PJL: April 2014 (Part 1)

Features and Essays

Kadir van Lohuizen: Rising Seas | Borrowed Time on Disappearing Land (New York Times) Some areas of the globe are especially vulnerable to rising sea levels. As land recedes under advancing waters, governments are faced with the costs of building defensive seawalls and relocating coastal populations — and in some extreme cases, finding new homes for entire island nations.

Valerio Bispuri: Typhoon Yolanda: the aftermath (Echo Photo Agency) Four months after the typhoon , the situation on the island of Leyte is still dramatic.

Chris Steele-Perkins: Myanmar Muslims (Magnum) After decades of oppression and corruption Myanmar is looking to a brighter future

Bryan Denton: Campaign of Resilience (New York Times) Photos on Afghanistan’s presidential campaigns

Lynsey Addario: The New Face of Afghanistan (LightBox) Addario traveled to Afghanistan ahead of upcoming presidential elections, where the first female governor in the country, Habiba Sarabi, is now the first woman running for vice-president

Victor J. Blue: Afghans kick off historic election (MSNBC) Blue captured some of the candidates as well as ordinary Afghans in the run-up to the election, and spoke to them about their hopes for a more peaceful and prosperous future.

Tyler Hicks: Voting in Afghanistan Amid Unrelenting Violence (New York Times) In bullet-ridden Afghan districts, free vote seems an empty promise

Edwin Koo: Paradise in a Pakistani Valley (New York Times Lens blog) A photographer’s at first puzzling encounter with people displaced from their beloved Swat Valley led him to consider what makes a place paradise.

Lynsey Addario: Million Syrian Refugees in Lebanon (TIME.com) Syrian refugees account for one-fourth of Lebanon’s population

Hossein Fatemi: Veiled Truths (New York Times) In Iran, the government insists that all women wear hijab, whenever they are in the presence of men who are not close relatives

Larry Towell: Maidan Square Demonstrations (Magnum) Panoramic photos from February’s turmoil in Kiev

Lauren Fleishman: Grande Dame of Paris (LightBox) Tribute to the Eiffel Tower on its 125th birthday

Rick Loomis: Central African Republic: Flight from Rage (Los Angeles Times) Loomis spent two weeks in the Central African Republic reporting on the sectarian violence there. He followed a convoy of Muslim refugees on a harrowing 400-mile journey to safety in Cameroon.

Michael Zumstein: Crisis in Central African Republic (Agence Vu)

James Whitlow Delano: In Cameroon’s Rain Forest, a Fragile Way of Life (Bloomberg) In Cameroon’s Anglophone southwest, the unpaved highways and lack of electrical power contrast with the infrastructure in the more politically powerful Francophone regions.

Pieter Hugo: Portraits of Reconciliation (New York Times Magazine) 20 years after the genocide in Rwanda, reconciliation still happens one encounter at a time

Susana Raab: The Other Washington (Politico magazine) Exploration of the other side of Washington, D.C.—the poverty-stricken, blighted communities in the far northeast and east of Anacostia River that seem to go unnoticed, eclipsed by the classical monuments, political imbroglio and international intrigue, literally, next door.

Christopher Anderson: Portraits of 26 Musicians Who Shaped New York City (New York Magazine) As part of the magazine’s look back at pop music in New York City over the past 100 years, New York/Magnum photographer Christopher Anderson shot these portraits of 26 musicians who shaped the sound of the five boroughs.

Alex Majoli: ‘Mad Men’ Up Close: Photos From the Set of the Celebrated Show (LightBox) Majoli’s black and white portraits of the Mad Men cast harken back to long gone years when photographers worked and mingled backstage and, every once in a while, came away with pure gold.

Richard Renaldi: Manhattan Sunday (The New Yorker’s Photo Booth) A series of early-morning portraits from New York

Alejandro Cegarra: Venezuela’s ‘vertical slum’ (CNN Photos) Located in Venezuela’s capital is the Tower of David, a half-finished skyscraper that has become a slum for thousands of people. Photographer Alejandro Cegarra, who lives near the building, visited last year and documented the lives of those who call the tower home.

Articles

Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus killed (British Journal of Photography) Veteran photographer Anja Niedringhaus was killed when an Afghan policeman opened fire on her vehicle in eastern Afghanistan, a day before the presidential elections she was covering.

