The 10 Best Photo Essays of the Month

  • National Geographic: How Ebola Found Fertile Ground in ​Sierra Leone's Chaotic CapitalAt Sierra Leone's Hastings Ebola Treatment Center, staff help a man suffering from Ebola-induced delirium after he fled the isolation ward and tried to escape. Mental breakdowns are common in advanced Ebola. The man died about 12 hours later.
    Pete Muller—Prime for National Geographic
    1 of 10
  • The New York Times: In Africa, Mosquito Nets Are Putting Fish at RiskTwo men use a mosquito net in shallows of Lake Victoria to catch baby catfish to sell as bait, in Kenya, Aug. 2014.
    Uriel SInai—The New York Times/Redux
    2 of 10
  • The Washington Post In Sight: The enemy within: A closer look at survivors of Boko Haram attacks across Northern NigeriaEight month old Afiniki lost her left arm in a Boko Haram attack on the Christian village of Chakawa in Jos, Nigeria, Jan. 2014.
    Andy Spyra—laif/Redux
    3 of 10
  • TIME LightBox: Exploring the Mawlids of EgyptWorshippers at a celebration at the Sayeda Zeinab mosque take part in a performance called Hadra, in which they whirl for long periods. Downtown Cairo, Egypt, May 20, 2014.
    Mosa'ab Elshamy
    4 of 10
  • Paris Match L'Instant: In Ukraine, The Frozen Tears of Donetsk Mourners gather around a coffin bearing Artiam, 4, who was killed in a Ukrainian army artillery strike, during his funeral in Kuivisevsky district on the outskirts of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Jan. 20, 2015.
    Manu Brabo—AP
    5 of 10
  • From the January issue of National Geographic magazine: Healing Soldiers Marine Cpl. Chris McNair (Ret.) Afghanistan 2011-12 Impeccable in his Marine uniform and outwardly composed, McNair sits on the porch of his parents’ home in Virginia, anonymous behind a mask he made in an art therapy session. “I was just going through pictures, and I saw the mask of Hannibal Lecter, and I thought, ‘That’s who I am’ … He’s probably dangerous, and that’s who I felt I was. I had this muzzle on with all these wounds, and I couldn’t tell anyone about them. I couldn’t express my feelings.”
    Lynn Johnson—National Geographic
    6 of 10
  • From the February issue of National Geographic magazine: Treading WatersIn Biscayne Bay the Venetian Causeway connects Miami Beach to Miami (in the distance) by way of the six man-made Venetian Islands, which epitomize waterfront living.
    George Steinmetz—National Geographic
    7 of 10
  • Wired Raw File: Ninjas: Gold Rush In MongoliaMiner at work in Zaamar, Mongolia.
    Álvaro Laiz
    8 of 10
  • The New York Times Lens: An Immigrant’s Dream for a Better LifeBlanca's boyfriend Daniel tried to get her attention in her bedroom that she shares with her parents in their tiny home in Bakersfield, Calif. The two do not get to see each other very much while she studies up north in Berkeley. Bianca has spent most of her life in Bakersfield with her mother, and agricultural worker, her father, a gardener, and her younger sister, Sonia, who was born in the United States. A public health and pre-med student at the University of California, Berkeley, she received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama executive order granting temporary legal status to eligible undocumented youths, in February 2013. Bianca was one of 900,00 undocumented youths eligible to apply. Nov. 2013.
    Mark Abramson
    9 of 10
  • TIME LightBox: In The Bag for NorthCarlos Gomez, 34, from Guatemala. He already has lived in Miami for ten years until he was deported five month ago. He tried to go back in U.S. but was deported again from Mexico. In his bag has a shirt, scissors, a pair of pants, razorblade, pills, shampoo, deodorant, a can of coke and a T-shirt.
    Emanuele Satolli
    10 of 10
By Mikko Takkunen

This month’s Photojournalism Links collection highlights 10 excellent photo essays from across the world spanning five continents, including Pete Muller‘s powerful work shot in the Ebola-ridden Sierra Leone. His two sets of photographs, featured below, were made on assignment for National Geographic, and are the first two in a four-part series examining the epidemic in West Africa. Muller’s pictures document the battle fought by medical workers, body collectors, and burial teams to bring the crisis ravaging Freetown and the country, under control. The story and images from the city’s King Tom cemetery are particularly harrowing; in just a few months, it has been expanded to three times its former size and the large number of fresh burial mounds make it look more like a construction site than a typical graveyard.

Pete Muller: How Ebola Found Fertile Ground in Sierra Leone’s Chaotic Capital | How the Fight Against Ebola Tested a Culture’s Traditions (National Geographic News)

Uriel Sinai: In Africa, Mosquito Nets Are Putting Fish at Risk (The New York Times) These stunning photographs by Uriel Sinai from Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia, show how mosquito nets meant for Malaria protection have ended up being widely used in fishing, since they are cheaper than actual fishing nets and can be even more effective, especially in shallow waters.

Andy Spyra: The enemy within: Boko Haram’s reign of terror across Northern Nigeria | The enemy within: A closer look at survivors of Boko Haram attacks across Northern Nigeria (The Washington Post In Sight) The German photographer has spent more than three years documenting the northern Nigeria. His pictures provide a rare view into communities under Boko Haram’s terror.

Mosa’ab Elshamy: Exploring the Mawlids of Egypt (TIME LightBox) These excellent photographs capture spiritual celebrations within Egyptian Sufism.

Manu Brabo: In Ukraine, The Frozen Tears of Donetsk (Paris Match L’Instant) The Spanish photographer, known for his work in Syria, is now in Ukraine to document the upsurge in fighting. | See also Brabo’s work on the MSNBC and Al Jazeera America websites

Lynn Johnson: Healing Soldiers (The National Geographic) Compelling portraits of U.S. soldiers treating their war traumas by participating in art therapy, where they create painted masks to express how they feel. The images painted on them symbolize themes such as death, physical pain, and patriotism.

George Steinmetz: Treading Water (The National Geographic) These pictures from Florida’s southeastern coastline capture a region with a lot to lose as sea levels continue to rise.

Álvaro Laiz: Ninjas: Gold Rush In Mongolia (Wired Raw File) These photographs document the hard and dangerous work of amateur gold miners.

Mark Abramson: An Immigrant’s Dream for a Better Life (The New York Times Lens) Extraordinary, in-depth photo essay that follows the life of a young Mexican immigrant woman and her family in California.

Emanuele Satolli: In the Bag for North (TIME LightBox) Revealing still life images of Central American migrants’ sparse belonging on their journey toward the United States.

More Must-Reads From TIME

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