May 24: Week in Photography
Your lens to the internet's most powerful photographs. 📸 MOST POWERFUL PHOTO OF THE WEEK 📸  Tatiana De Nova / Getty Images While parts of the world are tentatively reopening, the coronavirus is wreaking havoc in Latin America, especially among Indigenous groups. Native communities in the United States have also seen an extremely high infection rate, with Doctors Without Borders being called in to assist on reservations. Many Indigenous groups have a traumatic history of eradication by disease and are urgently trying to bring higher visibility to the need for preventative measures and treatments. In this stark photo by Tatiana de Nevo, a Huitoto family poses for a portrait in Colombia.
 📸For Your 👀 Only: BEHIND THE PULITZER PRIZE As we start to reopen our society, the question everyone is asking is "What will the future look like?" Some want a return to normal, and some want to use this crisis as an opportunity to rebuild as something better, kinder, greener. We spoke with Jonathan Blaustein, who has been thinking about capitalism and consumption for over a decade, about his new book of images called Extinction Party.  "Yellow plastic fedora and yellow plastic tablecloth," 2017 What was the inspiration for this project? Extinction Party was meant to represent a through line between four interconnected projects I shot over 10 years. I was never interested in doing a book for any of the individual projects, but in late 2018, I realized together in one narrative, they would tell a larger story about American capitalism and overconsumption in the 21st century.
What was the hardest image to make? Probably the first image in the book, which is called "I took this from the trash and put it on my face." There was a little waste paper basket next to my desk, in my old studio, and I never, ever emptied it. So one day, I looked down into it, and saw a rolled-up ball of aluminum foil, which I'd used to wrap a peanut butter and jelly sandwich ages ago. I loved the idea of unfurling it, after six months, and making a faux death mask out of my own face. But it was so gross. I must have thought about doing it for 10 minutes before I worked up the courage to slap it on my skin.  "I took this from the trash and put it on my face," 2013 CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE INCLUSION OF THE MOUSE? Of course. There are all sorts of animals and animal parts included in the book, because I've long believed our overconsumption of animals, and destruction of so many species, would come back to haunt us, karmically. Including dead, wild animals seemed to fit alongside the cows, chickens, and pigs that come from industrial food production.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR PROCESS OF SELECTING THE OBJECTS? Great question. I think that's the link between all four series and the key theme in the book. Shopping. Choosing. Harvesting. Consuming. We make choices in the market every day, and as an artist, I thought shopping for objects was the equivalent of choosing my symbols.
 "My dead baby mouse," 2011 WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE IMAGE? How can you ask that question? They are like my 50 babies. If I HAD to answer, I might say the icicles picture. (Coincidentally, my daughter asked for a print of it today.) I will always remember knocking them off my roof, one at a time with a ski pole, and catching them as they fell. Little deadly spears, raining from the sky. I think I dropped one out of 15, which was pretty impressive, in my opinion. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the icicles.
IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT TWIN CATASTROPHES, HOW DO YOU HOPE THAT THIS WORK WILL BE RECEIVED? As I wrote in the introduction to the book, it was my intention to make a symbolic, metaphorical, absurd book. It was a warning, and not something I ever thought would be so literal. Now it seems predictive, given the timing, so I'd hope people consider how they might have a lighter footprint on the world, once things settle into a new normal. I think we can all limit our waste, at the very least, because we're now staring at the reality of an angry planet.  "My icicles," 2011  📸THE WEEK'S PHOTO STORIES FROM BUZZFEED NEWS 📸 As communities start to reopen and we relearn how to connect with each other, it's a good time to celebrate wins and check out our photo essay on graduations. It's also a moment to remember that issues of the old world will still exist in our next chapter: We still need to work to protect animals, Joel Sartore reminds us, and our relationship to nature is as fraught as ever, a point stressed by the flooding in Michigan.
SEE THE CREATIVE WAYS PEOPLE ARE CELEBRATING GRADUATION  Tony Gutierrez / AP Photo
THIS PHOTOGRAPHER IS WORKING TO DOCUMENT 15,000 SPECIES  Joel Sartore / The National Geographic Photo Ark "Each species that we photograph is precious, irreplaceable, and in my mind, has a basic right to exist."
DRAMATIC PHOTOS SHOW MASSIVE FLOODING AFTER TWO DAMS COLLAPSED IN MICHIGAN  Emily Elconin / Bloomberg via Getty Images
📸YOUR WEEKLY PALATE CLEANSER 📸  Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP Photo While many people are still living together, apart, it’s heartwarming to see this couple undergo a clinical trial to treat COVID-19(while in their eighties!) In this photo by Kristy Wigglesworth, George Gilbert, 85, and his wife, Domneva Gilbert, 84, hold hands during a short visit. They are being treated in different areas at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, England, May 21.
"That's it for this time — see you next week!" —Kate “The camera makes you forget you’re there. It’s not like you are hiding but you forget, you are just looking so much.” — Annie Leibovitz
📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by the News Photo team. Gabriel Sanchez is the photo essay editor based in New York and loves cats. Kate Bubacz is the photo director based in New York and loves dogs. You can always reach us here.
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