• In memory of photojournalist Chris Hondros

    We are deeply saddened to hear about the death of Getty Images photographer Chris Hondros. He was killed April 20 in Misrata by a rocket-propelled grenade attack while covering the conflict in Libya.

    You may not realize how great his contribution has been to the news you absorb on this site every day unless you often read the tiny credit lines that appear on our photographs. His images have appeared on countless stories and slideshows, and he's been one of the top contributors to the "The Week in Pictures" for years.

    Getty Images

    Getty Images photographer Chris Hondros stands in front of a burning building while on assignment on April 18, 2011, in Misrata, Libya.

    We spoke with Chris about his work in 2007. He described the mental makeup required to be a war photographer, likening it to the mental toughness needed to be a doctor or firefighter. But it was also about heart for Chris, as he recalled that photographers and readers alike should recognize that behind most images are human beings. Click on the video below.

    2007: Photojournalist Chris Hondros of Getty Images talks about his life behind the camera, and his award-winning pictures from Iraq to Liberia that capture the moments in war-torn countries.

    Chris was born in New York City in 1970 and moved to Fayetteville, N.C., as a child. He studied English literature at North Carolina State University and got a master's degree at Ohio University School of Visual Communication. He worked as a photographer for his hometown paper, the Fayetteville Observer, and from there came to New York. He worked for the AP, freelanced and eventually became senior staff photographer at Getty Images.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    A Liberian militia commander loyal to the government exults after firing a rocket-propelled grenade at rebel forces at a key strategic bridge July 20, 2003 in Monrovia, Liberia.

    Chris had covered wars in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. His work has been widely published around the world. In 2003, Chris made a picture of a Liberian government soldier with an RPG launcher that became an iconic document of that civil war. Listen to Hondros recount a funny story that resulted from this world-famous photograph.

    His photographs from Liberia, and many others, won top honors in photojournalism, including a Pulitzer Prize nomination, World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International, and the Robert Capa Gold Medal. This last award is for reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise.

    See a retrospective of his work.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    A rebel fighter celebrates as his comrades fire a rocket barrage toward the positions of troops loyal to Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi April 14, 2011 west of Ajdabiyah, Libya. Rebels exchanged artillery and rocket fire with loyalist troops west of Ajdabiyah April 14 as the confict engulfing Libya continued.

    View images he photographed in Libya during the last days of his life.

    Here at msnbc.com, we will miss the amazing contributions Chris Hondros made to helping us understand our world. We have deepest appreciation for the tremendous sacrifice Chris made to do this dangerous work.

    Beyond his work, on a personal level, many of us knew Chris and some were lucky enough to call him a friend. As we reflect on his life, and read the Facebook pages dedicated to his memory, these words keep coming up to describe him: inspiring, brilliant, determined, caring, kind, giving, remarkable … and wonderful.

    Our hearts go out to the family, friends and colleagues that Chris leaves behind.

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  • Two photojournalists are killed and two others injured in rocket attack in Misrata

    It's an exceptionally sad day for the photojournalism community. Tim Hetherington, a British photojournalist and co-director of the documentary "Restrepo," and Chris Hondros, an American photojournalist with Getty Images, were killed by a rocket propelled grenade in Misrata. Two other photojournalists, Guy Martin and Michael Christopher Brown, were also injured. We are regularly updating our news story as new details emerge.

    Reuters

    Photojournalist Tim Hetherington is seen in this undated handout image during an assignment for Vanity Fair Magazine at 'Restrepo' outpost in Afghanistan. Hetherington, the co-director of Oscar-nominated war documentary "Restrepo," died in the besieged Libyan town of Misrata on April 20, 2011, doctors said. He was among a group caught by mortar fire on Tripoli Street, the main thoroughfare leading into the centre of Misrata, the only major rebel-held town in western Libya and besieged by Muammar Gaddafi's forces for more than seven weeks.

    Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

    Tim Hetherington, center, is assisted by Libyan rebels as he climbs down from a building after gunshots rang out from loyalist forces inside in the besieged city of Misrata on April 20, hours before he was killed in the city while covering the conflict.

    We interviewed Hetherington here in January, after "Restrepo" was nominated for an Academy Award. He will be remembered especially for his work from Afghanistan and from Liberia, below, where he lived for several years. His work from that country was chronicled in the book "Long Story Bit by Bit: Liberia Retold". View a slideshow of Hetherington's work.

