Chatting the Pictures: Trump Hotel Games Shutdown; New Women of Congress; Jail Hell in Manila

Welcome to the latest edition of Chatting the Pictures, a weekly, micro-edition of the Reading the Pictures Salon. In each 20-minute webcast, co-hosts Michael Shaw, publisher of Reading the Pictures, and writer and historian, Cara Finnegan, discuss three prominent photos in the news. The program is broken into three segments: “The News,” “The Look,” and “The Pick.” “The News” examine a hard news image for its content value. “The Look” focuses on a news photo for its artistry and style. And “The Pick” asks what made a high profile photo so unique to editors or the public.

“The News” photo this week was taken by Kevin Lamarque for Reuters. In the picture, we see a Park Service ranger looking down on the city from the Trump hotel’s historic DC clock tower. But the question is: by what maneuver are these furloughed federal employees still working during the government shutdown?

Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Caption: A National Park Service ranger looks out onto the city from Trump International Hotel’s historic clock tower, which remains open and staffed by the National Park Service despite the partial government shutdown in Washington, January 7.

For “The Look,” we discuss a photo by Martin Schoeller for Vanity Fair. Captioned “The New Congressional Class Set a High Style Bar,” we discuss how Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Deb Haaland, Veronica Escobar, and Sharice Davids stand for a lot more than fashion in this historical moment.

Photo: Martin Schoeller for Vanity Fair Caption: (From left to right) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Deb Haaland, Veronica Escobar, and Sharice Davids.

“The Pick” this week features a photo by Hannah Reyes Morales for The New York Times. Call it imprisonment as an act of torture. Leading the front page, we break down the beauty, horror, and substance of this photo of detainees crammed together in the Manila City Jail.

Photo: Hannah Reyes Morales for The New York Times Caption: Detainees in Manila City Jail, where most are still awaiting trial, and may stay for months or even years before that happens.

You can find all the Chatting the Pictures replays here.

Originally published by Reading The Pictures, the only site dedicated to the daily review of news and documentary photography. Sign up for the Reading The Pictures Week in Re-View email. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.