Turning a New Lens on Afghanistan

When Ben Lowy was in Afghanistan taking pictures for our article “The Bad Guys vs. the Worse Guys,” he did so using both his digital camera, to make traditional 35-millimeter photos, and the Hipstamatic app on his iPhone. Our plan all along had been to publish the 35-millimeter pictures, but once we saw what he had on his iPhone, we felt we had to use those images instead. They were more exciting and dynamic; the rich palette and high contrast brought clarity and texture and even poetry to the scenes.