Parting Glance: Anja Niedringhaus (New York Times Lens blog)

In Memoriam: Anja Niedringhaus (1965–2014) (LightBox)

AP journalists remember Anja Niedringhaus (AP Big Story)

Colleague and Friend Remembers Slain Photographer Anja Niedringhaus (National Geographic News) David Guttenfelder, who worked closely with Niedringhaus, says her death is “a profound loss for photojournalism.”

Archive BBC post about Anja Niedringhaus on her Sarajevo work (BBC) This 2011 post shines a light on Niedringhaus’s early conflict photography career

Kidnapped photojournalist, reporter freed in Syria (NPPA) Photojournalist Ricardo Garcia-Vilanova, kidnapped along with reporter Javier Espinosa in northern Syria last September, was freed along with Espinosa end of March

Reuters maintains dogged silence on allegations of ‘staged images’ (British Journal of Photography) After allegations surfaced that some of Reuters’ freelance photographers have fabricated photographs of the Syrian conflict, the news wire organisation remains tight-lipped, refusing to answer any questions

Reading the Pictures: Were Reuters “Boy in a Syrian Bomb Factory” Photos Staged? (BagNewsNotes)

The Dysfunctional Guitar: More on the Reuters Syria Photo Controversy (BagNewsNotes)

Humanity Among the Ruins (No Caption Needed) Robert Hariman on what happens when suffering is prolonged, destruction becomes routine, war is normalized, and searing images turn into genres of catastrophe?

Revisiting the Rwandan Genocide: Origin Stories From The Associated Press (PROOF) Jean-Marc Bouju and David Guttenfelder remember covering Rwanda

Michael S. Williamson’s photos from the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide (Washington Post)

Revisiting the Rwandan Genocide: How Churches Became Death Traps (PROOF) David Guttenfelder in Kigali documenting the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide

Gilless Peress’ work from Rwanda in 1994 (CNN Photos) Twenty years ago this month, mass killings began in the tiny African country of Rwanda. Shortly after the genocide began, photographer Gilles Peress traveled to Rwanda, a country he had visited only weeks before. The grim aftermath can be seen in his book “The Silence.”

Carol Guzy’s photos of Rwandan refugees returning from Zaire (Washington Post) Guzy made these images over several months in 1996. They document Rwandan refugees’ return from Zaire (now Congo) and efforts to reunite children with their parents.

A Guide to the Best Spring/Summer Photo Books (LigthtBox) LightBox presents a special preview of the season’s best photography books

War Photographer Captures Fallout From Combat at Home, Abroad (ABC News) “Disco Night Sept 11,” a new book by Red Hook Editions, presents Magnum photographer Peter van Agtmael’s documentation of America’s involvement in the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Finding Chris Hondros (New York Times Lens blog) Chris’s Hondros’s “Testament” book captures the mind and eye of a photographer who was killed in war. But to those who knew him, it is a chance to continue conversations started long ago.

Testament by Chris Hondros (Al Jazeera America) A new book features the late photographer’s images and first-person testimony as a witness to conflict around the world | Also on Rolling Stone here and NBC News here

Call of the wild: photographer Lucas Foglia beds down in the American west (Guardian) Cowboys stretching before a rodeo, toxic water flowing from fracked rocks … ranchers and miners go head to head in Foglia’s vast, cinematic photographs of the wild west that challenge all our notions of the US today | Sean O’Hagan on Foglia’s new book Frontcountry

Alexander Gronsky’s ‘Pastoral’ (The New Yorker’s Photo Booth) For “Pastoral,” Gronsky took to the fringes of Moscow, the suburbs between Russia’s most populous city and the countryside that surrounds it. The project is coming out as a book

A look at the great photographers’ developer trays (BBC) When John Cyr set out to photograph the tools of the darkroom he discovered in himself something unexpected – a passion to capture the chemical fingerprints of some of the world’s greatest photographers.

