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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