Photo Essays

Hawaii Before Statehood: Color Photos, 1959
The image and legend of Hawaii as a tropical paradise endures for countless reasons. Few places on earth can boast more dramatic or romantic landscapes; the...

LIFE With the Boy Scouts: Photos From a Time of Change, 1971
The Boy Scouts of America is one of those enduring institutions woven so deeply into the fabric of so many lives that it sometimes feels like it’s been around as...

Bigotry in the USA: Photos of the Klan in 1946
According to a recent report (March 5, 2013) by the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of extremist and anti-government “Patriot” groups...

In Praise of … Wait for It … the Postal Service
The words have been referenced, mangled, misremembered, celebrated and (of course) parodied for decades, and while few people remember the full, accurate quote,...

Mexico's Clown Congress
The 13th annual meeting of street performers gathers in Mexico City

Gabby Giffords Bids Congress Farewell
On the eve of her resignation, the Arizona Representative attends President Obama's State of the Union address

The UFO Congress
Photographer Nicolas Silberfaden attends the annual conference of world UFOlogists

The Earth as Art: Satellite Images of Our Planet from Orbit
The lidless eyes of the satellites circle the Earth, looking down upon the surface. The images that satellites like the U.S. Geological Survey’s Landsat 7 become...

Gateway to a New World: Rare Photos From Ellis Island
For a country constantly patting itself on the back and touting its unique status as a “nation of immigrants,” the United States has an awfully hard time...

The Life and Times of John Boehner
From humble roots in Ohio to the halls of Congress, a look at the man poised to become Speaker in a Republican-controlled House of Representatives

Growing Up Romney: Mitt’s Early Years
The childhood narratives that inform the public’s perception of so many political figures — Abe Lincoln’s log cabin; George Washington’s cherry tree; JFK’s...

Going Deep: LIFE at the Grand Canyon
A few years ago, public television in the United States aired a marvelous, six-episode Ken Burns documentary called The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. The...

A Changing China
Images from the 16th Party Congress


