# 10 Photos that changed the world



## Big Mike (Apr 22, 2010)

10 Photographs That Changed the World


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## Antarctican (Apr 22, 2010)

Very interesting to see which ones made this particular 'short list'! Before opening the link, I made a mental list of a few I expected to see on it. Three made it.  Some I expected to maybe see included:
- something from Hiroshima (either the photo of the mushroom cloud, or one of the horrible aftermath), 
-the famous shot of the children running in the street, one girl naked, after they were hit with napalm during the Vietnam war, 
-a shot of the earth taken from one of the moon missions

Of course, I don't expect there would ever be consensus among everyone on this particular topic. Hopefully other readers of this thread will chime in with pics they maybe expected to see.


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## LBPhotog (Apr 22, 2010)

I did the same thing with the mental list ... two of them were there, and I think that there is one GLARING OMISSION ... 

What about the National Geographic shot of that young Middle Eastern girl with the haunting eyes ... we all know the one, powerful, meaningful, important ...


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## c.cloudwalker (Apr 22, 2010)

As usual with this kind of list, I didn't expect it to be to my liking but I am even more surprised that I thought I would be.

For example, no matter how great photos they are, I don't see the portraits of Dali and Einstein changing the world while I have to agree with Antarctican: where is the photo of the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima?

I own a print of Eddie Adams photo that I used a number of times in my presentation on how images can very easily distort reality, intentionally or, as in this case, unintentionally. At least, in this list, they have the full story.


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## pbelarge (Apr 22, 2010)

Some of the ones presented I have seen and expected.

I was surprised nothing of the depression, the bread lines,  etc..

Atom bomb, first flight, cars, worker's deprevation.....


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## c.cloudwalker (Apr 22, 2010)

pbelarge said:


> I was surprised nothing of the depression, the bread lines,  etc...



I guess you missed Dorothea Lange's photo, one of the most famous image of the Great Depression


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## Santa Gertrudis (Apr 22, 2010)

Pretty neat! Thanks for posting!


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## eric-holmes (Apr 22, 2010)

I was imagining the one of the girl standing in front of the tank.


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## usayit (Apr 22, 2010)

c.cloudwalker said:


> pbelarge said:
> 
> 
> > I was surprised nothing of the depression, the bread lines,  etc...
> ...



I read this a while back.. very interesting background information from one of the two young daughters in the photo.

Girl from iconic Great Depression photo: 'We were ashamed' - CNN.com


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## usayit (Apr 22, 2010)

Yup.. its the usual list... It amazes me that no one seems to remember Kevin Carter's 1950 Pulitzer prize winning photo.   It is the single photo that called into question the photographer's role with morality.  Some would say it haunted him to his early grave.

The Life and Death of Kevin Carter - TIME


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## Atlas77 (Apr 22, 2010)

Wow, I actually guessed that one of Ansel Adams shots would be on that list.


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## FrankLamont (Apr 23, 2010)

Of course these are just ten photos - there are more, it's not definitive - but I would have said:
Tiananmen Square protest (this being the famous photo)
The Trang Bang photo
The 1993 photo of the vulture and the toddler - as Usayit mentioned, though he got the date a little off - Carter wasn't even born then.


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## usayit (Apr 23, 2010)

Atlas77 said:


> Wow, I actually guessed that one of Ansel Adams shots would be on that list.



Let's continue this discussion....

How do you think Ansel Adams photos (I think they are outstanding btw...) have changed the world?

Remember... the topic is not on the artistic merits nor the quality of the photo but how it changed the world.  In my mind, a "snapshot" taken on a disposable camera with a powerful content or message can change the world.


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## Chris of Arabia (Apr 23, 2010)

LBPhotog said:


> I did the same thing with the mental list ... two of them were there, and I think that there is one GLARING OMISSION ...
> 
> What about the National Geographic shot of that young Middle Eastern girl with the haunting eyes ... we all know the one, powerful, meaningful, important ...



I'm guessing you mean this image by Steve McCurry - PAKISTAN. Peshawar. 1984. Afghan Girl at Nasir Bagh refugee camp. Not Middle Eastern, but I knew instantly which one you meant.


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## usayit (Apr 23, 2010)

Chris of Arabia said:


> LBPhotog said:
> 
> 
> > I did the same thing with the mental list ... two of them were there, and I think that there is one GLARING OMISSION ...
> ...



also

NPR : 'Afghan Girl' Mystery Solved


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## LBPhotog (Apr 23, 2010)

Thanks Chris, that's exactly the image I was talking about ... it was famous enough I figured just a description of it would be enough ...


