Mother Jones Magazine Photography: A 50-Year Overview

Since its founding in 1976, Mother Jones has published photography in conjunction with its articles. The magazine’s visual content has covered topics including foreign conflicts, domestic conditions, and later periods of economic and social developments. This retrospective examines selected photo essays across five periods, drawn from back issues.

The 1976–1985 period featured work in the style of humanist documentary photography, with images of everyday scenes alongside coverage of Central American conflicts and U.S. political events. Early art direction under Louise Kollenbaum emphasized direct presentation of subjects.

One essay by Eugene Richards documented his first wife, writer Dorothea Lynch, during her treatment for breast cancer, which ended with her death in 1983. Selected images appeared in the book *Exploding Into Life*, pairing Lynch’s journals with Richards’ photographs.

A photograph showed the “mano blanca,” or white hand symbol, used by Salvadoran paramilitary groups during that country’s civil war to mark homes of individuals targeted by death squads. The image was credited to Magnum Photos.

An early published photograph by Jim Goldberg depicted a subject with an accompanying handwritten note. It formed the basis for his 1985 book *Rich and Poor* and introduced his method of including subjects’ written statements on the prints. The image was credited to Magnum Photos.

From 1986 to 1995, art director Kerry Tremain, working with photographers Michelle Vignes and Ken Light, established the Mother Jones International Fund for Documentary Photography. The fund supported extended projects, some of which appeared in the magazine. Photography in this period often showed closer views of individuals and daily circumstances.

A photograph from Joseph Rodriguez’s 1988 book *To the Promised Land* showed three migrants apprehended while concealed in a car trunk approximately 50 yards from the Mexico–U.S. border in Southern California. The image was credited to Contact Press.

Rodriguez’s work included portraits of individuals involved in street groups in New York. One image accompanied text noting his intent to present subjects outside of prevailing news framing. The photograph was credited to Gallery Stock.

Nan Goldin contributed images of people moving between gender presentations. An accompanying essay by Carole Naggar described the subjects as engaging with ideas of gender as changeable. The work was credited to Nan Goldin, courtesy the artist and Gagosian.

During 1996–2007, published photography addressed consequences of international events, including conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, Liberia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, as well as migration and environmental topics. Images frequently showed effects on civilians and returning personnel rather than combat scenes.

Sara Ležić documented conditions for women in Afghanistan over two years. One photograph showed Malalai Kakar, a police officer who continued public work after the Taliban’s initial rise and later conducted education sessions without a veil.

Tim Hetherington’s images from Liberia included a photograph of a young man parting from a companion before entering combat. The image was later referenced in the documentary *Which Way Is the Front Line From Here?* and is held by the Imperial War Museums.

Donna DeCesare returned to El Salvador to photograph outcomes of U.S. deportation policies that returned individuals with gang affiliations to the country, creating new local pressures.

Nina Berman photographed U.S. veterans after deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. One portrait showed 22-year-old Luis Calderon, a former Army tank operator injured during operations in Iraq that resulted in paralysis. The image was credited to Redux.

The 2008–2015 period shifted toward U.S. domestic subjects following the financial crisis. Photo essays addressed economic effects, environmental conditions, gun violence, and changes in working-class communities. Portrait work by Bryce Duffy, Gregg Segal, and Chris Buck also appeared.

A portrait by one contributor showed Republican operative Fred Karger in costume as the Lone Ranger, published with an article on his opposition to California’s Proposition 8 regarding same-sex marriage.

A collaboration between photographer Wilcox Frazier and reporter Charlie LeDuff examined conditions in Detroit, including a case in which police shot and killed a 7-year-old girl during an operation filmed by a television crew. The reporting contributed to subsequent accountability measures. The images were credited to VII/Redux.

Photographer Andrea Ellen Kranitz documented law-enforcement efforts in rural Kentucky targeting theft of Sudafed for methamphetamine production.

From 2016 to 2025, photography covered protests, border movements, labor actions, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Several contributors were raised in or maintained ongoing connections to the communities shown.

Photographer José Luis González Trillo, who grew up near the southern border, documented a migrant caravan traveling toward the United States. One image showed a young Honduran boy moving under a gate at the Mexico–Guatemala border where the group had halted.

Alexandre Lefort accompanied demonstrators at the Standing Rock Sioux reservation opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016. The photographer described sharing daily routines with participants of similar age during the encampment.

A photo essay by Julie Dermansky, published in a special issue on the pandemic, followed funeral director Courtney Baloney in Louisiana’s industrial corridor. The business served a predominantly African American clientele during a period of elevated mortality.

Beginning in 2017, Ian Bates Dundon recorded political events, including a confrontation at a Milo Yiannopoulos event at the University of California, Berkeley.

Additional anniversary coverage appears in related articles on the magazine’s history and in podcast episodes discussing its reporting record.