In Photography, Cool Rules (New York Times Lens blog) What good is being cool if nobody knows it? An exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery shows how cool and photography need each other | American Cool is open at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington and will remain on view through Sept. 7. More here

In Houston, FotoFest offers a lens on the Arab world (Al Jazeera America) Event is perhaps the largest exhibition to date of contemporary Arab photography and mixed media

The Art of Photojournalism (Financial Times) Over the past 10 years, photojournalists have increasingly captured the attention of the art world as their powerfully affecting images cross over from news agencies to gallery and museum walls.

Tomas van Houtryve Drone Essay Longest Ever Published by Harper’s (Photo District News) Van Houtryve takes on the proliferation of drones as weapons and as tools of surveillance in the April issue of Harper’s Magazine, in a photo essay titled “Blue Sky Days.” At 16 pages, it’s the largest picture story ever published in the magazine.

Chang W. Lee On Exploring a New World Every Day (New York Times Lens blog) A Manhattan exhibit celebrates Chang Lee’s 20 years as a photographer for The New York Times, a career that has taken him around the world and back in time.

Saul Leiter in Black and White (The New Yorker’s Photo Booth) Monochrome from the master of color

A Look Back at Burt Glinn (New York Times Lens blog) Sarah Stacke, who was hired to help Burt Glinn digitize his vast archives, recalls the lessons he taught her about doing things well and with love

Robb Kendrick: Life in India’s Coal Mines (PROOF) Kendrick on his work from the April issue of the National Geographic magazine

The Deutsche Börse shortlisted photographs of Congo’s civil war (Telegraph) Nominated for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, Richard Mosse’s video images give the Congolese conflict a disturbing pink tinge

On Assignment across Africa with @glennagordon (Instagram blog)

Shoot Stories: Mustafah Abdulaziz (Telegraph) Abdulaziz on photographing water scarcity in rural Pakistan | Photos here

Andrew McConnell’s best shot: a woman plays cello in a shanty town (Guardian)

Featured photographer: Randy Olson (Verve Photo)

Featured photographer: Ciril Jazbec (Verve Photo)

Featured photographer: Thierry Clech (Verve Photo)

World Press Photo Multimedia Awards Announced (LightBox) The winners of this year’s World Press Photo Multimedia Awards include an in depth look at national protests in Turkey and train surfing in South Africa.

Jassim Ahmad on being the World Press Photo Multimedia Jury (Medium) Trends and tips for visual storytelling

The Best of Photojournalism 2014 (New York Times Lens blog) The National Press Photographers Association’s Best of Photojournalism contest winners were announced Monday. John Tlumacki and Sean Proctor won top honors, and Patrick Smith was named Sports Photographer of the year.

Magnum Emergency Fund Announces 2014 Grantees (LightBox) The fund awards annual grants to photographers from around the world to support anticipatory work that sheds light on under-reported issues and communities.

VII Announces New Mentor Program Photographers (VII Photo) A roster of five photographers is joining agency’s Mentor Program, an education initiative launched in 2008 to provide professional development for emerging photographers whom VII consider to be amongst the brightest new talents in the industry.

Interviews and Talks

Lynsey Addario (CNN) Hala Gorani speaks to photographer Lynsey Addario about her work documenting the Syrian refugee crisis for the UNHCR.

James Estrin’s Career Tips for Photojournalists (PDN)

Eugene Richards on documenting the ravages of the 1980s crack epidemic (Al Jazeera America) Richards recorded the brutal realities facing communities affected by crack

Gerd Ludwig’s Long Look at the Chernobyl Disaster (PROOF)

Nadav Kander on How Great Portraits Are Made (PDN)

How Magnum Photographer David Hurn Captures Sublime Moments in Mundane Life (Vice)

In conversation with Ernesto Bazan about his life and his new book Isla (DVA Foto)

John Maloof and Charlie Siskel on their film Finding Vivian Maier (WNYC: The Leonard Lopate Show)

John Maloof, Director of ‘Finding Vivian Maier‘ (American Photo) In 2007 John Maloof won a box of negatives at a Chicago auction house, revealing one of the greatest photographic discoveries of the 21st century

Antoine D’Agata on ‘documenting the dirty‘ (Dazed and Confused)

Zed Nelson (Hot Shoe) Nelson on his ‘Love Me’ project

Carolyn Van Houten (New York Times Lens blog) Taking time and earning trust

Mikko Takkunen is an associate photo editor at TIME.com. Follow him on Twitter @photojournalism.