AOL Photo Talk Is Signing Off

Not quite two years ago, we launched this AOL Photo Talk blog to chronicle what we do here at AOL as photo editors. Our inspiration was to bring you great photos to experience, thoughtful information, and to have some fun along the way.

It's time, however, to move on. All things evolve, and the only constant is change. And we've evolved and launched a brand new area for photography -- a photo hub, if you will, known as Pixcetera. Check us out at http://www.pixcetera.com.

 

Pixcetera will bring you the best in photography, spanning photojournalism, fine art, nature -- even outer space. Find great photo galleries that interest you, or use Pixcetera as your hub for everything related to digital photography -- from viewing great images to managing your own photos. We've just launched the site, and we'll be expanding it over the coming months. We update Pixcetera daily, so be sure to check in on the site often. Bookmark the site, and enjoy the wide variety of photographic offerings that we'll bring to you there daily.

 

So this will be the last blog post at AOL Photo Talk. But our end here serves as a beginning at Pixcetera. Please be sure to visit our blog there at http://www.pixcetera.com/blog, where we'll continue to bring you interesting information related to photography.

Thank you.

- Gary

Tags: Pixcetera

Pictures of the Week: May 17-23

Now this is about as close of a call as you ever want to get. An amazing set of pictures from Reuters photographer Goran Tomasevic, who was shooting pictures right next to a U.S. Marine engaged in a firefight, shows the Marine narrowly escaping death -- or at least what would have been an extremely serious wound. The Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit was engaging Taliban fighters after they opened fire near Garmser in Afghanistan's Helmand Province May 18. The Marine was not injured.

We ran one photo from this series in our Pictures of the Week photo gallery, but I thought that showing these photos as a group would give a sense of just how close this Marine came to being hit, and how instantaneously and irrevocably things can change in combat. Luckily this Marine escaped with his life.

Take a look at all of this week's amazing images from around the world in our Pictures of the Week photo gallery.

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Pictures of the Week: May 10-16

Yves Rossy, known as the 'Fusion Man,' flies with a jet-powered single wing over the Alps in Bex, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 14, 2008. Some people go fishing on their day off. Yves Rossy likes to jump out of a small plane with a pair of jet-powered wings and perform figure eights above the Swiss Alps. The revolutionary human flying machine comes after five years of training and many more years of dreaming. (Anja Niedringhaus, AP)

Maybe it's because I saw Iron Man last weekend, maybe it's because as a kid I expected that we would all be zipping around in our flying cars like the Jetsons by now, but I found the images of Yves Rossy, also known as the 'Fusion Man, soaring above the Swiss Alps powered by a jet-powered wing strapped to his back to be an amazing sight.

 

As soon as I saw the video, I knew I would include an image from the event in this week's gallery. There were a lot to choose from, but this photo, by Anja Niedringhaus is a great shot of an amazing achievement. The backdrop of the snow topped Alps provides a sense of the altitude, the jet trails provide a sense of the speed and power. The angle of the view provides a clear view of the man and the machine.

 

Take a look at all of this week's amazing images from around the world in Pictures of the Week.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week: May 10-16

Pictures of the Week: May3-9

Be prepared. You never know when an unexpected moment may happen. I suspect that Canadian Press photographer Francis Vachon did not know in advance that Team Sweden forward Marcus Nilson would suffer such a dramatic fall on the ice as he was covering the IIHF world hockey championships, but he was prepared for it. His camera was focused on the action with the correct settings as he covered the event. This allowed him to follow the action on the ice and wait for a decisive moment. Recognizing just the right time to snap the shutter is what allows us to share this player's pain and to cause our eyes to linger a little longer on this photo.

 

Let your eyes linger over all of this week's best images in Pictures of the Week.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week: May3-9

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Pictures of the Week: April 26-May 2

In what looks like young offspring enjoying a mixed playgroup session together, is in reality a harsh life lesson. The Impala fawn is serving as target practice for the cheetah cubs in a hunting lesson organized by their mother. The cubs eventually killed the fawn.

 

Here is a second photo from this same scene that I had considered using.

