Anthony Bourdain's death is a tough one to digest. In the world we live in today, his presence offered hope to so many and was a true testament to the power of listening to understand. These pictures only scratch the surface of what a truly incredible life this man led, but in each picture it's easy to witness Bourdain’s special blend of sensitivity, charisma, and brilliance that made him such a profound inspiration.
—Gabriel H. Sanchez, photo essay editor, BuzzFeed News
I really love photo stories like this because they show how a truly global network demonstrates the diversity of people around the world. This one centers on soccer, the sport that is about to grab headlines when the World Cup rolls. Outside the perfectly manicured pitches and grand stadium of the World Cup, soccer is a game enjoyed by ordinary people in very humble — and even makeshift — setups as displayed in this feature.
—Anna Mendoza, photo editor, BuzzFeed Australia
It’s been a rough week guys. This series provides some much-needed sweetness to the summer, looking at love with both the misty eyes of romance and a slight side-eye toward the challenges of relationships over time. The styles of these 24 photographers play off each other and the subject matter beautifully, covering kisses, sex, and cohabitation.
—Kate Bubacz, deputy photo director, BuzzFeed News
Photographer Paul Hoi's vibrant photographs from New Zealand's South Island reimagines the kind of pure landscape portraiture we're used to seeing, employing infrared techniques to create otherworldly tableaus. With so many avenues for digital manipulation, it's refreshing to know that Hoi used filters and camera manipulation to create such a stunning outcome. In the same way that Richard Mosse's infrared work in war-torn Congo forced viewers to react to images they'd long grown indifferent to given the complexities of the conflict, here, Hoi offers up landscapes we've seen again and again, just not quite like this.
—Laura Geiser, photo editor, BuzzFeed News
It may be swimsuit season up in the Northern Hemisphere, but where I’m at, “sunny” Sydney’s pools are all but empty, and compilations like this make me crave warmer days. This set of photos is a selection from a whopping 200-piece series in Francis Hodgson’s new book, where he highlights the cultural narrative of this architectural architectural statement — which really, if you think about it, is just a hole in the ground. To Hodgson though, these ditches bear witness to human history.
—A.M.
With almost a hundred people killed and 200 more reported missing, Daniele Volpe’s images capture the tragic aftermath of the volcanic eruption in Guatemala. Volpe’s work oscillates between the actions of the living, who appear poignantly in pops of color picking up the pieces, and the immortalization of the dead and destroyed covered in thick, gray, mud. It’s honest reportage that offers a poetic elegy to those affected by the disaster.
—K.B.
As thousands of migrants made their way across Latin America to the US border, photographer Luc Forsyth accompanied the caravan to capture some of the most intimate and striking moments of the journey. In a fascinating interview with BuzzFeed News, Forsyth reveals the stories behind the pictures and paints a deeply human portrait of what it was like to travel with the caravan that went toe-to-toe with the American dream.
—G.H.S.
If you had to leave your old life behind to start anew in another country in a hurry, what would you take and what would you leave behind? Photographer Mariana Vincenti and journalist Valeria Pedicini felt compelled to examine that very question following the migration of over 1.5 million Venezuelans from their home country, which is experiencing political upheaval and economic crisis. In some cases, young adults leave their parents behind to seek better opportunities; in others, entire families pack their necessities and lock their homes for the last time, leaving them neat and tidy. In every case, these rooms continue to hold a lifetime of memories.
—L.G.
Here are the most moving and breathtaking pictures from the past week.
—G.H.S.