Michael Shaw, Author at Reading The Pictures

Faith Focus Photo November 26, 2014

Under Siege, Those Dancing Blacks and Acrobatic Palestinians

If I believed the world had that much more sensitivity, I would think these photos would be recognized and celebrated as empathetic to the largely black residents of Ferguson or to Palestinians and Israeli Arabs.

Ferguson MO Photo November 25, 2014

Mike Brown as Super Human: Wilson’s Testimony in the Echo of Lichtenstein’s Death Pile Photo

Human intuition being that much a marvel, Andrew's photo came back to me in a way that almost struck me dumb.

Ferguson MO Photo

Last Night's "No Indictment" Visual Rage: Ferguson's, Twitter's, Ours & Everybody Else's

This prime time, night time, #Ferguson cable countdown a disgrace and an insult to all Americans

International Focus Photo November 23, 2014

Mexico's Rage Also Elevates the Camera

What's noteworthy is the role and prominence of the camera across a good many of these shots.

Ferguson MO Photo

Prejudice in Ferguson: Zun Lee's White Cop

Suddenly, the agent of the state is more another young man, one out there alone, a little bit vulnerable perhaps.

Photo November 21, 2014

Obama's Immigration Reform: Ending Capitol Hill Run Around

In the next days and weeks, there’s going to be a lot of vitriol over why Obama went around Congress to implement immigration reforms by executive order. Tell it to the Dreamers.

International Focus Photo November 20, 2014

Atlanta Photojournalism's 1st Place Photo and the Afghan Girl

What becomes so powerful about Qadri's shot is the way this woman's head can actually seem to rotate from face forward, to sideways and hidden, as one unpacks the two.

International Focus Photo November 19, 2014

20 Years of Ebola, and How Photography Has Changed

A photography writer asked me the other day how the photos of the Ebola outbreak this year compared with those from the past two decades. What follows is an excursion with an eye on how news photos have changed.

International Focus Photo November 18, 2014

Looking Down on "Would-Be Immigrants": An Illustration for our Times

Isn't it interesting how the white folks so naturally claim ascendency by their "higher ground?"

Ferguson MO Photo November 17, 2014

The Ferguson Bigger Picture: Tokenism at Best

With all eyes on Ferguson to find out if Darren Wilson will be indicted for shooting Michael Brown, what these photos address is perhaps a more intractable problem: the enduring lack of representation and the symbolism in its place.

Media Focus Photo November 13, 2014

Ray, Janay, and the "News Photo as Movie Still-of-the-Week"

One point I touched on was how liberally news photographs are experimenting with style, including channeling the cinema.

Culture Focus Photo November 12, 2014

The Day in Space

Was there more than just a visual resemblance between the photo of the window washers rescued from the WTC yesterday and the remarkable photos of the European Space Agency’s Philae probe after successfully landing on Comet 67P over 300 million miles away?

Militarism Focus Photo November 10, 2014

The Hyper-Patriotism and Harmony of These Veteran's Day Naturalization Ceremonies

The nostalgia must be tempered ... knowing how much America excels when it comes to promise.

President Obama Photo November 9, 2014

The Importance of Being Earnest: That Obama Photo Fronting Saturday's NYT

If the more mobilized midterm voters looked at the President askance, it's still not over.

International Focus Photo November 8, 2014

Everyday Iraq: Beyond Islam and Primitivism

If western media images of that country are most often filled with sand, religious fervor and a sense of the ancient, this couldn't be more different.