 

Although I was initially drawn in by the composition and symmetry of the two cubs surrounding the young Impala like a pair of bookends, I chose to include the top photo because it told a more complete story with the mother cheetah standing by as one cub starts to chase the impala fawn as she starts to move. If you look closely, you can see the  paw of the second cub on the Impala's back.

 

See my final edit of all of this week's best images in Pictures of the Week.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week: April 26-May 2

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Pictures of the Week: April 19-25

A Hungarian Puli dog named Fee jumps over a hurdle during a preview for the pedigree dog show in Dortmund, Germany April 24.

 

Is there a dog in there? I see the eyes and nose and a tongue, but I do not see a dog! It looks like a comic strip panel of a dog in a fight. It looks like a car buffer with a face. It looks like a roughed up head of a snowman.

 

I am kidding, of course. What a fun photo! Let's make this our first AOL Photo Talk Rorschach test and tell me what you see by posting a comment below.

 

Don't forget to take a look at all of this week's great images in our most recent Pictures of the Week.gallery, most of which are not as open to interpretation as the jumping Puli.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week: April 19-25

Pictures of the Week: April 12-18

 

 

An intriguing photo. Looking like a something out of a yet unreleased Star Wars movie, this photo shows a Saharawi woman standing beside a traditional tent at Dakhla's refugee camp near Tindouf in southwestern Algeria. I was drawn in by the contrast of the bright colors of the clothing against the monochromatic earth tones of the background.

 

Although a former colony of Spain, the Western Sahara, home of the Saharawi, was annexed by Morocco in 1975. The refugee camps were established to accommodate those fleeing the violence caused by conflict  between the Polisario Front fighting for self-rule and Morocco.

 

And the refugee camps exist still. See this and other top photos from the past week by going to our Pictures of the Week gallery.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week: April 12-18

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Pictures of the Week: April 5-11

 

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" cast member Kristen Bell tries to get fellow cast member Russell Brand’s attention as he talks to a hula dancer at the premiere of the film in Los Angeles on April 10.

 

Who is she talking to? What is she saying? Let's have some fun with this photo and write your own caption.  Be creative and funny and please keep it clean. Take a shot and post your captions below.

 

Looking for more inspiration? Take a look at all of this week's best images in Pictures of the Week and vote for your favorite.

Tags: Pictures of the Week: April 5-11

Pictures of the Week: March 29-April 4

A blood trail from a harp seal leads to a small boat where sealer hunters are loading carcasses from an ice floe off the coast of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, March 31.

 

This image is mostly made up of three colors: black, white and red. These three colors work together to convey a powerful image. The red boat against the black water appears menacing as it lurks in wait. The red trail of blood against the white ice provides us with a stark visual sense of the suffering inflicted by the brutality of the hunt.

 

Fortunately, not all of this week's Pictures of the Week are as stark or as brutal, but they still tell the story. Please take a look and vote for the most compelling image.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Photojournalist Dith Pran Dies

Dith Pran, who became prominent as a result of the 1984 film, 'The Killing Fields,' died of pancreatic cancer. He was 65. Dith survived the brutal Cambodian Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s, during which almost a third of the country -- some two million people -- were killed.



He worked as an interpreter and assistant for Sydney Schanburg of the New York Times, who covered the Vietnam War as it continued on in neighboring Cambodia before ending in 1975. Schanburg helped Dith's family escape the country but was forced to leave Dith behind as Phenom Pehn, the Cambodian capital, fell.

Dith survived four years in the brutality that swept the country under the Khmer Rouge, however his three brothers were killed.


A Cambodian boy stands in front of a platform covered with human skulls at a Killing Field discovered in Trapeang Sva Village, Kandal province, 15 miles south of Phnom Penh on July 10, 1995. The mass grave contained the remains of about 2,000 victims of the Khmer Rouge, who slaughtered Cambodians during their brutal reign from 1975-1978.

When Dith finally was able to escape the country in 1979, he was hired as a trainee in the photo department at the New York Times. "The veteran staffers 'took him under their wing and taught him how to survive on the streets of New York as a photographer, how to see things,' said Times photographer Marilynn Yee," in an Associated Press story.


