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Before moving to DC, I lived in Los Angeles for about three years. The evacuation zone for the Eaton fire is super close to our old apartment in NELA. This week, I checked in on friends who still live there and, of course, looked at all of the terrifying photos coming out of there. Even the quiet ones are eerie. The use of satellite imagery to tell the story of before/after is also pretty powerful. 

But when thinking about climate change, and how conditions like this keep getting worse, and growing more catastrophic each year, it’s hard not to think that WE DID THIS. We helped cause this. And then I read the post below and Sat nailed it. And then I saw this post by Matt Bernstein and, thought… 100% spot on.

Here are 5 things I was looking at this week:

Deywoud Bey’s work On Richmond’s Trail of the Enslaved is as beautiful and powerful as it is haunting.

I have a feeling this documentary film is gonna rock the photojournalism world. I’m still gobsmacked after hearing the news, but even more so thinking about how someone’s entire career was possibly built on a lie. Also, curious what happened to the real photographer who made this Pulitzer-winning image. #IYKYK

My goodness, this is happening again?! If you need context, you’ll have to go back more than 30 years to read about the controversy around Sally Mann’s work.

The Photographers Union reminds me a little of Lighstalkers, with some Facebook groups, and APAD 2.0 mixed in. And I’m here for it!

And to leave you with a bit of awe and wonder this week, I’ve got just the thing. This post, translated from Swedish, will give you a little insight into Linda Westin’s work:

Through the trees, Swedish photographer Linda Westin (@_cometalktome_) sees the forest come alive. The mesmerizing, luminous landscapes of Westin seem to rise above human sight. The photographer was inspired by her PhD in neurosciences. The aesthetics of the fluorescent microscopy, a technique to make brain activity visible, translates them into images of nature. At night she pulls into the forest with lights and her camera to conjure up a world that remained otherwise hidden.