    Tim Hetherington / Panos Pictures

    Sekou, a young LURD (Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy) rebel sits in an abandoned classroom in Liberia in 2003. The infrastructure of the country collapsed during the four-year civil war which forced Charles Taylor, the President and indicted war criminal, to step down from office.

    Chris Hondros is very dear to the msnbc.com staff and our viewers for his many regular contributions to our site's pages, and especially "The Week in Pictures." Earlier on Tuesday, before we learnt of the incident which led to his death, PhotoBlog had featured his photographs of the fighting in Tripoli Street, Misrata.
    See the video below to hear Hondros describe his motivation for doing such dangerous but important work and see several of his most compelling images.

    2007: Photojournalist Chris Hondros of Getty Images talks about his life behind the camera, and his award-winning pictures from Iraq to Liberia that capture the moments in war-torn countries.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Above: A Liberian militia commander loyal to the government exults after firing a rocket-propelled grenade at rebel forces at a key strategic bridge July 20, 2003 in Monrovia, Liberia. Chris describes his work in Liberia and a funny story that resulted from the photograph above.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Samar Hassan, 5, screams after her parents were killed by U.S. Soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division in a shooting January 18, 2005 in Tal Afar, Iraq. The troops fired on the Hassan family car when it unwittingly approached them during a dusk patrol in the tense northern Iraqi town. Parents Hussein and Camila Hassan were killed instantly, and a son Racan, 11, was seriously wounded in the abdomen. Racan, paralyzed from the waist down, was treated later in the U.S.

    Above: Samar Hassan screams after her parents were killed by U.S. Soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division in a shooting January 18, 2005 in Tal Afar, Iraq. The troops fired on the Hassan family car when it unwittingly approached them during a dusk patrol in the tense northern Iraqi town. Parents Hussein and Camila Hassan were killed instantly, and a son Racan, 11, was seriously wounded in the abdomen. Racan, who lost the use of his legs, was treated later in the U.S. 

  • House-to-house fighting in Libyan city of Misrata

    Photographers Phil Moore and Chris Hondros, who have been reporting from inside the besieged Libyan city of Misrata for the past several days, today followed rebel fighters into a house where pro-Gadhafi forces had been holed up.

    Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

    Rebels fighters escape from a building they had entered on Tripoli Street in the city of Misrata, believing they had already captured it from troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi, on April 20. Rebels entered the building, but were fired upon by several gunmen still inside.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Rebel fighters discuss how to dislodge a number of ensconced troops, loyal to Moammar Gadhafi, who were firing on them from the next room during house-to-house fighting on Tripoli Street in downtown Misrata on April 20. Rebel forces assaulted downtown positions, briefly forcing them back over a key bridge and trapping several in a building.

    Reuters spoke by phone to a rebel spokesman in the city who only gave his first name, Reda.

    "Fighting is still going on in Tripoli Street," he said. The rebels "are now controlling 50 percent of the street. The other 50 percent is controlled by Gadhafi soldiers and snipers".

    Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

    Rebel fighters storm out of a building occupied by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi on Tripoli Street in Misrata on April 20.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Rebel fighters carry a comrade wounded during the effort to dislodge pro-Gadhafi troops who were firing on them from a building (background) during house-to-house fighting on Tripoli Street in downtown Misrata on April 20.

     See more images of the Libyan conflict in our slideshow.

  • Bloody clashes erupt between demonstrators in Cairo

    By Jonathan Woods, msnbc.com

    Several thousand supporters of embattled President Hosni Mubarak, including some on horses and camels and wielding whips, charged into a crowd of anti-government protesters Wednesday, instigating violent clashes as Egypt's upheaval took a dangerous new turn.

    Andre Liohn / EPA

    Pro- and anti-Mubarak protesters face off in Tahrir Square as violent clashes started in Cairo on Wednesday, Feb. 2.

    The two sides hurled stones, Molotov cocktails and even satellite dishes that they ripped off the roofs of buildings. Several hundred people were injured, Al Jazeera reported.

    Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

    Demonstrators take cover during rioting between pro- and anti-Mubarak supporters in Tahrir Square on Wednesday.

    The turmoil was the first significant violence between supporters of the two camps in more than a week of anti-government protests. It erupted after Mubarak went on national television Tuesday night and said he would not seek another term but rejected protesters' demands he step down immediately.

