As we look at pictures following violence in Iraq and other parts of the world, sometimes the only indication of the human toll are the shoes left behind. They are a stark reminder of the severity of the event -- someone ran away, or was taken away injured or killed, so quickly that the shoes are left behind. Photographically, I like how the color palette of the shoes and childrens' pants work together to move the eye over the interesting textures of the debris-covered ground and shrapnel-pocked walls.

Namir Noor-eldeen/Reuters
A boy looks at footwear near a pool of blood at the scene of a mortar attack in Baghdad March 27, 2007. The attack killed four persons and wounded 14 others, police said.