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.

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.

(Left) A fisherman reacts as he looks at his boat, which was destroyed by March 11's magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, in Yamada town, Iwate prefecture on March 27. (Right) A woman cries as she walks along a street in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti January 27, 2010.

Carlos Barria is a Reuters staff photographer based in Shanghai, China. He has covered breaking news, sports and features in the Americas, the Middle East, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Barria's recent work in Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused him to reflect on the similarities of the disaster in Haiti in 2010.

Barria writes:

"A year ago, I was part of the Reuters team that covered Haiti’s massive earthquake, which claimed some 250,000 lives, and left a million people living in makeshift camps. This year, I was part of the team that covered another natural disaster– the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan’s northern coast and brought on a nuclear crisis.

The two events were very different. They occurred on opposite sides of the globe, in completely different countries, in different cultural contexts. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with a turbulent political history. On the other hand, Japan is one of the richest and most modern countries in the world– the third largest economy and, actually, one of the first to send help to Haiti.

But in covering these two catastrophes, I was struck by a few similarities.

Walking through the rubble of Kessenuma, in Japan, looking for a way to convey the scale of the destruction, I found myself almost in a situation like one year ago in Haiti."

Carlos Barria / Reuters

(Left) A refugee sleeps at a relief center in Minamisanriku town, Miyagi prefecture, March 22.
(Right) A woman sits at her tent at a makeshift camp in Port-au-Prince, Haiti January 26, 2010.

Carlos Barria / Reuters

(Left) A woman reacts while using a mobile phone as she looks at her house destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in Kessenuma town, in Miyagi prefecture on March 28.
(Right) A man wipes sweat from his forehead as he walks along a destroyed street after the earthquake in Port-au-Prince, January 15, 2010.

"There was a woman alone, who paused and stood still, looking at the remains of her house. I had a flash back to a man I had photographed walking alone in the devastated Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince."

Carlos Barria / Reuters

(Top) A woman waits in line during a food distribution effort at an area destroyed by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Ishinomaki, northern Japan on April 3.(Bottom) A woman raises her arms for products from a destroyed shop after the earthquake in Port-au-Prince, January 16, 2010.

 "No matter what the differences are between countries and cultures, at the end of the day I felt I was watching people suffer in the same way."

Carlos Barria / Reuters

(Left) Family members of victims of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami cry next to coffins of their relatives during a mass funeral in Kassenuma town, Miyagi prefecture on March 26. Ten flimsy wood coffins were laid on two sturdy rails at a hastily prepared cemetery of mostly mud as Keseunnuma began burying its dead from the tsunami that ripped apart the Japanese coastal city. (Right) A woman cries during a memorial ceremony at a mass grave in Titanyn, outside of Port au Prince, February 1, 2010.

For more images from the ongoing crisis in Japan click here.

Too see more posts about the behind-the-scenes experiences of Reuters photographers click here.

Jodi Bieber / Institute for Artist Management / Goodman Gallery for Time magazine

Portrait of Bibi Aisha.

The international jury of the 54th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected this picture by Jodi Bieber as the World Press Photo of the Year 2010.

The winning picture shows Bibi Aisha, an 18-year-old woman from Oruzgan province in Afghanistan, who fled back to her family home from her husband's house, complaining of violent treatment. The Taliban arrived one night, demanding Bibi be handed over to face justice. After a Taliban commander pronounced his verdict, Bibi's brother-in-law held her down and her husband sliced off her ears and then cut off her nose. Bibi was abandoned, but later rescued by aid workers and the American military. After time in a women's refuge in Kabul, she was taken to America, where she received counseling and reconstructive surgery. Bibi Aisha now lives in the US.

Click here for a slideshow of more World Press Photo winners.

Stakes are rising in a perilous way for journalists covering protests in Cairo.

There have been widespread reports of journalists targeted, intimidated, detained and stripped of their gear during the 10th day of protests between pro- and anti-government groups.

Mohammed Abed / AFP - Getty Images

Injured Associated Press photographer Khalil Hanna retreats during clashes between anti-government demonstrators and their pro-government opponents in Cairo's Tahrir square on Thursday.

Photographers reported a string of attacks by Mubarak supporters near Tahrir Square, the scene of battles between supporters of Mubarak and protesters demanding he step down after nearly 30 years in power.

The Washington Post reported that its bureau chief and a photographer were among around two dozen journalists arrested by the interior ministry.

"We have heard from multiple witnesses that Leila Fadel, our Cairo bureau chief, and Linda Davidson, a photographer, were among two dozen journalists arrested this morning by the Egyptian Interior Ministry," the newspaper said on its website.

Sebastian Scheiner / AP

Press photographers, including Associated Press photographer Khalil Hamra, left, take cover as they work during clashes in Cairo on Thursday, Feb. 3. Another day of heavy gunfire and clashes erupted around dusk in Tahrir Square, while new looting and arson spread around the capital. Gangs of thugs supporting President Hosni Mubarak attacked reporters, foreigners, and human rights workers while the army rounded up foreign journalists.

Associated Press reporter Hadeel Al-Shalchi said in a Twitter message Thursday that two New York Times journalists had been arrested. He earlier issued a warning, saying "Journos be careful: they are out for us today." (Read more...)

The common thread in all reports out of Cairo suggest a pervasive tension between demonstrators and working journalists, which can be heard in a video posted after CNN's Anderson Cooper was attacked yesterday.

"The government has been sowing hatred among the people of Egypt against journalists," said David Degner, an American freelance photojouranlist who has lived in Cairo the past two years.

He knows of at least five fellow journalists who have been beaten, had cameras stolen, or have had enough and just want to go home. Last night a journalist was beaten up and had his cameras stolen outside the door to Degner's apartment in downtown Cairo.

Despite the hazards, he continues to photograph. "Calls from friends in trouble are more concerning than the actual protests or the rocks falling around me.”

Khalil Hamra / AP

Two foreign photographers take cover as they work to photograph clashes between protesters in downtown Cairo on Thursday, Feb. 3.

The Guardian reported that a Reuters television crew was beaten up early today close to Tahrir Square while filming a piece about shops and banks being forced to shut during the clashes.

If you're taking pictures in Cairo, let us know and upload them here. If you're seeing other notable images from events there, you can public message @msnbc_pictures on Twitter.

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