New York Times photographer Dith Pran photographs on assignment at an immigrant rights rally on September 4, 2006 in Newark, New Jersey.

To read more about the background of Dith Pran and his life in and out of Cambodia, go to the story, 'Killing Fields' Survivor Dith Pran Dies.

Pictures of the Week: March 22-28

 

 

An STS-123 Endeavour crewmember captured the glowing green beauty of the Aurora Borealis while docked and onboard the International Space Station March 21. NASA released the photo this past week. Looking northward across the Gulf of Alaska, over a low pressure area (cloud vortex), the aurora brightens the night sky.  (NASA / AP)

 

I have seen many photographs of the beauty displayed by the Aurora Borealis, and I have even witnessed its eerily ghostlike apparitions with my own eyes, but I have never seen it captured from space. This perspective provides me with an appreciation of its size. It appears as though the Aurora Borealis is hugging the earth's atmosphere.  I did not realize how large of an area the Aurora Borealis could cover.

 

The blue marble of Earth and the bright green light of the Aurora Borealis contrasting against the darkness of space is truly a sight to behold.  What is it about space images that we find so fascinating? Space images are amongst the most popular with viewers of our Pictures of the Week galleries. Whether captured by the Hubble telescope or by an astronaut, space images simply hold our fascination. I can confidently predict that this image will be the most popular this week in this week's Pictures of the Week gallery. Take a look at all of this week's best images and vote for your favorite. Let me know your thoughts about space photographs in the area below.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Pictures of the Week: March 15-21

Sometimes, you gain more by showing less. I think that the viewer is compelled to linger on this photo because of what they think they see -- skater Sinead Kerr bent over, with her head precariously close to the ice. However, its eye-stopping qualities are actually the result of cropping out the top portion of the scene. The viewer is really looking at a photo of Sinead Kerr being held upside down by her partner (brother) John Kerr as they perform their original dance routine on the third day of the World Figure Skating Championships in Goteborg, Sweden.

The cropping of this photo tricks our eyes into seeing a more exciting image than it would appear otherwise. Experiment with a variety of ways of composing and cropping as you look through the viewfinder the next time you pick up you camera and let me know what you think of the choices you made and the results you got.

In the meantime, take a look at all of this week's compelling images from around the world in our Pictures of the Week gallery, and vote for you favorite.

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Pictures of the Week: March 8-14

I am often struck by the beauty of images of that result from our exploration of our universe,  and I always look forward to seeing the latest photographic offering from NASA. This week's Pictures of the Week gallery highlights two images that exemplify the range of unexpected beauty found in our scientific quest for knowledge:


Geyser-like eruptions of ice particles and water vapor shoot out from the south pole of Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, in this image provided this week by NASA. Three years after gigantic geysers were spied on an icy Saturn moon, the international Cassini spacecraft is poised to plunge through the fringes of the mysterious plumes to learn how they formed.


The space shuttle Endeavour disappears into the clouds as it lifts off in the early hours of March 11 at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla. It was the beginning of a 16-day mission to the international space station.

Take a look at all of this week's compelling images from around -- and outside -- our world in our Pictures of the Week gallery.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

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Pictures of the Week: March 1-7

Laborers work at an under-construction chemical factory in Huai'an, Jiangsu province, China, March 2.

When I first saw this photo of the chemical factory under construction in China, it took me a moment to realize what I was looking at. But I was struck by its graphic elements -- the grid of sharp lines accented with bright blue and yellow pieces of equipment.

The image is uncannily similar to the works of  the 20th century abstract painter Piet Mondrian -- in particular his painting, Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue, which is made up of a composition of primary colors in rectangles on a grid of black lines.

 

Take a look at all of this week's compelling Pictures of the Week and vote for your favorite.

- Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Pictures of the Week: Feb. 23-29

Even though the first image in this week's Pictures of the Week gallery caught my eye as soon as I saw it, I paused a moment before making the decision to include it in this week's gallery. Bull fighting photos have already appeared in Pictures of the Week galleries twice this month and I was reluctant to include yet a third. Part of what makes the gallery so compelling is it's consistent mix of images that are fresh and new each week.


