Journal's Year in Pictures

Samuel Aranda's photo from Yemen protests wins World Press Photo of the Year

(NEWSER) - A photo of a veiled woman comforting an injured man following a protest in Yemen has won the World Press Photo of the Year for 2011. The photo, taken by Spanish photographer Samuel Aranda for the New York Times, "shows a poignant, compassionate moment, the human consequence of an enormous event," says the awards' chairman. "It stands for Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, for all that happened in the Arab Spring," adds a juror. "But it shows a private, intimate side of what went on, and it shows the role that women played." More»

Historic Henry Peter Bosse images show river in 1880s

(NEWSER) - Few have heard of Henry Peter Bosse, but his 19th-century photographs have earned a home in a federal vault—and a single album is worth $4.5 million. Sotheby's recently appraised the album, which illustrates the changing Mississippi River in the 1880s, and its value had quadrupled over 20 years. But the album's history isn't so illustrious: It spent more than 50 years on a dredge vessel where it appears to have been barely noticed, the Star Tribune reports. More»

Lawmakers look to require label on digitally altered photos

(NEWSER) - Amid the uproar over fashion photos whose models are airbrushed to teeny-tiny perfection, French politicians are proposing a law that would require any such photos to include a health warning, Reuters reports. Digitally altered ads, press photos, campaign art, packaging, and art photography would have to include “Photograph retouched to modify the physical appearance of a person” or be subject to a fine. More»

(NEWSER) - One of the most famous war photos of all time was a fake, according to Spanish newspaper El Periodico. The paper says its investigation into Robert Capa's Spanish Civil War "falling soldier" photo—which appears to show a shot militiaman at the moment of death—concluded that the photo was actually taken 30 miles away from any fighting and therefore must have been staged, Artdaily reports. More»

Widener recalls capturing Tank Man image 20 years ago

(NEWSER) - On the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square, one image endures: a lone man standing in front of a column of tanks, refusing to let them pass. Jeff Widener, the AP photographer who captured the moment, tells USA Today how he evaded the police and the censors to take the shot and get it out of China. More»