Delphine Diallo's stunningly beautiful photo collages of black women's fashion portraiture accompanies an equally stunning spotlight on the stark lack of representation and recognition of black models, artists, designers, and more within the fashion industry. Fashion photography creates the allure of a lifestyle meant to feel attainable by the addition of a few coveted clothing and accessory pieces, but for far too long, women of color haven't seen themselves reflected in that lifestyle very often. As Diallo's collages of gorgeous fashion images of black models and celebrities make clear, that deliberate lack of diversity is a fault of the fashion industry, and a huge loss for the young girls and women who support the brands without ever seeing themselves reflected in it.
—Laura Geiser, photo editor, BuzzFeed News
Francesca Woodman is an artist whose pictures are noted for their melancholic beauty and haunting explorations of the female form. Sadly, her suicide in 1981 at the age of 22 left more questions than answers about her life’s work — some 10,000 negatives and over 800 prints. In this fascinating read by Julia Wolkoff, Artsy’s art history editor, Woodman's life is reexamined through the lens of art history, revealing a deeply personal dimension to this young and prolific artist's work.
—Gabriel H. Sanchez, photo essay editor, BuzzFeed News
It’s so fascinating seeing people prepare their towns for the visit of what to much of the world’s population is just another human being, but to these residents in Ireland, is the closest they can get to God. It might feel a bit cultlike to anyone outside the faith, but I guess any religion has a certain degree of strangeness to those outside of it. What makes this feature interesting to me is that it’s very much Irish, but it’s also the kind of thing Catholics in other countries can relate to very well.
—Anna Mendoza, photo editor, BuzzFeed Australia
With the spotlight on the long lines of people hoping to make an asylum claim here in the US, Tomas Ayuso's incredibly intimate and telling photo series from one of the most dangerous, gang-infested cities in Honduras sheds light on why so many feel compelled to flee and face such an uncertain future. Ayuso's must-view series, titled “The Right to Grow Old,” makes it very clear that for young men, to remain in Honduras means joining a gang or death — and sometimes both. Growing old can't be taken for granted. As one father puts it, "Honduras stopped caring about its people and started eating its young."
—L.G.
It’s so much easier to break things than to rebuild. One year after Harvey, this smart piece in the Washington Post on a single flooded neighborhood shows how luck and insurance have uneven hands, with wildly different outcomes. This is a great follow-up to historic flooding and hopefully a reminder for everyone to check their plans.
—Kate Bubacz, deputy photo director, BuzzFeed News
Who knew having hair could be a disadvantage when you’re an athlete? These photos focusing on what to me — a non-athlete — is quite a violent act are so intense, I don’t really understand why hairpulling is still legal in some sports. Also, the advantage of having such a wide network of sports photographers is that you get to create incredibly specific features like this — where you know you’re actually getting the best and most intense moments, because you have people snapping almost every sporting event out there.
—A.M.
50 years after the Prague Spring, the images from the Soviet invasion retain their beauty and tragedy and should serve as a reminder of the consequences when political ideals collide. The pictures, especially by Josef Koudelka, are beautiful reminders of the pathos of history, but they serve better to commemorate than to warn, as the scenes have been replicated too many times since.
—K.B.
This photo series in the Atlantic looks at the roots and consequences of the economic situation in Venezuela, and points to another refugee crisis in the region. It’s really easy to forget how quickly a country can go into freefall, forcing people from their homes and upending their histories. Within the past five years, Venezuela has gone from a prosperous, relatively stable country to one where the population is starving at the hands of its own government’s policies.
—K.B.
Here are the most moving and breathtaking pictures from the past week.
—G.H.S.