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## c.cloudwalker (Apr 23, 2010)

eric-holmes said:


> I was imagining the one of the girl standing in front of the tank.



This is bugging the hell out of me! :lmao:

Since your post, I've had an image in mind but I can't find it. I was thinking it was from the Spring of Prague but no.

What the heck is this photo you are talking about?


And, btw, I agree with however asked: How did Ansel Adams change the world?


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## LBPhotog (Apr 23, 2010)

cloud ... isn't it the Tienemen Square shot?  I think that is the one eric is talking about ...


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## c.cloudwalker (Apr 23, 2010)

That's a guy


Edit =  I guess eric-holmes could be excused for the error considering that the young chinese of today don't even know what the image is


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## Antarctican (Apr 23, 2010)

eric-holmes said:


> I was imagining the one of the girl standing in front of the tank.


Yes, the Tianamen Square shot was one I initially meant to put in the list in my post, but I forgot. A worthy entry, IMHO



usayit said:


> It amazes me that no one seems to remember Kevin Carter's 1950 Pulitzer prize winning photo.   It is the single photo that called into question the photographer's role with morality.  Some would say it haunted him to his early grave.


That is a deeply moving photo, and also very worthy of being included in the top 10 list. 



FriedChicken said:


> The Trang Bang photo


Yep, that was the one I linked to in my post as well. Definitely another worthy contender

The topic of photos _that changed the world_ definitely makes the top ten list extremely difficult to choose. So many photos are thought provoking, stellar, emotional etc., but did they change the world? So subjective. And I agree with a previous poster, I fail to see how the Einstein pic changed the world.


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## c.cloudwalker (Apr 23, 2010)

I'd like to sum this up: *No photo has ever changed the world!*

:lmao:

I wish it could but I really don't believe it ever will.


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## mdtusz (Apr 23, 2010)

FriedChicken said:


> The Trang Bang photo



Reported for child pornography Kiddingggggg

I was a little surprised at the omissions on there too. I definitely don't think the throwing cats one and einstein need to be on there though...


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## FrankLamont (Apr 24, 2010)

RE the woman Steve Curry shot (ahem, photographed)... she's on the front cover of the National Geographic 'The Images' book as well as the back (when they found her again).

Yep, I linked to the Tiananmen Square photo in my last post.


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## maman (Apr 25, 2010)

They are truly defining. Interesting to see that they are all black and white too.


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## Garbz (Apr 25, 2010)

Not at all interesting that they are black and white I think, check out the dates on the pictures. Kodak released 35mm colour film in the 50s and it would be a little while longer before they became commonplace.


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## Romphotog (Apr 25, 2010)

Topless pic of Marilyn Monroe on cover of Playboy, 1st issue;
The oldest photograph still in existence taken in France of a backyard;
The only 2 photos ever taken of Robert Johnson, inventor of Blues and Rock;
Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock;
The only meeting of Elvis and Frank Sinatra;
Too many shots of the Civil War, WWI, WWII, concentration camps to mention;
various space shots, moon landing, etc. 
And the most viewed photo(or actually film) of all time of an historical event is the moment JFK was shot, taken by Abraham Zapruder.


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## Romphotog (Apr 25, 2010)

I forgot the shot of the 1st airplane hitting the WTC on 9/11, people jumping from the windows, and the Firefighters lifting the American flag.  Besides the A-bomb shots, no other photos have "changed" the world.
All other photos mentioned are of events occuring during or after events which caused them.  But the 9/11 shots are the beginning of something monumental.  An eventual war between Christendom and Islam.  Pretty soon Israel will hit Iran... and then all hell will break loose.


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## Fredric (Apr 26, 2010)

I would also have expected Henri Cartier-Bressons photograph of the trainstation. And Robert Capa's man dying on the battlefield... These pictures may not have changed the world, but they have changed photography!
Aside from that, does anybody know where to get these pictures from the top 10 in a decent resolution, so i can print them and frame them?

Thanks


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## icassell (Apr 26, 2010)

Thought some of you might enjoy this link:

FamousPicturesMagazine


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## usayit (Apr 26, 2010)

Question that comes to mind....

Does it matter if the image is a single frame from video?


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## JohnMF (Apr 26, 2010)

some of the events captured in the photographs people are suggesting, are bigger than the impact of the actual photographs themselves. I think that means they don't really fit into the "Photographs that changed the world" category.

For example, a photograph of a plane hitting one of the twin towers didn't change the world, it was the actual event that did that.

Some one suggested the Kevin Carter (Vulture and child shot) I think that comes a bit closer to the mark as an example of a "photo that changed the world".


...Elvis meeting Frank Sinatra though? Really?


