Comments on: Photojournalism At Its Best

Photojournalism At Its Best

benzo8 — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 04:46:43 -0800

Reuters Pictures of the Year, 2005 If a picture is worth a thousand words then here's 40,000 words to remind you (if that's what you want) of 2005...

By: keijo

keijo — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 05:06:07 -0800

You can also see 51,000 more words in the 2005 Award Winners Gallery.

By: keijo

keijo — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 05:12:01 -0800

I mean if 2005 wasn't enough to dampen the holiday mood.

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 05:16:30 -0800

Some great photos but far from the best photography this year. The inclusion of a picture of Courtney Love is testament to that.

By: Sticherbeast

Sticherbeast — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 05:22:21 -0800

The Bush/Putin picture has "wacky" written all over it. I picture them going on a road trip to bury Bush's cat.

By: you just lost the game

you just lost the game — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 05:25:41 -0800

Quite a few of these are not so much great photos per se, but representative photos of the most newsworthy stories of 2005.

By: lemonfridge

lemonfridge — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 05:33:16 -0800

depressing

By: the quidnunc kid

the quidnunc kid — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 06:01:44 -0800

Loved them - thanks.

By: emptybowl

emptybowl — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 06:02:54 -0800

I was gonna say the same thing as fire&wings, but also include that Madonna picture.

By: c13

c13 — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 06:13:45 -0800

Man, what the hell is Courtney Love doing in this set. And what the hell happened to her?

By: NinjaPirate

NinjaPirate — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 06:14:01 -0800

I'm in favour of the Schroeder/Chirac picture, near the bottom of keijo's link. Glad George isn't the only one who pulls faces.

By: chill

chill — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 06:19:22 -0800

This is possibly outclassed by the World Press Photo Awards

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 06:34:53 -0800

Some great photos but far from the best photography this year. The inclusion of a picture of Courtney Love is testament to that. I guess it was news photos or something like that, because I agree, far from the best photography of the year. I was reading the Time POTY issue in a waiting room the other day and the section on the newsmakers of the year was fantastic. They were all posed and whatnot but still, amazing photos. Regardless of your opinions of them the ones of DeLay and John McCain/Harry Reid were really neat. They have a gallery online but they're cropped and terrible repoductions of what appears in the actual issue.

By: seanmpuckett

seanmpuckett — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 06:56:33 -0800

indeed, if you look at the photos without reading the captions, maybe only half of them pass muster as photographic art. of those that do, there are some real standouts: the cyclists, the malnourished infant, the burning tires. thanks for the post.

By: sourwookie

sourwookie — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 06:57:13 -0800

Isn't it awful that the picture of the hanged Iranian serial child killer would make a good desktop wallpaper? I mean, given it's composition, cropping, etc.

By: kira

kira — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 06:57:57 -0800

I think I preferred the wildlife photos...

By: fungible

fungible — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 07:01:01 -0800

The juxtaposition of pictures 15 (dead Iraqi child) and 16 (Bush can't drive a car) sums up 2005 better than all the words on Metafilter.

By: maxsparber

maxsparber — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 07:04:21 -0800

Courtney Love looking crazy. Man, that really is news.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 07:12:11 -0800

You know, if they published these in a small yearbook I'd probably buy it. It's an incredibly concise an evocative way to capture a slice of time. (But: a motion-blurred shot of the Mallorca Challenge? What an odd choice to represent cycling in a year that had many astonishing achievements.)

By: Ljubljana

Ljubljana — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 07:14:11 -0800

Also: MSNBC's picks.

By: Alison

Alison — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 07:21:34 -0800

The one Katrina picture they used didn't seem to be the right one. There were so many powerful photographs that were overlooked in favor of one of many flooded living room photos.

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 08:04:32 -0800

(But: a motion-blurred shot of the Mallorca Challenge? What an odd choice to represent cycling in a year that had many astonishing achievements.) Nice to see a cycling photo in there among the track & field and soccer, but yeah. Mallorca Challenge = pretty minor race and it seems hard to believe that they couldn't have found a better cycling picture. yjltg nailed it, though.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 08:06:53 -0800

Wish you could link directly to the photos. #34 reminds me of Orwell for some reason. I wonder why...

By: kalimac

kalimac — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 08:31:02 -0800

Enh. I wanted to love this, but they're not particularly powerful photos. I realize they're supposed to be summing up at year or what-have-you, but this was the best they could find? (I agreed about Mallorca. Have something from the Tour at least, fergodssake.) I won't dignify the Madonna and Courtney pictures with comment. Oh wait, yes I will - what the hell?

By: PHINC

PHINC — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 08:36:09 -0800

So, how much does a photographer make if they photograph a photo of merit like these?

By: selfnoise

selfnoise — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 08:41:38 -0800

I liked the MSNBC thing more, but it's wrapped in some kind of headache-inducing unstoppable "we gots ta stop tha Peeee-raates" slideshow. Would love to get those images separately. Anyone who looked at the MSNBC editor's choice... what's the context of the woman crying in front of the troops? Was that during the Israeli settlers' eviction?