Spanish matador Enrique Ponce prepares to perform a pass during a bullfight in Coliseo de Atarfe bull ring in Atarfe, near Granada, Spain, Feb. 28. (Pepe Marin, Reuters)

However, the elements of this photo ensured its inclusion into this week's gallery.

The unexpected point-of-view directly overhead is what brings you in at first, and then the realization that it is not a bull, but merely the shadow of the bull that appears in the frame, that commands you to linger at this image ... to look a little longer. You then become aware of the combination of the sense of drama and conflict caused by the way the photo is composed, with the matador in the lower portion of the frame standing behind his red cape and the bull's shape in the upper portion. It is the presence of all of these elements that makes it a compelling image ... and a worthy entry for Pictures of the Week.

 

Take a look at all of this week's compelling images and vote for your favorite.

 

-Lee Van Grack

 

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Pictures of the Week: Feb. 16-22

A Kosovar Albanian woman waves a flag as she and others celebrate Kosovo's declaration of independence in Pristina, Feb. 17. Kosovo's parliament declared the disputed territory a nation on Sunday, mounting a historic bid to become an "independent and sovereign state" backed by the U.S. and key European allies but bitterly contested by Serbia and Russia.


Serbian nationalists opposed to Kosovo's independence storm and set alight the United States embassy in Belgrade Feb. 21 after a massive rally in the Serbian capital. Several hundred young men dressed in hooded sports tops and scarfs had broken into the premises on the main boulevard of Kneza Milosa. The embassy was unstaffed at the time of the attack.

This week began with the declaration of Independence by Kosovo, whose population is 90 percent ethnic Albanian. Four days later violent protests by Serbian nationalists erupted, and they attacked the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, chanting "Kosovo is ours!" in anger over U.S. backing of Kosovo independence.

 

These two photos in this week's Pictures of the Week photo gallery immediately convey the two very different emotions felt by these two groups over the recent events.

 

Take a look at all of this week's compelling images from around the world and please be sure to remember to vote on the one you think is best. And if you're interested in following the developments there, keep an eye on our live photo feed gallery from our news wire photo sources, Riots Rock Belgrade.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Pictures of the Week: Feb. 9-15

Sgt. 1st class Charles Bowen of the Army National Guard 142nd Arkansas field artillery hugs his daughter, Kelsey, 11, at Sleepy Hollow Elementary School Feb. 13. Bowen surprised his daughters after he appeared out of a box on stage in front of the entire school, which had sent him letters and gifts.

After seeing the photograph of Sgt. 1st class Charles Bowen of the Army National Guard 142nd Arkansas field artillery hugging his daughter on the stage at her elementary school and after reading the caption, I had a lump in my throat. The photographer, Stephen Spillman, shooting for the Amarillo Globe-News, beautifully captured the emotion of the moment.

 

Take a look at all of this week's incredible images in our Pictures of the Week photo gallery, which capture a wide range of emotions, from sorrow to humor. Some will pull at your heart strings and others may tickle your funny bone.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Shutter Closes on Polaroid

Photography can be magical. I remember the first time I slid exposed photo paper into a tray of developer and watched the image appear. Polaroid film was even better -- it developed on its own, right before your eyes, within minutes of pressing the shutter. But in this age of ubiquitous digital cameras, which everyone has in their pocket, their cell phone or PDA, The Petters Group, owners of Polaroid, announced that it will abandon the Polaroid instant film products. Polaroid, which was founded by Harvard University dropout Edwin Land in 1937, will make enough instant film to last into 2009.


Edwin H. Land, inventor of instant photography and founder of the Polaroid Corporation.

Polaroid enthusiasts take heart, the company plans to license the technology to third-party businesses to keep loyal users supplied. Polaroid stopped making instant cameras for commercial use in 2006 and halted production of consumer models last year. "We're trying to help what have been extremely loyal Polaroid customers to make our film categories last as long as we can,'' said CEO Tom Beaudoin, who was quoted in a Bloomberg news story. "The most popular film is the one everyone recognizes. It's the 600 series with the white border that you see in advertisements. It's become an icon.''


