--- title: PHOTOS: The 10 Best Photo Essays of the Month - April 2015 description: Photojournalism Links selects, each month, the best photography published online canonical: https://time.com/3844596/photojournalism-links-april/ author: Mikko Takkunen article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-04T12:22:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:40:15.777Z article:section: World og:title: The 10 Best Photo Essays of the Month - April 2015 og:description: Photojournalism Links selects, each month, the best photography published online og:url: https://time.com/3844596/photojournalism-links-april/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4b0f9e2de2eb8c7/6987ee1f428a9e3497ccb398/california-drought.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: A housing development on the edge of undeveloped desert in Cathedral City, Calif. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The 10 Best Photo Essays of the Month - April 2015 twitter:description: Photojournalism Links selects, each month, the best photography published online twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4b0f9e2de2eb8c7/6987ee1f428a9e3497ccb398/california-drought.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The 10 Best Photo Essays of the Month (4 May 2015) by [Mikko Takkunen](/author/mikko-takkunen/) ## Mikko Takkunen May 4, 2015 12:22 PM CUT  The New York Times: California DroughtA housing development on the edge of undeveloped desert in Cathedral City, Calif., April 3, 2015. The New York Times: California DroughtA housing development on the edge of undeveloped desert in Cathedral City, Calif., April 3, 2015.Damon Winter—The New York Times/Redux by [Mikko Takkunen](/author/mikko-takkunen/) ## Mikko Takkunen May 4, 2015 12:22 PM CUT _This month’s Photojournalism Links collection highlights 10 excellent photo essays from across the world, including The New York_ Times _staff photographer Damon Winter’s stunning aerial pictures documenting the ongoing drought in California._ [**Damon Winter: California Drought (The New York** **_Times_** **)**](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/us/california-drought-tests-history-of-endless-growth.html "undefined") [**Bryan Denton: 100 Years Later, a Genocide Haunts the Armenian Psyche (The New York** **_Times_** **)**](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/world/europe/turkeys-century-of-denial-about-an-armenian-genocide.html "undefined")These compelling pictures capture sites related to the Armenian genocide that took place one hundred years ago. [**Newsha Tavakolian: Women Taking the Battle to ISIS (TIME LightBox)**](http://time.com/3767133/meet-the-women-taking-the-battle-to-isis/ "undefined")Powerful series on a cadre of female Kurdish soldiers fighting Islamic militants in Syria. [**David Guttenfelder: Harnessing the Mekong (National Geographic)**](http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/mekong-dams/guttenfelder-photography "undefined") National Geographic Photography Fellow Guttenfelder’s work documents life along the Mekong River in five different countries. [**Adriane Ohanesian: Inside Sudan’s War-Torn Darfur (TIME LightBox)**](http://time.com/3834434/sudan-darfur-rebels-civilians-photos/ "undefined")These rare pictures capture rebels and fleeing civilians in Darfur. [**Wayne Lawrence: Taking Back Detroit (National Geographic)**](http://www.nationalgeographic.com/taking-back-detroit/ "undefined")Portraits and audio of Motor City residents. [**James Mollison: Playground (Wired)**](http://www.wired.com/2015/04/james-mollison-playground/ "undefined") Fascinating, insightful photographs of children’s playgrounds around world. [**Moises Saman: Digging for Gold in the Andes (The New Yorker Photo Booth)**](http://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/digging-for-gold-in-the-andes "undefined")Magnum photographer documents the unregulated gold mining in the Peruvian Andes. [**Katie Orlinsky: Taken at the Border (The New Yorker Photo Booth)** ](http://www.newyorker.com/project/portfolio/taken-at-the-border "undefined")Orlinsky documents the U.S.-Mexico border from empty stash houses to young migrants who have been extorted. [**Christopher Griffith: Foot Soldiers (The New York** **_Times_** **Magazine)**](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/23/magazine/shoeshine-slideshow.html "undefined") Excellent photographs of Manhattan shoe shiners’ hands.  The New York Times: California DroughtA housing development on the edge of undeveloped desert in Cathedral City, Calif., April 3, 2015. Damon Winter—The New York Times/Redux  The New York Times: 100 Years Later, a Genocide Haunts the Armenian PsycheThe Ani ruins, once the capital of an Armenian kingdom that stretched from eastern Turkey into modern-day Armenia, in Ani, Turkey, April 8, 2015. Bryan Denton—The New York Times/Redux  TIME LightBox: The Women Taking the Battle to ISIS18-year-old YPJ (Women's Protection Unit) fighter Torin Khairegi: “We live in a world where women are dominated by men. We are here to take control of our future. I injured an ISIS jihadi in Kobani. When he was wounded, all his friends left him behind and ran away. Later I went there and buried his body. I now feel that I am very powerful and can defend my home, my friends, my country, and myself. Many of us have been martyred and I see no path other than the continuation of their path." Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  From the May issue of National Geographic magazine: Harnessing the Mekong Vietnam A riverboat loaded with rice moves slowly through one of the canals that crisscross the delta. Dams will trap fertile sediments upstream, threatening harvests. David Guttenfelder  TIME LightBox: Inside Sudan's War-Torn Darfur Hundreds of women and children seek shelter in a cave from the bombing by government forces outside of the town of Sarong in Central Darfur, Sudan, March 2, 2015. Adriane Ohanesian  From the May issue of National Geographic magazine: Taking Back DetroitKenneth Morgan, a Gulf War veteran, returned to Detroit four years ago after 30 years away. He left when he was nine years old, traveling the world with his military father, but chose to settle his family in Detroit because, he says, “it’s home. There’s no place like home.” Morgan, his wife, Robin, and their children, Gary Effler and Kenneth D. and Korey Morgan, are renovating a duplex they bought on the East Side for $1,800 plus back taxes. “I figure if I can fight for my country, I can definitely fight for my city.” Wayne Lawrence—National Geographic  Wired: Playground Aida Boys School, Bethlehem, West Bank. James Mollison  The New Yorker Photo Booth: Digging for Gold in the AndesMiners return home carrying bags filled with rocks, some of which may contain gold. The mines operate on an ancient labor system called cachorreo, which is usually described as thirty days of unpaid work followed by a single frantic day in which workers get to keep whatever gold they can haul out for themselves. Moises Saman—Magnum  The New Yorker Photo Booth: Taken at the BorderA vehicle transporting 12 undocumented migrants is pulled over in La Joya near MCallen, Texas on the US-Mexico border. Katie Orlinsky  The New York Times Magazine: Foot Soldiers Bolivar Gomez, Ecuador, 47. 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