By: Turtles all the way down

Turtles all the way down — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 08:42:34 -0800

a picture of Courtney Love Seeing that picture inspired me to make a solemn vow, which I will share with you here: I'm going to marry that woman.

By: brina

brina — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 08:57:29 -0800

The one Katrina picture they used didn't seem to be the right one. There were so many powerful photographs that were overlooked in favor of one of many flooded living room photos. I also thought it was odd that there was only that one Katrina photo; however, I recognized it immediately. If there was any one Katrina photo that stuck in my mind, it was that one. The other shots of pain and suffering all blend together — not because they are unimportant but because there were so many — but I remember thinking the shot of the Metairie guy was fun and a little wacky in the middle of all that devastation.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 09:01:32 -0800

what's the context of the woman crying in front of the troops? If you're looking at the pictures here, the one that shows a young woman in orange with a braid crying in front of some Israeli soldiers is labeled (look at the lower right) "Settler pleads to stay in Gaza..."

By: Item

Item — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 09:29:40 -0800

The Bush/Putin picture has "wacky" written all over it. I picture them going on a road trip to bury Bush's cat. My cat can eat a whole watermelon!

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 09:34:20 -0800

I have this cool book of Pulitzer Prize-winning photos, and they're all pretty great, but most of them are depressing. I guess depressing moments are more moving than happy ones, or as Tolstoy said, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

By: milnak

milnak — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 10:01:02 -0800

What? Nothing from Lou?

By: selfnoise

selfnoise — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 10:10:40 -0800

Thanks, Pracowity. Didn't even see the label.

By: mr.marx

mr.marx — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 10:17:11 -0800

This is probably my favorite photo of the year.

By: marvin

marvin — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 10:48:00 -0800

With you Marx.

By: chill

chill — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 10:56:21 -0800

This is probably my favorite photo of the year. Now that's an amazing photo.

By: mfbridges

mfbridges — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 11:08:59 -0800

Is it me, or does the "girl" with the eclipse on her tongue have a little bit of a goatee going?

By: Samizdata

Samizdata — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 11:20:54 -0800

My housemate and I had too much fun with our own captioning contest. For example, the Bush/Putin picture was "Nyet, nyet, is long pedal on RIGHT!"

By: slm303

slm303 — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 11:52:29 -0800

What I found bizarre is that Reuters included three pictures of Israelis protesting (two conservatives, one peace activist), but none of Palestinian or Iraqi protests - Certainly an interesting editorial choice. Just one Katrina photo also shows Katrina's European bent. Also the inclusion of just one Tsunami photo was wierd. Finally, why didn't the Madonna caption mention she's flippin' the bird? That symbol may not be understood by audiences around the world.

By: slm303

slm303 — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 11:53:47 -0800

Just one Katrina photo also shows Katrina's European bent. Should say: Just one Katrina photo also shows Reuters' European bent.

By: tracicle

tracicle — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 12:04:18 -0800

Madonna wants to be this generation's Johnny Cash?

By: Acey

Acey — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 12:27:10 -0800

Some exceptional photos in there, and thank you Mr.Marx for sharing that other one.

By: blastrid

blastrid — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 14:07:35 -0800

Yeah, fuck you too Madonna. The rest of the pics were quite moving. Thanks.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 14:59:23 -0800

Should say: Just one Katrina photo also shows Reuters' European bent. Meanwhile, Darfur and Uganda don't exist, and nor do 1001 other nasty civil wars, with the obvious exception of Israel / Palestine, which featured in 3-4 of the 40. ok, using "civil war" loosely here...you know what i mean

By: TheGoldenOne

TheGoldenOne — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 15:52:13 -0800

Give me a source and prove to me that picture isn't doctored, and we'll talk, mr.marx.

By: mr.marx

mr.marx — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 16:02:19 -0800

Talk to Daniel Berhulak, Getty Images.

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 18:36:55 -0800

40,000 words? Think I'll just skim the comments to get the gist...

By: Slarty Bartfast

Slarty Bartfast — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 19:10:46 -0800

Yeah, most of the pics left me feeling "ehh..." but... Holy Shit. The dead Iraqi child was exactly what I needed to snap out of my outrage fatigue. Is it wrong to show this to all my redneck, flag-waving, Bush-loving relatives when I visit them on Christmas?

By: TheGoldenOne

TheGoldenOne — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 22:00:37 -0800

Thank you very much for the source, mr.marx. I would like you take note that in the first image you linked, a good portion of the city has been seriously dodged, confirming my suspicions. The original image, while still beautiful and other-worldly, is different from the picture to which you first linked.

By: surlycat

surlycat — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 04:11:09 -0800

I'm not sure which is worse, the dead Iraqi child held by his father or the newly orphaned children wailing about their murdered parents. The one-year-old boy in mini-Marine uniform stretching towards his father's casket is heart-rending too. I can't tell if I'm more sensitive to this kind of thing now that I have an adorable little boy of my own, or if news photos these days are more graphic.

By: lapolla

lapolla — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 05:29:56 -0800

#13 - the iraqi blindfolded in his car with reflection of a US soldier mirroring his posture (but with very different expression) is a really superb photograph.