Polaroid pictures of dogs who are missing their owners are taped to a wall in an animal shelter in Baton Rouge, La., during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The shelter housed over 1,000 companion animals, including 641 dogs, 391 cats, and assorted pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, hamsters, gerbils, mice, tortoises, and birds.

Many artists, including Andy Warhol, were fans of the Polaroid process. Even filmmakers used Polaroid for creative stop-motion videos.

Passengers walk past a photograph of former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, part of an exhibit called "Faces of Ground Zero," at Union Station, Chicago, in 2002. The series of photographs was shot by Joe McNally, who used a one-of-a-kind, 12x16-foot Polaroid camera to make the pictures.

- Dave

Tags: Polaroid, Edwin H. Land

World Press Photo of the Year

This past weekend, the winners of the World Press Photo of the Year were announced by the organization. World Press Photo's mission is to "encourage high professional standards in photojournalism and to promote a free and unrestricted exchange of information."

This photography contest is all about photojournalism around the world, and some of the images that were chosen by the judges to be outstanding representations of the craft, art and profession of photojournalism are sobering and sometimes tough to look at. We featured one of the winners, John Moore of Getty Images, in a blog not too long ago (Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto Assassinated). Moore was on scene in December covering Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan and was eyewitness to her assassination. One of his photos that was entered in the spot news category was from that coverage and was awarded first place:

Another photo awarded honorable mention in the spot news category was shot by AP (Associated Press) photographer Emilio Morenatti, who was covering the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas. In the photo below, two rockets are launched from Gaza City, May 22, 2007. Seven rockets were fired towards Israel lightly wounding two people, the army said. Israel responded with four air strikes, targeting two suspected arms caches and two Hamas bases. Palestinian officials said seven people were wounded.

To get a look at all the award-winning photography, go to the World Press Photo of theYear 2008 Winners Gallery. Just click on the thumbnails to view the winning photos.

- Gary

Tags: World Press Photo of the Year

Pictures of the Week: Feb. 2-8

Split-second decisions.

 

The parents of this 9-month-old baby girl made a split-second decision to throw her from a burning apartment building in an effort to save her life. The decision paid off and she dropped safely into the arms of a rescuer below.

 

The photographer witnessing the frantic scene of the building fire and seeing he baby being dropped from the fourth floor reacted in a split second, pressing the shutter release at just the right time. It too was the right decision and he captured this incredible image.

 

Take a look at all of this week's incredible images, often the result of split-second decisions in this week's Pictures of the Week gallery.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Pictures of the Week: Jan. 26 - Feb. 1

I decided to include the photograph of Hillary Clinton shaking hands with Sen. Edward Kennedy prior to the delivery of the State of the Union by president Bush because of the discussion that the moment sparked.

Did Barack Obama "snub" Hillary Rodham Clinton or was he merely turning away to talk to Sen. Claire McCaskill instead? Would this have mattered had Sen. Kennedy not endorsed Barack Obama earlier in the day? Outside of this controversy, I'm not sure that I would have chosen this image. It is the controversy that makes it a "Picture of the Week." In fact, had the controversy not erupted, I would have included a far different image from the State of the Union speech.

President Bush winks to a member of the audience prior to delivering his State of the Union address, Monday, Jan. 28, 2008, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Take a look at all of this week's Pictures of the Week gallery-worthy moments and vote for the one you think is most compelling.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Pictures of the Week: Jan. 19-25

 

There is a compelling photo that appears in this week's Pictures of the Week gallery that is a well composed image of what seems to be a portrait of a woman standing by a corner of a wall.

 

The color of the wall stands out against the bright background and it, in turn, provides a stark contrast to the subject in the foreground. I love the way the angle of the corner provides a visual cue and directs the viewers eye to the subject, a nice touch.

 

 

However, it is the story behind this image that makes it truly compelling. The subject, Naomi Kering, is a member of the Kalenjin tribe and the wall behind her is all that remains of her house that was destroyed in the recent violence that has erupted in Kenya. Sadly, that is not all she has lost. As a result of the ethnic unrest in her country, her husband of 17 years, Issac Guthua, a member of the Kikuyu tribe, was forced to leave her as communities shun the Kikuyu tribe of President Mwai Kibaki.

