"Speedos were king in the '70s" is just one of the conclusions you'll come to after viewing this visual essay on life at the beach in the decade of disco. Other interesting observations: People were enamored with vehicles on the beach and also enjoyed sunbathing in the buff. In the US, Vietnam was winding down, the "Summer of Love" had passed, and catching some rays and waves became a popular pastime. Viewers will also notice the muted color palette created by a combination of '70s Kodachrome and a fashion trend that favored burnt orange, yellow, and brown.
—Laura Geiser, photo editor, BuzzFeed News
As part of Pride Month, it’s important for me as a member of the LGBT community to constantly educate myself on the topic. There are always new or different parts of the community that I am discovering and learning about, and in this photo series, Mikael Owunna brings to light the anti-gay discrimination of LGBT people in African communities. Limit(less) is a powerful display of strength and pride in the LGBT community — and another example of just how much more work there is for us to do.
—Brandon O'Dell, video support specialist, BuzzFeed
This is a lovely collection about the different people who make up Canada’s immigrant landscape. Each story describes the struggles and aspirations they face in trying to call a foreign land home. These 23 faces represent only a cut of the country’s diverse fabric, but in this current political climate the fact their inclusion is significant. It feels good to read positive stories about immigration for a change.
—Anna Mendoza, photo editor, BuzzFeed Australia
Amid the chaos of the nonstop news cycle, it's been somewhat overlooked that Melania Trump is only our second foreign-born first lady, and the last one was born in London before the country was founded. The Washington Post smartly explores the Slovenian town from which Melania Trump hails, and how the locals are enthusiastically celebrating her rise to first lady.
—Kate Bubacz, deputy photo director, BuzzFeed News
David Gonzalez allows the private space to become public through his series of interviews and photographs. This collection gives individuals with disabilities the space to tell their stories through their own voices. Society tends to avoid, dehumanize, and stigmatize others with a disability by often forgetting the privilege of being able-bodied. Do you ever stop to wonder if the store you are shopping in or the restaurant you are eating at provides accessibility for everyone? Gonzalez is breaking down the taboo of disability by sharing these experiences that are often invisible.
—Jade Cardichon, photo intern, BuzzFeed News
War doesn't cherry-pick its victims; nothing is safe from the horrors of its destructive wake. As the ongoing conflict between Iraqi government forces and the embattled ISIS continues, not only are precious lives and families destroyed, but history itself is erased. BuzzFeed News describes the long and vibrant history of the 845-year-old al-Nuri mosque, and how the structure ultimately met its troubling destruction.
—Gabriel H. Sanchez, photo essay editor, BuzzFeed News
Dan Bannino has taken our fascination with celebrities' diets to a whole new level. He photographs what famous people eat, applying classic still-life techniques to subject matter that, intriguingly, has always had mass appeal. His images are somewhat hedonistic views of tables overflowing with food that make you rethink your own dietary choices. (Mine mostly consist of junk.)
—A.M.
"24 Of The Most Powerful Photos Of This Week" — BuzzFeed News
Here are the most moving, sorrowful, and beautiful pictures from the past week.