O'Reilly's images though reflect the notion that fashion is a gateway, an escape, and an accessible way to celebrate beauty of all kinds." —KB

10. "We Visited the Town Where 75.6% of Voters Chose to Leave the EU" —BuzzFeed

Olivia Harris for BuzzFeed News

"Olivia Harris’s photo essay on the UK town of Boston, south Lincolnshire, is an incredible series on a small town with a big impact. Harris has photographed these Boston residents in a way resembling characters in a film. Her snaps are beautifully framed and timed perfectly to capture the different personalities of everyone she encountered. Great moments here." —JH

11. "Celebrating Black Culture With a Careful Eye" —New York TImes

George Etheredge / The New York Times

"Sandra Stevenson's interview with Sarah Lewis makes me want to immediately buy the next issue of Aperture, which Lewis edited. It also offers sharp insight into the importance of visual narratives of the black experience, making it a must-read for anyone interested in either history or media." —KB

12. "24 Extraordinary Photos of Immigrants Passing Though Ellis Island" —BuzzFeed

Library of Congress

"A welcoming contrast to the rhetoric heard from Brexit to Trump, this collection of images depicting immigrants arriving at Ellis Island is a stark reminder of America’s great promise.

"Ellis Island in New York Harbor, the arrival point for over 12 million immigrants, rests humbly in the shadow of Liberty Island, and operated from 1892 to 1954. Of particular interest to us is the variety and character of those passing through the waypoint en route to the United States." —BK

13. "The Silent Casualties of a Forgotten War" —Time Lightbox

Paula Bronstein / Getty Reportage

"It's important to remember amid all the weekend picnics and revelry that our overseas wars, both the acknowleged and the unacknowleged ones, leave behind a wide swath of collateral damage for the citizens left behind. Paula Bronstein's searing images of injured Afghans are hard to to look at and impossible to forget. " —KB