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The Atlantic's In Focus publishes its Year in Photos 2012

Dec 7, 2012 at 21:18:16 GMT

OTHER NEWS THE-ATLANTIC

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The Atlantic's excellent 'In Focus' photo blog has published the third and final part of its 2012 Year in Photos. The three-part series includes 135 images from around the world, covering a great breadth of events and subjects. As you'd expect of such a review, there are some occasionally graphic images that some readers may find disturbing but there are also some astonishing photos giving a surprising views of other countries and cultures.

We've chosen three of our favorite images from the three-part article, and you can click on them (or the text links) to see Atlantic's full selection. And as always, let us know your favorites in the comments.

Click here for The Atlantic's 'In Focus' Year in Photos 2012, Part 1 (January - April)

Space shuttle Discovery en route to its final home at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC on April 17, 2012. (Reuters/Robert Markowitz/NASA)

Click here for Part 2 (May - August)

Still in orbit, here is the International Space Station, 240 miles above earth. This is a composite image, assembled from a series of images taken from a camera mounted on the station. (NASA/Don Pettit)

Click here for Part 3 (August - December)

President Barack Obama hugs his wife Michelle, after she introduces him at a campaign event at the Village of East Davenport in Davenport, Iowa, on August 15, 2012. Following the President's re-election this image became the most-Tweeted photograph ever. (Scout Tufankjian/Obama for America)

Comments

Total comments: 36

Lots of war stuff from the Atlantic.

Would have been nice to include some shots from some of the fashion weeks or Art Basel.

0 upvotes

My faves,

I:7, Roger Federer. Looks like an oil painting.
III:29, Space shuttle/basketball. Great juxtaposition, though prob setup. I reckon you'd be watching the space shuttle rather than play ball at a time like that.

A few too many election photos, but otherwise great.

0 upvotes

Some of these images are absolutely stunning. (Of course, the word stunning is used for even mediocre stuff today, but I mean it in its original definition.)

0 upvotes

I'll never understand why it is regarded acceptable to depict death and violence but not nudity.

0 upvotes

You're talking about the aerodynamic fairing on the shuttle, I presume?

0 upvotes

Barney, that was funny as hell :-)

0 upvotes

The pictures are fantastic and inspiring,
just bang! right there in between them is wedged Angelina Jolie.... what is going on?

0 upvotes

What an incredible set!

0 upvotes

I just love seeing these All-American photos.
An all those conflict oriented pics to. It just warms my heart me that they always feature rebels in them.
Funny how a country that was OK by all is suddenly demonized, and how we all document the struggle of the little man...

LOL, Looking at those pictures is like looking at a good, summer Hollywood movie.
Oh, wait... duh!

1 upvote

This photo summarizes it all: http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/2012yip120512/s_y11_RTR3367C.jpg

1 upvote

Obama inside the bus is good.

0 upvotes

Very inspiring, to see this beautiful, professional work!

0 upvotes

Very impressive

0 upvotes

Beautiful photos!

0 upvotes

Hey, Neal!

0 upvotes

Great pictures that paint a world of contradiction.

0 upvotes

Many of these shots, and those from Afghanistan (also posted by the Atlantic) will remain in my memory for a long time.

0 upvotes

Photography seems to be something that I consider real, evidence, or sometimes even proof. To me that is what can make a photograph so powerful. These images highlight that perfectly.

0 upvotes

The line between astonishing beauty and utter hell seems to be almost infinitesimal in this world. Some great photographs though

0 upvotes

Thanks this is great !

0 upvotes

Not really. Would you try to help a man who was attacked by leopard, or try to help him? These photos are all about modern photographers.

Comment edited 45 seconds after posting

1 upvote

Thank you, DPReview.
They are all great photos. But my favorite has to be...
the 'Kitti-copter'!

0 upvotes

Thank you for the link. The photos were great.

0 upvotes

How much it costs?

0 upvotes

These are the best they have? Oh, right.... nobody hires photo journalists anymore. Everything is submitted and 'paid' with photo credit.

2 upvotes

All in all, good images. Mainly tragedies, wars, violence, presidents and an occasional beauty. What I'd like to see, and I'm surely not alone in this, would be for the percentages of those in reverse order.

5 upvotes

That's a bit egocentric IMO. You may not like the brutality of conflicts but the people involved in those tragedies and wars are thankful that these shots are deemed more newsworthy than beauty. In many cases it raises awareness and saves lives (photo #12, part 2, is probably the most obvious example)

Comment edited 3 times, last edit 3 minutes after posting

3 upvotes

I meant the occurrence, of course. So far, no quantity of war or violence images seems to be able to reduce their endless sources.
And instead of highlighting the life's beauties, the informative sources have conditioned us to accept the ugly side of life as something normal - until it happens to us.
Since the war has happened to me, I'm looking at it a bit differently.

0 upvotes

"So far, no quantity of war or violence images seems to be able to reduce their endless sources"
The photo I mentioned earlier pretty much dispels that point.

Frankly, that myopic view on life is a constituent part of what allows anything from bullies to dictators to rule in impunity. The sooner we embrace that fact and act upon it the sooner the usurpers of power will fall.
You mention being involved in a war, what is your stance then on truth and reconciliation commissions? - and the ugly squeletons uncovered by them?

0 upvotes

The original statement was clear enough.

2 upvotes

go up go down be perceptive be sweary
but please please please
don't be boring.

1 upvote

Not a great advertisement for the human race by any means.

4 upvotes

I think the comment that was removed was rather perceptive, unfortunately. Things seem to be going pretty well in outer space so there's room for optimism.

0 upvotes

Perceptive perhaps but also sweary.

Comment edited 52 seconds after posting

2 upvotes

In space no one can hear you swear.

8 upvotes

They are good photographs. Better than the Reuters best of by far. Only problem they don't provide the nice technical detail Reuters does.

1 upvote

Total comments: 36


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