May 17: Your lens to the interne t's most powerful photographs. 📸

May 17: Week in Photography

Your lens to the internet's most powerful photographs.

📸 MOST POWERFUL PHOTO OF THE WEEK 📸

Alex Brandon / AP Images

President Donald Trump badly wants to shift the narrative of the ongoing pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout, and in trying to do so, he has proved to be less than reliable with facts.

This photo speaks to the power of messaging, even if the messaging is incorrect, even if the messaging is incorrect. While the United States is indeed performing a large number of tests, it lags behind other countries in tests per capita, a more effective measurement. This image by Alex Brandon of the Associated Press is a powerful reminder that shouting the loudest doesn't make you right.

📸For Your 👀 Only:

BEHIND THE PULITZER PRIZE

The photo desk at Reuters has now won the Pulitzer Prize for photography two years in a row. This year, the work that its photojournalists did during the protests in Hong Kong was recognized, while last year it was their work on immigration along the US–Mexico border.

Reuters is a powerhouse wire agency, and these images were likely used in countless publications around the globe, although not as a collection. We spoke with photo editor Ahmad Masood and Rickey Rogers, the global editor of Reuters Pictures, about their work.

Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES RELATED TO THIS PROJECT IN HONG KONG?

Ahmad Masood: It was physically taxing for the team on the ground, with long days followed by long nights, and tear gas combined with the heat and humidity. There was a lot of waiting, and then running during violent clashes, extending over several months. On any long-running story like this, the tough part is to keep the pictures appealing and the team motivated. When stories run long, public interest naturally fades. We bring a diverse team from around the world who can help move the story constantly forward with their own distinct styles.

WHAT WAS THE MOST EFFECTIVE IMAGE?

A.M.: I can’t highlight one picture. It is a collection of the right pictures put together in a sequence that makes a strong entry.

Tyrone Siu / Reuters

TO WHAT CAN YOU ATTRIBUTE YOUR SUCCESS?

Rickey Rogers: Fundamentally, two things – teamwork and diversity. In each winning entry, there were, coincidentally, pictures from 11 photographers, but nearly 30 photographers from four continents rotated through each story. Each photographer came to the coverage with her/his own experience and viewpoint, contributing together a diversity of images both in content and aesthetics. This has worked well for us in reporting on and documenting the countless aspects of a news story of this magnitude and nature. And we have an editor with a special gift for building narratives from the thousands of pictures that were edited in each case.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

DOES THIS RECOGNITION CHANGE THE WAY THAT YOU WORK?

R.R.: We don’t work for awards, but this does help confirm that we’ve done a good job on a very important and competitive story. Our core mission as journalists is what truly matters beyond any prize: to report the news to the world.

Adnan Abidi / Reuters

📸THE WEEK'S PHOTO STORIES FROM BUZZFEED NEWS 📸

It's baby steps this week. Mother's Day feels like it was a month ago, because time is relative like that, but there were some truly moving photo tributes to moms.

We checked in on the world and found that some countries are reopening, with new social distancing guidelines transforming public spaces, while others, such as Brazil, are struggling with escalating outbreaks. Closed borders encouraged Finbarr O'Reilly to get creative — when he received the prestigious Carmignac award, he decided to share it with local journalists until he was able to visit Congo himself.

Find more of the week's best photo stories here.

FINBARR O'REILLY CAN'T TRAVEL TO THE CONGO — SO HE'S LIFTING UP LOCAL VOICES INSTEAD

Arlette Bashizi

"This is a way to amplify their voices on work they’re already doing, taking it beyond the communities that would already be sharing this information, and give it the platform"

THESE PICTURES SHOW WHAT THE BRAND-NEW DISTANCED WORLD LOOKS LIKE

Sebastien Salom-gomis / Getty Images

"As countries around the world start to cautiously reopen, many are reshaping their public spaces to encourage social distancing."

📸YOUR WEEKLY PALATE CLEANSER 📸

Kazuhiro Nogi

Just like these penguins, keep soldiering on through it.

"That's it for this time — see you next week!" —Kate

📝 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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