I admit: It’s really hard to have a boring tintype, so this was an easy essay to add to this list. That being said, the form suits the subject matter really, really well. Like tintypes, blues music has a timeless feel to it even as the names of the musicians change over the years. The images in this series (which is also a new book!) look like they could have been taken anytime in the past century and a half, a reverse-time-travel trick that is clever and fun.
—Kate Bubacz, senior photo editor, BuzzFeed News
Alongside Blockbuster video stores and suburban shopping malls, many drive-in theaters have slipped into dilapidated graveyards of bygone American culture. Before they are lost to history, photographer Lindsey Rickert has made her way across America to document what remains of these once vibrant hubs of entertainment. Here, Business Insider speaks with Rickert about her journey and the cultural significance of drive-ins in the US.
—Gabriel H. Sanchez, photo essay editor, BuzzFeed News
John Edmonds' series Hoods is brief but packs a punch way above its weight. The simplicity of each image and the brevity of the edit makes the viewer want more, in the form of either answers or images. The portraits, which are almost entirely devoid of personal distinguishment, leave the viewer space in the void to look at not only the person but also their projections and expectations of what these photos should represent.
—Kate Bubacz, senior photo editor, BuzzFeed News
Every day, most of us take a sip of coffee without thinking about the story behind that cup; the origin, the farmer, and the fruit itself all play a part in waking us up each morning. With climate change and our country’s contributions to it at the forefront of our minds this week, this story sheds light on some of the people responsible for bringing coffee to our lives. What’s especially personal about these photos is that they are taken from the perspectives of the farmers — the editor equipped them with disposable cameras, and there is a separate album with countless images portraying the harsh realities of their lives in Uganda.
—Brandon O'Dell, video support specialist, BuzzFeed
This not Nazi Germany, but rather someplace much closer — New Jersey. Here is a truly terrifying collection of historic images that, in some ways, provide fascinating context to the recent rise of white nationalism in the United States. For me, it's hard to not think that some of the Americans pictured here are still alive, perhaps with their own children and grandchildren in whom they've instilled the same white supremacist ideology.
—G.H.S.
Fast-forward to a decade after the American Nazi gatherings pictured above and we see the tremendous bravery of American and Allied troops who stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, to liberate Europe from the clutches of Nazi tyranny. Embedded with those troops was Magnum photographer Robert Capa, who came face-to-face with the horrors and heroics of all-out war. With Capa in mind, BuzzFeed News asks a new generation of Magnum photographers how close to the action they must be to make a great photograph.
—G.H.S.
Here are the most moving, sorrowful, and beautiful pictures from the past week.