Peter Turnley, photojournalist, in Iowa City

Photograph: Today we’re going to point out that Peter Turnley is a really nice guy. Even if you don’t know who Peter Turnley is, you’ve most likely seen his photos. He has photographed nearly every conflict over the past twenty years worldwide. He’s known for his portraits of refugees. I had the opportunity to hang with Mr. Turnley this week. He spent an hour in my office, and I worked with him on coordinating his presentations. He’s visiting my department this week and next, and we’re all really thrilled to hear what he has to say on photography and visual literacy. I sat in on a presentation he did of some photos he took in Cuba, Brazil, and Argentina of people dancing. Amazing stuff. He took the photos as part of a photo essay series he’s doing for Harper’s Magazine. I’ll point out his website at PeterTurnley.com, which has a lot of interesting photos. Click on the View Portfolios link on the top and also be sure to check out his bio. It’s an interesting read. He’s had over 40 Newsweek covers, has traveled to 85 countries including Iraq, and has had his photographs nearly everywhere. So today we pay homage to Peter Turnley, the greatest photojournalist of his generation.