Another word for turmoil
And, while once war photographers were the ones expected to confront danger, now because of an unpredictable virus, hostility toward journalists, domestic conflict and fearsome natural disasters, an ordinary-sounding assignment can become risky.ĭoug Mills submitted to hundreds of Covid tests in order to give our readers uninterrupted access to a White House in transition between two vastly different administrations. We get access to remote places, shuttered places, dangerous places, private places. We get to see and better understand the world through their eyes. We are the beneficiaries of their courage and their commitment, and the connections they make with others. They must be in the hospital I.C.U., in the scrum of the protest, at the front line of the conflict, close to the wildfire, inside the homes of the struggling parents, or wading into the floodwaters of the storm. Photographers must be there to do their work, to bear witness firsthand. Our writers describe and sometimes interpret the world for our readers, but our photographers literally show our readers the world. As some people retreated to working from home, or keeping their distance, these committed journalists did not have that option. This period has underscored the special communicative power of the image, as well as the risks taken and hardship endured by photographers so they can show us the world. This is the story of 2021 told visually, through the eloquent universal language of photography. The vaccine saved some lives, but human passions, hopes and fears did their usual work to create a year that was anything but calm, and is ending with the prospect of a new variant upending plans once again. Governments fell, democracies were challenged, and climate-related destruction was unleashed, all while the casualties of the pandemic continued to amass. Capitol, and saw a summer of carefree gatherings derailed by a fast-spreading virus. But the year instead took off with an insurrection in the U.S. The year 2021 opened with the promise of vaccines, and the belief that we would all return to “normal” after the tumultuous year of the pandemic. By Meaghan Looram, Director of Photography