A Poignant Picture for Two Nations

Photojournalism at its finest.

Despite my prior post...no this is not in the US.  This is a polling place in the Ukraine.  I certainly hope that is a toy weapon that innocent little girl is holding, and not an "adult" weapon carelessly put aside while voting.  Still -- it makes for a thought-provoking picture from several perspectives doesn't it?

Credit: Konstantin Chernichkin/Reuters

Love on the Job - Chinese Style

I have mentioned elsewhere that I really enjoy top-notch photojournalism. 

This is a slightly subtler variety, but I think it also reminds us that there are people in the world (the most populous country in the world to be exact) whose dating and marriage decisions are affected not so much as to whether the latest "hook-up" app is working on their iPhone, but whether or not the other forces in their lives are going to align to allow their desired outcomes.

The Picture that Makes You Stop

I came across this a few months ago and just found it again.  I have mentioned before that in another life I could enjoy a career in photojournalism.  The best images simply take your breath away for a moment.  This example is one of the best of the craft I have seen recently...I hope it wins some recognition. 

 

A boy swings in a park converted to a cemetery in the northwestern Syrian town of Idlib on Saturday. RODRIGO ABD / Associated Press

What does this image say to you?  Are the graves in this converted city park marching inexorably toward the swing, and the innocence of youth it represents?  Perhaps toward the boy? 

(The full caption from the Tulsa World is included to acknowledge the photographer, the image was originally dated in March of 2012.)