Field Notes Archives

In April, children watch a dust devil whip up sand as it travels across the desert landscape near the town of Huth, about 50 miles north of Yemen's capital.

Field Notes: A Dust Devil Whirls in Huth, Yemen

Huth, Yemen: In April, children watch a dust devil whip up sand as it travels across the desert landscape near the town of Huth, about 50 miles north of Yemen's capital.

Pacific Standard Staff

Field Notes: The Burnt Remains of a Government Building in Benghazi

Benghazi, Libya: On the outskirts of the city, a man stands in a government building that was burned by the opposition in February of 2011, at the beginning of a revolution against the 41-year regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

Pacific Standard Staff

A policeman walks past the Higher Regional Court in Dresden, Germany.

Letter From Dresden, Germany: What It’s Like to Be a Refugee in Germany’s Conservative Stronghold

"There is a TV crew here from Texas called Infowars. They are the good ones—they are for Trump. Be nice to them."

Jacob Kushner

Letter From the Rio Grande Valley, Texas: Crossing the Border Between Two Sister Cities

Borders are arbitrary, but they can feel transcendent.

Sarah Baird

In 2012, miners launched a rocket at Spain's civil guard, which, according to press reports, was attempting to halt protests against the government's decision to reduce coal subsidies.

Field Notes: Launching a Rocket at the Spanish Civil Guard

San Martín Del Rey Aurelio, Spain: In 2012, miners launched a rocket at Spain's civil guard, which, according to press reports, was attempting to halt protests against the government's decision to reduce coal subsidies.

Pacific Standard Staff

At a funeral in a remote corner of Indonesia, water buffalo are sacrificed in order to help carry the deceased to the afterlife.

Field Notes: A Sacrifice for the Afterlife in Indonesia

Tana Toraja, Indonesia: At a funeral in a remote corner of Indonesia, water buffalo are sacrificed in order to help carry the deceased to the afterlife.

Pacific Standard Staff

An aerial picture shows the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu on February 1, 2017, during its reopening following renovation after earthquake damage. Boudhanath Stupa was among hundreds of historic monuments damaged during the 7.8-magnitude quake that hit Nepal in April 2015, killing nearly 9,000 people.

Letter From Kathmandu, Nepal: The Omnipresence of Dust

Each time the electricity powers off in Kathmandu, thousands of diesel generators rumble to life, spewing noxious particulate matter, or PM2.5.

Abby Seiff

From a perch in the Matthews Range, members of the Samburu, a tribe of semi-nomadic pastoralists, look down at the Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy, which they're working to protect from elephant poachers.

Field Notes: Looking Out Over Matthews Range in Kenya

Matthews Range, Kenya: From a perch in the Matthews Range, members of the Samburu, a tribe of semi-nomadic pastoralists, look down at the Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy, which they're working to protect from elephant poachers.

Pacific Standard Staff

Prisoners, many of whom claim to be juveniles, line up for dinner at Lira Prison, Poor birth records make it difficult for Ugandan prison officials to remove younger prisoners from adult facilities.

Field Notes: Dinner at a Prison in Lira, Uganda

Lira, Uganda: Prisoners, many of whom claim to be juveniles, line up for dinner at Lira Prison. Poor birth records make it difficult for Ugandan prison officials to remove younger prisoners from adult facilities.

Pacific Standard Staff

Field Notes: Watching Over the Korean Demilitarized Zone

Goseong, South Korea: A South Korean soldier looks over the DMZ from a guard position on top of Observation Post 717, on the edge of the North Korean border.

Pacific Standard Staff