Laden...
|
Jan. 10: Week in Photography
Your lens to the internet's most powerful photographs.
📸For Your 👀 Only: Inside The Halls Of Congress Leah Millis / Reuters It's always a bit surreal to watch history unfold in real time, and this week was nothing if not historical. Typically, the vote to certify electoral votes in Congress is a procedural affair, documented by the wire photographers who capture meetings on the Hill. It's not usually that visually exciting.
When Trump supporters invaded the Capitol building, the photographers who were assigned to cover the mob outside contended with hostile crowds and chaos, while those working inside admirably kept filing images, which now feel indelible, of angry masses roaming the halls of government relatively unrestrained. Ultimately, Biden was certified anyway, but not before several people died during the melee.
This was a time of pure photojournalism, of capturing a scene as best as possible to tell a story that allows for others, elsewhere, to process it. Black Lives Matter activists have criticized the law enforcement officers at the Capitol for being unprepared for Wednesday’s riots — and for their disparate reactions to the far-right insurrectionists and their violent crackdown against racial justice demonstrators last summer, which can clearly be seen in the photos from Jan. 6.
The images captivated the world as they were published in near-real time — and came at a cost. Journalists have given harrowing accounts of being harassed and attacked by Trump supporters in the crowd. We spoke with Reuters photographer Leah Millis, who was outside the building and who captured now-iconic scenes of the Capitol building, about her experience.
Leah Millis / Reuters What did you expect going into the Mall on Wednesday? We were concerned that there could be violence based on reporting about various threats and the ratcheting rhetoric. Plus, this was to be the third such protest here in DC since November, and there had already been violence during the two previous events.
When did you realize it was getting out of hand? I received a message that a crowd was trying to break through the fencing on the west side, or the Mall side of the Capitol. (I was on the east side at the time.) Once I rounded the corner and made my way up the lawn, I could see hundreds, if not thousands, of people streaming up towards the Capitol from the Mall, and I could already see some of them pushing against the police line on the steps of the building. By this point, Trump loyalists had already climbed up the center scaffolding. After observing the clashes between the police (who didn’t even have gas masks) and the overwhelming number of rioters, I realized they would break through at some point. Leah Millis / Reuters How did you handle pivoting from pretty straightforward procedural photos to covering a mob? To be clear, I was on the west side, where there was a larger group — but even after they broke in, I’m not sure how far they actually got. It seems as though the majority of the people who got in did so from the east side. From where I was, I was approaching this as I do in any hostile/protest situation. We all started the day with bulletproof vests on, and by that point I had both my gas mask and my ballistic helmet on. For me, it was making sure that I was able to get photos while not getting injured while being in the middle of the fighting.
What was the mood of the crowd? When I was outside, I heard from the crowd that someone had been shot inside, and I did not believe it. Remember, most of us in these crowds of people did not have cellphone service throughout most of the day, so we only knew what was happening around us. It was complete chaos and almost like a battle scene with people chanting and screaming things like “hold the line” and “push forward.” Leah Millis / Reuters How did the image of the Capitol at night get taken? I heard the crowd encouraging what sounded like people forcing their way into the building, so I made the decision to risk climbing two levels of the center scaffolding so that I could see. Once I got up safely, sure enough, they had broken through the center doors and were battling with police inside. There were others who had broken a window to the left and were climbing in and out of the building. So I stood there and did my best to document what I was seeing. Eventually, a force showed up in the hallway and started firing flash-bangs and tear gas into the crowd. That was when I got the photos of the smoky Capitol and the flash-bang going off.
What is the most memorable photo that you took on Wednesday?
Probably the flash-bang. Many moments are seared into my memory, but to me that photograph translates the feel of the day.
Any final thoughts?
I’m so thankful to my colleagues. Not just at Reuters but all of my fellow journalists who were out yesterday risking their lives to show the world what was happening here in our city. A number of journalists were assaulted inside and outside of the building. When we are out there, all we have is each other, and I was grateful to know that we were doing our best to watch each other’s backs. I hope the public recognizes what it takes for journalists to not only go into these situations knowing how dangerous they can be, but also the courage it takes to stay in them and keep working once they devolve. 📸THE WEEK'S PHOTO STORIES FROM BUZZFEED NEWS 📸 This week, like everyone else, we're grappling with the harsh reality that this is who we are as a nation, and that it will take a lot of work to counteract the divisiveness and misinformation that permeates American soil. And while we are frustrated, bewildered, or just tired, we're also turning to the internet to show us the pictures.
So, as always, here are some of the best photo stories from around the internet that caught our eye and kept us thinking. WHAT WILL 2021 LOOK LIKE? 10 VISUAL CURATORS TALK ABOUT THEIR PREDICTIONS Naima Green SEE THE FULL STORY
THIS IS WHAT THE HALLS OF CONGRESS LOOKED LIKE AFTER THE RIOT John Minchillo / AP Images SEE THE FULL STORY
📸SOME HOPE 📸 Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images Raphael Warnock becomes the first Black senator for Georgia. "That's it from us this time — see you next year!" —Kate and Pia “We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.”— Ralph Hattersley Want More? Go To JPG Homepage
đź“ť This letter was edited and brought to you by the News Photo team. Kate Bubacz is the photo director based in New York and loves dogs. You can always reach us here.
BuzzFeed, Inc. |
Laden...
Laden...
