Pictures of the Week: Sept. 22-28

Kenji Nagai, a Japanese photographer, was shot by soldiers as they fired to disperse a crowd of anti-government protesters in Myanmar. He continued to attempt to take photographs even as he lay mortally wounded.

 

The life of a photojournalist appeals to many. For some the motivation comes from a pursuit of excitement, for others it may be a pursuit of beauty, some may pursue it out of a sense of duty to record injustices and for others it may be a desire to travel and to meet new people.

Why a photojournalist chooses to cover events doesn't matter. What does matter is that the photographer is there and is recording the event as a witness for those of us unable to witness it ourselves. Sometimes exciting, sometimes dangerous, sometimes  a matter of life and death. Always newsworthy.

 

The death of a photojournalist, like the death of any other innocent, is tragic.

 

See all of this week's compelling photography from around the world at Pictures of the Week.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Pictures of the Week: Sept. 15-21

Warning: The photograph below in this blog entry is graphic. If you are easily offended by violent images, do not scroll down the page.

 

 

The photograph below breaks my heart. When I first saw this image, I thought it was a photo of a child injured by violence in a war zone as he reaches for his mother. Sadly the image is far more grim.

 

The photo depicts a mother grieving for her six-year-old son, Dhiya Thamer, who was killed when their family car came under fire by unknown gunmen in Baqouba, capital of Iraq's Diyala province. The family was returning from enrolling Dhiya in school, where he was to begin his first year.

 

A mother should never have to suffer such a loss, going to or from school should never be that dangerous, and innocent civilians should not come under attack.

 

 

 

 

 

For the rest of this week's compelling photography from around the world, go to: Pictures of the Week.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

America at Home

There's a very interesting project now underway through this Sunday, Sept. 23, called 'America at Home.' It's being organized by the same folks who brought us the variety of 'Day in the Life of ...' projects, such as Day in the Life of America,' as well as America 24/7.' The concept of the America at Home project is to document the diversity of what home life consists of across America -- to "capture a sprawling digital time capsule of the millions of ways we create our version of Home, Sweet, Home."

And the cool part is: anyone can participate in it. The idea is for families (and that means you!) in all 50 states to photograph their homes.  Amateur photographers as well as 100 professional photographers will team up to shoot photos of what makes a house a home in America to bring the project alive.

These are highly personal photos, sharing intimate photos from bedrooms, family rooms,
kitchens and sometimes the most surprising places across America.

We're partnering with the America at Home group and highlighting the kind of photography that's going on right now as part of the project. Each day on AOL Visions, we're launching a select group of pictures from the project to help give everyone a sense of the kind of images photographers are capturing. Check out what we've got so far: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The project will culminate in a book of the same name, due out in March 2008. Will the picture you shoot make it into the book? Even if it doesn't, the America at Home group will allow you to send in one of your photos and they will make into a customized book jacket. Check out some of the great photography so far in this project by going to the daily links above. And to learn more about it, go to America at Home.

- Gary

Tags: America at Home, Day in the Life of America, America 24/7

Pictures of the Week: Sept. 8-14

On the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, ceremonies were held at the Pentagon and near the site where the World Trade Center towers once stood. In these photos, we have two seemingly different reactions to similar events.

 

 

These images together do a perfect job of illustrating our collective reaction to those tragic events six years later: sorrowful, but with strength for the future. In one image we see a woman as she cries on the shoulder of a New York City firefighter during the ceremony near the former site of the World Trade Center towers. In the other image we see two friends displaying the strength to move forward through the support of each other at the ceremony at the Pentagon.

 

 

Though the photos display different emotions, they both evoke a compassionate response from us. 

 

The intent of those attacks six years ago was to weaken us, but it resulted in strengthening our country by bringing us closer as a nation and making us more compassionate toward each other as Americans.

 

To see all of this week's compelling photography from around the world, go to: Pictures of the Week.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Viva la Salsa!

Fredy Perojo and I traveled to Puerto Rico to photograph El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, a prestigious Salsa combo that has been producing music for nearly half a decade.

 

I am a true over-packer and responded accordingly for this trip, packing five massive bags filled with strobe heads, lighting stands, soft boxes, a beauty dish, and an assortment of cords. Fredy and I hauled hundreds of pounds of gear from midtown Manhattan to ALFA studios in Puerto Rico for a portrait shoot featuring 13 musicians, some of whom have been playing with the combo for 45 years.

 

 

The intricacies of setting up for a portrait featuring 13 faces was not a simple task. We set up two backlights and two frontal soft boxes in a confined VIP lounge. Empty, the room seemed tight. Full, with 13 salsa musicians, one photographer, one art director, one assistant, one videographer, and an assortment of fans, the room was bursting at the seams. Working with 13 musicians is not an easy task, yet these vivacious and seasoned professionals made the shoot easy – laughing, hugging, throwing their hands in the air, pointing to promote the beloved Rafael Ithier, the conductor of the group.

 

 

I produced an individual shot of Rafael as well. His natural ability to play with the camera and offer perfect photographic gestures transcended the dingy, damp pool hall serving as the photo studio. It’s always easy to capture talent when they obviously are madly in love with their professions.

 

 

 

Fredy documented the fabulous musical performance while I repacked the hundreds of pounds of gear that we had hauled. Although it was a rigorous load to cart back and forth, my over-packing was worth it.

 

 

But the best part? Eating fried plantains and beans and rice with the trumpet player.

 

Check out the photo gallery and the video as well: Viva la Salsa!

 

The El Gran Combo Sesiones was released in conjunction with September's Hispanic Heritage Month.

 

- Rachel Been

Pictures of the Week: Sept. 1-7

It takes a photographer with a sense of humor along with a good eye to capture an image like this. The photographs that appear in this week's gallery are diverse, but they all share the element of a talented photographer with a good eye.

Take a minute to look through all the photos in this week's Pictures of the Week, and remember to vote for the photo you think is the best.

- Lee Van Grack 

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Fotofestivus VII

This is our seventh installment of our Fotofestivus here in the AOL Photo Talk blog. It's an idea we came up with as a staff a while ago. It's pretty simple: we identify a theme and shoot a photo for it. Some themes will be straightforward, some wacky. We'd like to invite you to join in, too.

 

This month's theme is: GREEN. Better grab the camera and head out now to shoot a picture on this subject if you don't already have one you'd like to submit. Fall is just weeks away and the green will be going before you know it -- if you interpret the them as a color, that is. Perhaps you have another idea. You can interpret it literally or have some fun with it.

 

Please send us links to your photos wherever they are -- AOL Pictures, Flickr, Snapfish, anywhere -- in the comments area when you respond.

 

Here are a few photos shot by some of the AOL photo editors for some inspiration:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have fun and think creatively! We look forward to seeing how this theme inspired you. For additional inspiration, take a look at some of our previous Fotofestivus entries:

 

Fotofestivus VI 

Fotofestivus V

Fotofestivus IV

Fotofestivus III

Fotofestivus II

Fotofestivus

 

- Gary