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## Romphotog (Apr 26, 2010)

usayit said:


> Question that comes to mind....
> 
> Does it matter if the image is a single frame from video?


 

Like I said, the moment JFK was shot is the most famous shot  of all!


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## usayit (Apr 26, 2010)

JohnMF said:


> For example, a photograph of a plane hitting one of the twin towers didn't change the world, it was the actual event that did that.



Very GOOD!!!  very good!


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## usayit (Apr 26, 2010)

Romphotog said:


> usayit said:
> 
> 
> > Question that comes to mind....
> ...






Remember... this is "World" we are talkin here.  JFK is probably most known within the U.S. (and perhaps its allied friends).


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## Garbz (Apr 27, 2010)

I would have to disagree with you Romphotog on many of your selections.

Don't get me wrong all of them are incredibly moving in every way but:
- The world trade centre changed the world because people died and everyone knew. When thousands die in an indestructible building due to terrorism you don't need a single photo for fear to be spread around the world.
- The assassination of JFK had far reaching consequences. I frankly don't care much. I am not American and didn't have any strong connection to the president. To me the footage is just of some random assassination. The consequences of the assassination changed the world, not the photo. Unlike the photo of the Vietcong getting murdered, the president's death was known instantly to 100million people. If the photograph didn't capture this Vietcong moment, no one would have been the wiser, or really cared.
- Before you mentioned the photo of the only meeting of Elvis and Sinatra I never knew they had only met once, frankly I doubt it would have made a difference if they'd never met. Being there would have probably blown my mind. But as far as a photo of it I don't see how it ranks any higher than a photo of old guys from Pink Floyd doing the liveaid concert. I guarantee this photo wouldn't have changed the world in any way. Would love to have it on my mantelpiece though.

The oldest photo ever, world war photos, and the moon landing I fully agree though. Those photos all would have changed the world. 

Mind you I don't agree with every choice in the 10 listed above either. Einstein with a tongue out may make people giggle but it doesn't change the world.


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## Romphotog (Apr 27, 2010)

usayit said:


> JohnMF said:
> 
> 
> > For example, a photograph of a plane hitting one of the twin towers didn't change the world, it was the actual event that did that.
> ...


 
ok, as you could say the same for war pics, 9/11, moon landing, etc.
It wasnt the photo, but the event that was important.  Again, there are many war and moon shots, pics of hungry kids, etc.  Pics of My Lai were just shown in a doc about it on PBS.


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## Romphotog (Apr 27, 2010)

How about film rather than photos?  I nominate Edison's first ever films, which he made to make money.  They were ifcourse girly films, just overweight women dancing in see thru clothing.  Men paid 5c to watch them on Kinescopes.


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## D-B-J (Apr 27, 2010)

I think it's interesting that there are no digital images... Where's the world-trade centers one? Or The atomic bomb? 

I mean yeah, einstien being a g and sticking his tongue out is cool; but I don't think it changed the world.


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## Garbz (Apr 28, 2010)

Don't think you'll find digital images of the first atomic bomb


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## usayit (Apr 28, 2010)

Romphotog said:


> usayit said:
> 
> 
> > JohnMF said:
> ...



War pictures are not all the same nor equal.  We all know of the conflict in Vietnam so the resulting photos of it didn't change anything.   But photos of the particular event or atrocity committed by certain solders were a direct impact to changing policies.  One could surmise that nothing would have been done if it were not for certain photos.

Dorothea Lange's photos brought attention to the hardships of the Great Depression.  It did more than just document.

Kevin Carter's photo did even more... it made people stop and think about the morality and ethics behind such occurrence/photo.


Documenting a particular event is different from a photo causing an event.


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## JohnMF (Apr 29, 2010)

Romphotog said:


> usayit said:
> 
> 
> > JohnMF said:
> ...



I think you are getting iconic photo's mixed up with photo's which significantly changed the course of history _because they were taken_.


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## icassell (Apr 29, 2010)

JohnMF said:


> Romphotog said:
> 
> 
> > usayit said:
> ...



Bingo!

Certain images truly did change the course of history.  For example, think of those images from Vietnam era where we saw TV images of kids coming home in body bags.  Those images probably contributed significantly to the course of the war.

More recently, we can think of the cell-phone image from Tehran of Neda getting killed which also rallied public sentiment.


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## c.cloudwalker (Apr 29, 2010)

icassell said:


> Certain images truly did change the course of history.  For example, think of those images from Vietnam era where we saw TV images of kids coming home in body bags.  Those images probably contributed significantly to the course of the war.



:thumbup:

Which is why the military tried to keep those photos out of the public eye in the present war(s).


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