Above: A young Libyan boy rides his bike past a burnt out  government building, following Rebel control of the city on March 26 2011 in Ajdabiya, Libya. ©Benjamin Lowy/Reportage by Getty Images.

Photojournalist Ben Lowy was in Libya on assignment for 3 weeks in March, traveling between the Rebel stronghold of Bengazi to various front line towns like Ajdabiya, Brega, Ras Lanuf, and Bin Jawad. In between photographing with DSLR’s he made images on his iPhone and brought the news directly to an audience by immediately posting them to his blog. Since featuring this new work, people’s interest has grown exponentially and, he says, “reaffirmed my belief in this new paradigm in journalism. My work these days, like Iraq from Humvee windows and Night Vision Goggles, abstracts of the BP oil spill, Holga panoramics and now this iPhone series, is about creating a visual narrative that looks different from the norm. I’m hoping to capture the audience through the aesthetics, to get them to move closer to the image, and most importantly engage the viewer to examine the content.”

WARNING: THIS GALLERY CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT.

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All images © Benjamin Lowy / VII Network

Tendrils and plumes of oil have covered the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, leaving a viscous mess in the open sea. The environmental disaster that was caused by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill is horrible and will no doubt have a long lasting impact on the Gulf. While on assignment for GQ magazine covering the disaster, I was struck by how beautiful the congealed pockets of crude were. Floating on the sea, swirling with the seawater, they looked strangely like abstract paintings. These are close up images of the pools of oil that stagnate on the surface of the Gulf.

—Benjamin Lowy

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All photos © Benjamin Lowy/VII Network

Here are 14 photographs from Benjamin Lowy’s ongoing Iraq | Perspectives project which he began in 2005. Shot from the confines of a Humvee, Lowy creates a tableau vivant of life in Iraq offering a glimpse into the bleakness and desolation of a country ravaged by war.

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