The Most Interesting Photo Stories We Saw This Week

    This week we looked around the internet and pulled together a collection of our favorite photo stories of the week and to increase your appreciation of photography in general.

    by Kate Bubacz, Gabriel H. Sanchez, Dennis Huynh, Jared Harrell

    1. "These Haunting Photos Reveal Today's Afghanistan" — Proof

    Andrew Quilty

    "Andrew Quilty is killing it at capturing the light and the dark sides of Afghanistan, and his interview with Proof only reinforces that fact. Check it out here". —Kate Bubacz, Senior Photo Editor, News

    2. "Drive-By" — Los Angeles Times

    Lev Rukhin

    "L.A. photographer Lev Rukhin shows us the randomness that is the streets of Los Angeles with his series “Drive-By.” His Bruce Davidson style and technique brings to life the characters and scenes he comes across as he drives around Hollywood and other L.A. neighborhoods. Rukhin attaches his camera to a tripod in the backseat of his car, along with a strobe and beauty dish attached to the outside, hence the 'Drive-By.'" —Jared Harrell, Photo Editor, News

    3. "Documenting a Chinese Family's Life" — Slate

    Thomas Holton

    "Photographer Thomas Holton’s work came across my screen by way of friend and photo editor David Rosenberg of Slate’s Behold blog. Holton photographed the Lam family’s life in a 350 square foot apartment in New York for over 13 years. The images show a life that somehow feels both a world away and close to home.” —Dennis Huynh, Design Director, News

    4. "The Last Golden Eagle Hunters" — CBS

    Palani Mohan / courtesy Merrell Publishers

    “Here’s a remarkable story of a photographer exploring the vanishing culture of the burkitshi — Mongolian Kazakhs who have mastered the art of training eagles to hunt and live alongside them. Photographer Palani Mohan grapples with the unforgiving Altai mountains to document its iconic sweeping landscapes and those few burkitshi who continue to keep their culture alive.” —Gabriel Sanchez, Photo Essay Editor

    5. "The Women Who Escaped Boko Haram" — CNN

    Andy Spyra

    "This essay is great because it resurrects a story that has been forgotten about, and it adds new depth. The photographer, Andy Spyra, focuses on the strength of these women and captures them in a really powerful way." —KB

    6. "How to Photograph Yourself Naked" — Dazed

    Polly Penrose

    "Polly Penrose’s body of work consists of her own body in a series of nude self-portraits. Penrose stressed that the emotions she was feeling at that time show through each of her photos, whether it was her mother dying of cancer or her engagement to her now husband. She beautifully drapes her body over random objects and between various walls of her home to create a tranquil body of work." —JH

    7. "What Does Innocence Look Like?" — The New Yorker

    Ebony G. Patterson

    "There is something definitely off about these portraits by Ebony G. Patterson in the best possible way. Patterson makes you question childhood (your own or that of others) and how it is constructed by deconstructing elements of it. It's not a strictly photo-heavy project, but photographs are present and it's good to question things like how we shape our worldview and that of others." —KB

    8. Eerie Images Show an Abandoned Wizard of Oz Theme Park — BuzzFeed News

    Johnny Joo

    “This haunting series is the stuff my childhood nightmares are made out of. Photographer Johnny Joo shows us what happens to a Wizard of Oz theme park in North Carolina after being closed for 35-plus years. Imagine you’re walking down that yellow brick road alone, listening to ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ sung in a minor key, and you’ll do more than skip.” —DH

    9. "The Great San Francisco Earthquake" — The Atlantic

    Library Of Congress

    “On April 18, 1906, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake virtually destroyed the city of San Francisco, leveling entire city blocks and killing more than 3,000 of its residents. While it’s difficult to imagine the scale of this natural disaster in today’s terms, this collection of historic images does an excellent job at putting this American tragedy into perspective.” —GS

    10. This Week in Pictures — BuzzFeed News

    Alexandros Avramidis / Reuters

    Every Friday evening, BuzzFeed shares the most moving, sorrowful, and beautiful pictures from the past week. Among this week’s pictures are the stories of a disgruntled chimpanzee making his grand escape from the Yagiyama Zoological Park, the final and epic performance of an NBA legend, and a U.S. Navy run-in with a Russian warplane that was a bit too close for comfort.