 

Take a look at all of this week's compelling images from around the world in this week's Pictures of the Week gallery. Which image do you think was the best this week? Let us know your opinion.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Pictures of the Week: Jan. 12-18

This week I came across a wonderfully amusing image of two doe mule deer in the deep snow of the Gunnison Basin east of Gunnison, Colo., photographed by George Kochaniec Jr. of the Rocky Mountain News. In the photograph, one doe mule deer is seen poking its head out of the deep snow as another deer is seen bent over with its head tucked down as it forages for food beneath the snow. The result is a humorous image of what appears to be one doe mule deer with an extremely long neck.

Since the photograph was taken by a member paper of the Associated Press, I contacted the paper directly in order to obtain permission to include the photograph in this week's Pictures of the Week gallery.

 

When I spoke with Dean Krakel, Deputy Director of Photography at the Rocky Mountain News, he mentioned that there was a second image available as well. I asked him to provide both, and that I would choose one to include in the gallery.

 

The second image was equally intriguing. It again showed two doe mule deer in the deep snow of the Gunnison Basin, but where the first image was humorous, this one was serene. It showed one dear about to leap through the snow, just as the other was about to land. It looks like a before and after sequence or a zoetrope. However, I think the starkness of the two lone shapes as they move against the white blanket of snow, conveys an incredible sense of serenity.

So what do you think? Which fits best with the other images in this week's gallery, humor or serenity? Take a look at all of this week's best images from around the world in our latest Pictures of the Week gallery.

- Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Fotofestivus XIV

We said our blog would be about chronicling what we do here as photo editors at AOL -- highlighting and discussing great images, bringing you useful information, and having some fun, too. And here's the fun part: Fotofestivus.

 

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. Our theme this time around: REFLECTION. If you don't have any photos you've already shot that might work into this theme, head out there and go make a picture. You can interpret it literally, or have some fun with the idea. And to help your ideas along, here are a few photos by some of the AOL photo editors for a little inspiration:

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

And for some additional inspiration, take a look at some of our previous Fotofestivus entries:

Fotofestivus VIII

Fotofestivus VII

Fotofestivus VI 

Fotofestivus V

Fotofestivus IV

Fotofestivus III

Fotofestivus II

Fotofestivus

 

- Gary

Tags: reflection, fotofestivus

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Pictures of the Week: Jan. 5-11

Yes, I know ... I should have blogged about the photo of Hillary Clinton looking as if she were just as surprised as the political pundits at the primary results in New Hampshire, or maybe I should have written about the artistic eye that captured the wake of the Montenegrin fisherman and the symmetrical perfection of the rippling wake on the still waters. But the photograph of the penguins as the zoo keeper took stock of them during the annual stocktake at London Zoo brought a smile to my face.

The way the penguin has his head bent to look as if it's examining the information on the clipboard and the way the other penguin has his wing outstretched, they appear to be communicating with the zoo keeper. It's a funny image that screams for a "write a funny caption." So, let's have it. Post your captions and let's see what we come up with.



Take a look at all of this week's best images from around the world in our latest Pictures of the Week gallery.

- Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

Pictures of the Week: Dec. 29-Jan. 4

The photograph of Republican presidential hopeful and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with the razor blade hovering just above his face as he receives a shave at the Executive Forum Barbershop in Des Moines, Iowa appears to depict the candidate in a vulnerable position. However, following the results in Iowa, he is anything but. The photo only tells part of the story though, because he was not merely receiving a shave, but like most everything the candidates do in Iowa, he was doing it with an audience. In this case, a roomful of journalists, looking for a photo op:

I debated which image to include in this week's gallery, but decided to go with the "close shave" image because it was the image that originally caught my eye and made me curious to read the caption to find out what was going on.

 

What do you think? Do you agree? Got a favorite in the gallery? Let us know.

 

Please take a look at all of this week's compelling images in our Pictures of the Week gallery.

 

-Lee Van Grack

Tags: Pictures of the Week

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