The 10 Best Photo Essays of the Month

3 minute read
Child Marriage in Guatemala
The New York Times: Child, Bride, MotherSaida, 14, with her month-old son.Stephanie Sinclair—Too Young to Wed
By Mikko Takkunen

This month’s Photojournalism Links collection highlights 10 excellent photo essays from across the world, including Stephanie Sinclair‘s work on child and underage brides in Guatemala in the latest installment of her decade-long project spanning 10 countries to document the issue of child marriage around the world. In Guatemala, over half of all girls are married before 18, and over 10% under 15. Many girls marry men far older than themselves, end up withdrawing from school and become mothers long before they are physically and emotionally ready. Sinclair’s powerful pictures and accompanying video capture Guatemalan girls trying to come to terms with the harsh realities of early motherhood, especially for those who have been abandoned by their husbands.

Stephanie Sinclair: Child, Bride, Mother (The New York Times) See also the Too Young To Wed website.

Sebastian Liste: The Media Doesn’t Care What Happens Here (The New York Times Magazine) These photographs capture a group of amateur journalists trying to cover the violence in one of the largest urban slums in Brazil, Complexo do Alemão in Rio de Janeiro.

Ross McDonnell: Inside the Frozen Trenches of Eastern Ukraine (TIME LightBox) The Irish photographer documented the Ukrainian soldiers in the week preceding the most recent, fragile cease-fire.

Sergey Ponomarev: Pro-Russian fighters in the ruins of Donetsk airport (The Globe and Mail) Haunting scenes of the Pro-Russian held remains of Donetsk airport.

Alex Majoli: Athens (National Geographic) The Magnum photographer captures the people of Greece’s struggling capital for the magazine’s Two Cities, Two Europes feature on Athens and Berlin.

Gerd Ludwig: Berlin (National Geographic) Ludwig documents Germany’s booming capital for the magazine’s Two Cities, Two Europes feature on Athens and Berlin.

John Stanmeyer: Fleeing Terror, Finding Refuge (National Geographic) These photographs show the desperate conditions facing Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Edmund Clark: The Mountains Of Majeed (Wired RawFile) The British photographer’s latest book is the Bagram Airfield U.S. Military base in Afghanistan, which one held the infamous detention facility. Also published on TIME LightBox.

Sarker Protick: What Remains (The New Yorker Photo Booth) This moving, beautiful series documents the photographer’s grandparents. The work was recently awarded 2nd Prize in the Daily Life stories category in the World Press Photo 2015 contest.

Muhammed Muheisen: Leading a Double Life in Pakistan (The Washington Post In Sight) The Associated Press photographer captures a group of cross-dressers and transgender Pakistani men to offer a glimpse of a rarely seen side of the conservative country.

Child Marriage in Guatemala
The New York Times: Child, Bride, MotherSaida, 14, with her month-old son. Stephanie Sinclair—Too Young to Wed
The New York Times Magazine: ‘The Media Doesn’t Care What Happens Here’The Complexo do Alemão favelas in Rio de Janeiro.
The New York Times Magazine: ‘The Media Doesn’t Care What Happens Here’The Complexo do Alemão favelas in Rio de Janeiro.Sebastian Liste—NOOR for The New York Times
Ukrainian soldiers conduct operations along the road in Artemivsk, Ukraine, Feb.15, 2015.
TIME LightBox: Inside the Frozen Trenches of Eastern UkraineUkrainian soldiers conduct operations along the road in Artemivsk, Ukraine, Feb.15, 2015.Ross McDonnell
The Globe and Mail: Pro-Russian fighters in the ruins of Donetsk airport Pro-Russian separatist fighter seen at his position in Donetsk airport, Ukraine, Feb. 10, 2015.
The Globe and Mail: Pro-Russian fighters in the ruins of Donetsk airport Pro-Russian separatist fighter seen at his position in Donetsk airport, Ukraine, Feb. 10, 2015. Sergey Ponomarev
PERMITTED USE: This image may be downloaded or is otherwise provided at no charge for one-time use for coverage or promotion of National Geographic magazine dated March 2015 and exclusively in conjunction thereof.  No copying, distribution or archiving permitted.  Sublicensing, sale or resale is prohibited.      REQUIRED CREDIT AND CAPTION: All image uses must bear the copyright notice and be properly credited to the relevant photographer, as shown in this metadata, and must be accompanied by a caption, which makes reference to NGM.  Any uses in which the image appears without proper copyright notice, photographer credit and a caption referencing NGM are subject to paid licensing.        Mandatory usage requirements: (Please note: you may select 5 branded images for online use and 3 images for print/unbranded)  1. Include mandatory photo credit with each image as shown in caption below2. Show the March cover of National Geographic somewhere in the post (credit: National Geographic) unless using only one image3. Provide a prominent link to: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/two-cities/nicolson-textat the top of your piece, ahead of the photos4. Mention that the images are from "the March issue of National Geographic magazine”ATHENSPhotos by Alex Majoli/National Geographic011:Police frisk young men on Aeschylus Street, near Omonia Square in Athens. Rates of drug use, prostitution, and HIV infection have risen in the area since the crisis began.
From the March issue of National Geographic magazine: Athens Police frisk young men on Aeschylus Street, near Omonia Square in Athens. Rates of drug use, prostitution, and HIV infection have risen in the area since the crisis began.Alex Majoli—National Geographic
From the March issue of National Geographic magazine: Berlin The Sony Center in Berlin stands in the high-sheen Potsdamer Platz, where the Wall had split the city.
From the March issue of National Geographic magazine: Berlin The Sony Center in Berlin stands in the high-sheen Potsdamer Platz, where the Wall had split the city.Gerd Ludwig—National Geographic
From the March issue of National Geographic magazine: Fleeing Terror, Finding RefugeWith their homes in Ayn al Arab, Syria, under attack, ethnic Kurds push toward a barbed wire fence at the Turkish border.
From the March issue of National Geographic magazine: Fleeing Terror, Finding RefugeWith their homes in Ayn al Arab, Syria, under attack, ethnic Kurds push toward a barbed wire fence at the Turkish border.John Stanmeyer—National Geographic
Wired Rawfile: The Mountains Of MajeedScene from Bagram Airfield U.S. military base in Afghanistan.
Wired Rawfile: The Mountains Of MajeedScene from Bagram Airfield U.S. military base in Afghanistan.Edmund Clark
The New Yorker Photo Booth: What RemainsGrandparents John and Prova.
The New Yorker Photo Booth: What RemainsGrandparents John and Prova.Sarker Protick
The Washington Post In Sight: Leading a Double Life in PakistanWaseem Akram, 27, applies makeup on his face as he prepares himself for a party at a friend's place in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Jan. 10, 2015.
The Washington Post In Sight: Leading a Double Life in PakistanWaseem Akram, 27, applies makeup on his face as he prepares himself for a party at a friend's place in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Jan. 10, 2015.Muhammed Muheisen—AP

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