    Suhaib Salem / Reuters

    Injured demonstraters help each other during rioting in Cairo on Wednesday.

    The two sides hurled stones, Molotov cocktails and even satellite dishes that they ripped off the roofs of buildings. Several hundred people were injured, Al Jazeera reported. See more photos here.

    Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

    Anti-government protestors run towards a line of pro-Mubarak supporters on Wednesday.

    Nearly 10,000 protesters massed again in Tahrir on Wednesday morning, rejecting Mubarak's speech as too little too late and renewing their demands he leave immediately.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    A supporter of embattled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak rides a camel during a clash between pro- and anti-government protesters in Tahrir Square on Wednesday.

    Ben Curtis / AP

    Demonstrators clash in Tahrir Square on Wednesday.

    Khalil Hamra / AP

    Pro-Mubarak supporters shout during a rally in Cairo on Wednesday.

    Ahmed Ali / AP

    Stones fly through the air as supporters of President Hosni Mubarak, foreground, fight with anti-Mubarak protesters, standing on army tanks in Cairo on Wednesday.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Anti-Mubarak protesters throw rocks at pro-Mubarak supporters during clashes in Tahrir Square on Wednesday.

    Protesters were seen running with their shirts or faces bloodied. Men and women in the crowd were weeping. Scores of wounded were carried to a makeshift clinic at a mosque near the square and on other side streets. Doctors in white coats rushed about with bags of cotton, mercurochrome and bandages. One man with blood coming out of his eye stumbled into a side-street clinic.

    Khalil Hamra / AP

    A wounded demonstrator is evacuated from Tahrir square in Cairo on Wednesday.

    Read more on this developing story here.

    See more photos here.

  • Protesting Egyptians hold shoes aloft, an insult in Arab culture

    By Meredith Birkett

    It was big news in 2008 when then President George W. Bush had a shoe thrown at him by an Iraqi journalist during a visit to Baghdad. In the streets of Cairo, Egyptians who are protesting Hosni Mubarak are brandishing their footwear, an insult in Arab cultures.

    Dylan Martinez / Reuters

    Protestors demonstrate in Tahrir Square in Cairo Feb. 1.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    A protester shows the sole of their shoe, a grave insult in Arab Muslim countries, as a reaction after Egyptian president Hosni Mubarek gave a speech to the nations on a projected television screen in Tahrir Square February 1, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt.

    Dec. 15: Neither of the shoes thrown at President Bush during a press conference Sunday hit their mark, but the act itself continued to hit a nerve Monday, both in Iraq and in Washington. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

     

    See more images from the protests in Egypt.

  • As many U.S. citizens try to leave Egypt, one woman joins the street protesters

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Liam Johnson, 6, is held by his father Peter Johnson as they wait to be evacuated by American authorities at Cairo International Airport on Feb. 1. The Johnsons live in Cairo and are originally from Minnesota. Foreigners and Egyptians alike have swamped the airport looking to escape the country as street protests continue.

    Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

    A U.S. citizen holds a placard and an Egyptian flag in Tahrir Square, Cairo on Feb. 1. The Egyptian army has said it will not fire on protestors as they gather in large numbers in central Cairo demanding the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek.

    By David R Arnott, NBC News

    The U.S. State Department has evacuated more than 1,200 Americans from Egypt aboard Government-chartered planes, and expects to fly out about 1,400 more in the coming days, we report today.

    But at least one U.S. citizen decided to join the protesters in Tahrir Square today, where al-Jazeera correspondent Dan Nolan described the scene as 'kinda like an Egyptian version of Woodstock'.

    UPDATE: Thanks to the readers of PhotoBlog, we now know that the woman in the second photo is Lisa Roscoe, who was raised in San Francisco and now lives in Cairo with her Egyptian husband. She heard that we had posted her picture and got in touch with us via the comments section below.

    In an exclusive interview with msnbc.com's Ian Johnston, Roscoe explains why she joined the protests.

  • In Egypt, moments of peace amid violence

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    An Egyptian Army soldier is a handed a flower by an anti-government protesters in Tahrir Square in Cairo.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    An Egyptian Army soldier (center) prays along with anti-government protesters during the afternoon in Tahrir Square Jan. 30.

    Miguel Medina / AFP - Getty Images

    Egyptian soldiers read the newspaper as they sit atop their Abrams tank as demonstrators begin to gather in Tahrir Square in the capital Cairo.

