Iraq's Darkest Hour
Photojournalist Peter van Agtmael shows the fear, anger and violence of Iraq through some of the starkest images I've seen. His "Night Raids" slideshow, part of a photo gallery featured on the Web site of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, traces what happens when Iraqi and American troops search the homes of suspected insurgents. Van Agtmael uses light and shadow in ways that clarify the tension between the troops and the inhabitants. My favorite photo shows a young boy bathed in light as he waits silently for troops to search the rest of the house. Other images depict the aftermath of a shootout, a suspected insurgent being blindfolded and a boy covering his hysterical grandmother's face. Thank you Phil Kaplan for letting me know about this Web site and some of its excellent photojournalism, including images from Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Armenia. www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henh&s=o&o=top_galleries_index.html