This week felt a little chaotic — not in the intense, passionate way of last summer, but more like a nervous energy in the air as the Delta variant continues to sweep across the country and wildfires continue to burn. We were just getting into the swing of normalcy, and now, who knows? What even is normal anymore?
Luckily, we have some great photo stories to distract and inform you: We spoke with Isolde Brielmaier, the new deputy curator of the New Museum in New York, about her favorite images, which was a delight. New York is definitely having a hot vax summer, and the photographers at the New York Times have captured it perfectly. Thousands crowded together at Lollapalooza in Chicago to dance, a scene that feels more unsafe now as COVID-19 cases rise across the country.
Caitlin Ochs also has a truly fascinating look at the water crisis in the West, where reservoirs are running out of water. Spend some time with this one, as it's a lot to take in. AnOther magazine poetically looks at the young people of Beirut and how they are surviving a year after a huge explosion tore apart their city, while the Atlantic has a roundup of images from the deadly coastal wildfires in Turkey.
There is sometimes hope after disaster, though, as Rodrigo Abd reminds us with his visual story about the priest who reclaimed land from cartels after a series of unfortunate events in Honduras. Further south, the Mapuche people are fighting the Chilean government for land rights and recognition, and I can't get the images by Cristóbal Olivares and Pablo Piovano out of my head.
Fin Serck-Hanssen looks at a different kind of transformation in his sensitive and poignant new book about his friend Hedda and their gender confirmation journey. Finally, Jamie Hawkesworth has a new book out about the British countryside that is truly the definition of a palate cleanser and a balm for the tired.
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"The Nights When New York Felt Alive Again" — The New York Times
"The 7 Images That Shaped the Career of the New Museum’s Deputy Director" — BuzzFeed News
"Deadly Wildfires Along Turkey's Coast" — The Atlantic
"After Mudslide, Priest Builds a New Town on Narco Land" — AP Images Blog
"A Portrait of Beirut: A Year on From the Explosion" — AnOther Magazine
