In its first year, TIME’s photography blog, LightBox, has published well over 500 posts—an average of ten a week. We hope that the strength of LightBox has not only been evident in the quality of the work but also in the variety of photography showcased.
The site’s intent was established from the first post, a multimedia piece about Eugene Richards’ eloquent and moving War is Personal. Original essays by TIME’s contract photographers, most notably James Nachtwey in Japan and Yuri Kozyrev in Libya, set the bar for LightBox in its first weeks—and for photojournalism in general—in an unprecedented year of extraordinary consequence.
In the gallery above, some of TIME’s photo editors reflect on a year of tremendous images and recommend posts that are worth a second look. We’ll also be highlighting selections from more of the staff behind LightBox throughout the day on our Tumblr blog. We welcome suggestions from our readers as well, either in the comments below or on Twitter.
From all of us at LightBox, thanks for being a part of our beginning—and here’s to another year of great photography!
Kimberly Rivera, at home with her son in Toronto. Rivera defected to Canada so that she would not be separated from her family by another tour in Iraq.From War Becomes Personal: Interview with Eugene Richards on Capturing the Aftermath of the Iraq War, posted Mar. 15, 2011."This was the very first post ever produced for LightBox and we wanted it to set the standard for what we aim to publish each day," says TIME's deputy photo editor, Paul Moakley. "Eugene Richards' work from War Is Personal is a lasting testament to the power of great photography and journalism done with an incredible amount of soul and compassion. The images drew me into the often under reported stories about the casualties of war, and they haunted and changed me for the better."
Eugene RichardsEric, 3, lives with two siblings, their mother and grandparents in a trailer park for migrant farm workers in Firebaugh, Calif. His grandmother regularly walks two miles with him to pick up free food from the local community center to supplement the family’s $350/week income.From Below The Line: Portraits of American Poverty, posted Nov. 17, 2011."Joakim Eskildsen's powerful set of pictures depicting poverty in America is one of the most poignant posts of the year," says TIME's director of photography, Kira Pollack. "Eskildsen's dignified portraits and moody landscapes made across five states are filled with soul and heart and shed new light on an ongoing crisis that's often forgotten."Joakim Eskildsen for TIMEIn an effort to record the year of his life leading up to the millennium, Jeff Harris took a self-portrait each day and posted them to his website. 2012 marks year fourteen of this inspired and ever-evolving art project that documents a life well lived.From Jeff Harris: 4,748 Self-Portraits and Counting, posted Jan. 23, 2011."Our video featuring the work of Jeff Harris on LightBox has garnered worldwide attention to Jeff and his self portraiture project," says Natalie Matutschovsky, senior photo editor. "Even Marina Abramović, the world-famous performance artist, sought Jeff out so that she too could collaborate with him and shoot his portrait."Jeff HarrisAn Afghan mujahideen fighter carries a U.S. made stinger missile up a hill near Jaji, eastern Afghanistan. February, 1988.From A Long and Distant War: Photos from Afghanistan, 1988 – 2009, posted Oct. 3, 2011."In light of what's going on and the chaos," says associate photo editor Crary Pullen, "the past is coming back to haunt U.S. and NATO forces."Robert NickelsbergAn HIV positive girl, 12, stands near the grave of her father at the family burial ground near their rural home. She has lost both of her parents to AIDS and is now cared for by her HIV positive aunt along with her brother and cousin. She often collects fire wood around the site where many of her extended family are buried.From Krisanne Johnson's Kickstarter: From the Series Photojournalism at the Crossroads, posted Dec. 29, 2011."To pick one post from this past year is nigh impossible," says senior photo editor Phil Bicker of this post, which predates the official launch of LightBox. "But the most satisfying moment was probably to see the first posts from Photojournalism at the Crossroads go up on the new LightBox site and to realize the potential for what would follow."Krisanne Johnson—Magnum Foundation Emergency FundInterrogations Series, 2010.From A Gun to Your Head: Inside Post-Soviet Interrogation Rooms, posted Feb. 13, 2012."When I first saw the series, I literally could not take my eyes off the photographs," says associate editor Feifei Sun. "I think it's such a harrowing examination of how power and corruption play out in these nations."Donald Weber—VIIThe charred remains of more than 50 people, victims of an alleged massacre by Muammar Gaddafi loyalists, lie in a warehouse on a military base in Tripoli, August 27, 2011.From The Battle for Tripoli: Photographs by Yuri Kozyrev, posted Aug. 30, 2011.
"An intense depiction of the horrors of war," says TIME's international picture editor Patrick Witty.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for TIME
Thornton Dial at his home in Bessemer, Alabama. Surrounded by family photos and his drawings.From Bomb scares, lost film and life lessons. Mark Mahaney's session with artist Thornton Dial, posted April 24, 2011."I love when Lightbox pulls back the curtain on a portrait shoot," says associate photo editor Neil Harris. "Mark Mahaney's tale of photographing Thornton Dial was a deeply affecting reminder of how human they each were—and the resulting portrait was transcendent."Mark Mahaney for TIMEDarrow, La. Bauxite waste from aluminum smelting, including contaminants such as lead, sits in a storage impoundment. As the surface dries, it turns to dust and spreads beyond the impoundment. From Terribly Beautiful: Industrial Pollution Seen From Above, posted April 20, 2011."It was a fantastic way of approaching a topic that is oversaturated and bringing something new to the table," says TIME.com associate photo editor Yumi Goto. "For a second you're fooled by the beauty of these images—until you realize that what you're looking at is toxic waste."J Henry FairLieutenant Kevin Gaughan from Lima Company of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, meets with family members of Gulmakay, a 14-year-old Afghan girl killed by a U.S. mortar strike in Marjah, Afghanistan.From Witness to a Civilian Casualty, posted Aug. 10, 2010."I was moved by the way Adam's simple but well-told story encapsulates the frustrations and tragedies of this, and every war," says associate photo editor Myles Little.Adam Ferguson—VII Network for TIME
Damian Ross (left) and Gary Cosgrove embrace on the steps of the Manhattan City Clerk's office while waiting in line on July 24, 2011.From To Have and to Hold: Gay Marriages in New York City Begin, posted July 24, 2011."I liked it because it took something that was an important on a public level as its subject matter, but gave it an extremely personal treatment," says Jared Miller, a photo editor at TIME.com. "Five photographers in five boroughs shot the day's biggest story, but the incredibly intimate photos made each couple's personal narratives the most compelling stories of all."Edward Keating—Contact for TIME