    Miguel Medina / AFP - Getty Images

    Egyptian demonstrators greet soldiers as they arrive in Tahrir Square in Cairo, on Jan. 30, on the sixth day of protests against long term President Hosni Mubarak's regime.

    By Meredith Birkett

    Cairo remained in a state of flux and marchers continued to protest in the streets and defy curfew, demanding the resignation of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarek. As President Mubarak struggles to regain control after five days of protests he has appointed Omar Suleiman as vice-president. The present death toll stands at 100 and up to 2,000 people are thought to have been injured during the clashes which started last Tuesday. Overnight it was reported that thousands of inmates from the Wadi Naturn prison had escaped and that Egyptians were forming vigilante groups in order to protect their homes.

    See more images

    Explore the role of bloggers in the uprising

  • Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    A man looks at "Custer's Last Flag" at Sotheby's auction house Dec. 3, in New York City. The flag, one of the few remnants of the famous 1876 battle in which General George Custer and his men were slaughtered by a band of Native American warriors after he staged a misgiuded attack, is billed as "the most significant and symbolic artefact recovered from the Little Bighorn battlefield" and is scheduled to be auctioned on December 10.

    Custer's Last Flag: Sotheby's to auction piece of history from The Battle of the Little Bighorn

    By Katie Cannon, Senior Multimedia Editor

    Thinking about what this flag witnessed makes me shudder, as the auction catalogue describes the tattered flag as having "some fraying, splits, and tears; some running of color; staining, including, evidently, blood stains; with losses from both battle and souvenir-takers." Sotheby's expects this piece to fetch $2-$5 million. If you'd like to read more about the lot, or have the cash to place a bid, check out Sotheby's page on the item.

  • Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Children wait with shopping bags inside Macy's department store on Black Friday shopping day Nov. 26, in New York City. Christmas shopping season is officially under way as Thanksgiving ends, and early signs point to a solid turnout for holiday shopping season.

    Shop until you drop

    By Meredith Birkett

    As shoppers hit stores today (see slideshow), initial reports say sales are up from a year ago. But the actual numbers won't be known for a week. Did you have a shopping adventure today, or did you avoid the mall?

  • Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Staff Sgt. Dustin Shanahan of Susanville, California with U.S. Army's EOD demolition team carefully carries a powerful Taliban-planted bomb made from a mortar round and a rocket-propelled grenade before blowing it up to neutralize it October 8, 2010 in the village of Zoldag Mongah west of Kandahar. Shanahan is attached to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, the storied "Black Hearts" that won fame on D-Day and in other battles and are now spread out in the Taliban-infused badlands west of Kandahar.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Shanahan was called upon to defuse four different bombs aimed at American troops today.

    Defusing a Taliban bomb

    By Stokes Young, nbcnews.com

    Scary.

    It appears that the field to the right of Shanahan in the top picture is full of marijuana plants--not the first time we've seen a whole lot of cannabis in a picture from Afghanistan.

  • Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Afghan schoolgirls seen through the window of a Humvee wave to a passing American convoy on June 26 in downtown Herat.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    The guard tower and earthen walls of a military base are seen through the window of a M-ATV vehicle, the heavily-armored successor to the Humvee, June 15, 2010 in Kandahar.

    Afghanistan, seen through a Humvee window

    The top picture is shot from a Humvee, the bottom from a newer M-ATV. We've published fourteen similar pictures by Getty Images photojournalist Chris Hondros in this slideshow, along with his explanation of the project and description of what part the vehicles play in the military mission there. Take a look, and let us know what you think below.

  • Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Sgt. John Barton of the 4th Brigade of the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division pets his platoon's pet dog Ray-Ray as he awakens from sleeping outside at combat outpost Impala June 29, 2010 in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan. Many US troops in Afghanistan sleep in the outdoors in the summer due to the stifling overnight heat. The 82nd Airborne along with NATO Italian troops have been working for nearly a year in this combative zone in the far northwest of the country near the Turkmenistan border, attempting to pacify and extend the Afghanistan central government rule to this rural and fiercely independent area rife with Taliban insurgents.

    A soldier and his dog

    I love this picture in part because it reminds me of Rory Stewart's book "The Places in Between," a gripping read about the author's walk through Afghanistan with a local dog he's picked up, named Babur. The dog is one of the best characters in the book.

    Chris Hondros has been filing a lot of strong pictures from Afghanistan. We'll be posting more today or tomorrow.

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