They say a picture can paint a thousand words. This is certainly true for the 10 photographs listed in this post. It tends to be that the majority of iconic photographs are ones that depict scenes of sorrow and turmoil, so in this post we have tried to mix it up slightly by showing scenes of jubilation and happiness to counteract the sorrow. As we are sure you will understand, this list is purely subjective and so although they are listed as 10 – 1, they are not necessarily in that order for all who would view them. Having written this list, it has become clear that there will be many list that will spin off from this, such as sports lists, war lists, entertainment list and many more.
10. The Lynching of Young Blacks(1930)
The two unfortunate souls in this photograph are Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, two young black men, wrongly accused by a teenager of raping his girlfriend in Marion, Indiana. It is claimed that close to 10,000 angry protesters stormed the county jail where the men were being held, and beat down the doors with Sledge Hammers in order to perform the sickening act of a public lynching.
The photo, taken by Studio Photographer Lawrence Beitler, was made in to postcards in order to show off civic pride and white supremacy, but the gruesome sight eventually had the opposite effect, ending up scaring and disgusting many of those who viewed it. This one photo is the inspiration for poems and songs, including Abel Meeropol’s poem ‘Strange Fruit’, later sung by Billie Holiday.
9. Albert Einstein (1951)
United Press International photographer, Arthur Sasse managed to get this iconic image of Albert Einstein. The pose came about as Arthur was attempting to get Einstein to smile for the camera. Having smiled for photographers all day, Einstein decided to stick his tongue out instead, thus creating the most recognised photo of Mr. Einstein himself.
Albert enjoyed the photo so much that he requested 9 copies from Albert and signed one for the photographer, which in 2009 would go on to sell for over $74,000!
8. Omayra Sanchez (1985)
Following a devastating volcano in 1985 in Colombia, Frank Fournier took this photograph of just 1 of over 25,000 victims. At 13 years old, Omayra Sanchez had been trapped in the water and concrete for 3 days. Frank Fournier took captured this image a mere couple of hours before Omayra passed away. There is a video accompanying the picture, which can be found here. A lot of controversy was sparked following this picture being published largely due to the inaction of the Government following such a horrendous disaster.
7. Lunch atop a skyscraper (1932)
Lunch atop a Skyscraper (New York Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam) is a famous black-and-white photograph taken by Charles C. Ebbets during construction of the RCA Building (renamed the GE Building in 1986) at Rockefeller Center in New York City, United States. It was not until 2003, after months of investigation by a private investigation firm, that the Bettmann Archive (the copyright owner of the photograph) recognized Charles C. Ebbets as the photographer. However, authorship of the photograph, popular as a poster, was listed as ‘Unknown’ on many prints. The photograph has been frequently misattributed to Lewis Hine.
6. Bobby Moore and Pele (1970 -Soccer World Cup)
This is potentially one of the most iconic sports photographs ever taken. And it nearly didn’t happen! At his second FIFA world cup, 35 year old Doncaster (UK) born photographer, John Varley had to hitch hike to the match between England and Brazil, after his car had broken down. Evidently, going that extra mile to get to the game was worth it and after hanging around near Bobby Moore for a few minutes after the game, Varley was lucky enough to snap the photo of two of the most iconic football (soccer) players the world has ever known.
5.VJ Day in Times Square (1945)
Alfred Eisenstaedt took this iconic shot in Times Square, New York City, on the 14th August 1945. Below is a description from Eisenstaedt himself, on how he came about taking the picture:
“In Times Square on V.J. Day I saw a sailor running along the street grabbing any and every girl in sight. Whether she was a grandmother, stout, thin, old, didn’t make a difference. I was running ahead of him with my Leica looking back over my shoulder but none of the pictures that were possible pleased me. Then suddenly, in a flash, I saw something white being grabbed. I turned around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse. If she had been dressed in a dark dress I would never have taken the picture. If the sailor had worn a white uniform, the same. I took exactly four pictures. It was done within a few seconds.
Only one is right.”
A similar picture taken by US Navy photographer Victor Jorgensen can bed seen here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Jorgensen
4. Guerrillero Heroico(1960)
Translated in to English, the term means “Heroic Guerrilla Fighter”. This image of Che Guevara, taken by Alberto Korda, is potentially one of the most recognisable in the world. The Maryland Institute College of Art called the picture a symbol of the 20th century and the world’s most famous photo. Versions of it have been painted, printed, digitized, embroidered, tattooed, silk-screened, sculpted or sketched on nearly every surface imaginable, leading the Victoria and Albert Museum to say that the photo has been reproduced more than any other image in photography.
3. The Falling Man (2001)
Quite possibly one of the most famous photographs since the turn of the millennium, the “The Falling Man” was taken by Richard Drew on September 11th 2001. It depicts just one man who was part of a group of 200, who came to be known as “the Jumpers”. It is truly one of the most disturbing images of the day as it shows just what the victims resorted to on the day of the attacks.
This is one of many photographs of the same man, and although it appears that he is falling head first, if you were to view the images in sequence it becomes clear that he is tumbling out of control.
Many attempts have been made to identify the man, but all leads eventually came to lose ends. Personally this image sums up not only the sad end to this mans life, but also the general feeling in the States at the time, that things were tumbling out of control.
2.The last Jew in Vinnitsa (1941)
One of the most harrowing images on the list, this is a photo from an Einsatzgruppen soldier’s personal album, labelled on the back as “Last Jew of Vinnitsa, it shows a member of Einsatzgruppe D as he is just about to shoot a Jewish man kneeling before a filled mass grave in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, in 1941. All 28,000 Jews from Vinnitsa and its surrounding areas were massacred at the time.
The Einsatzgruppen were responsible for the murders of over 1,000,000 people, and they were the first Nazi organizations to commence mass killing of Jews as an organized policy.
1. Afghan Girl (1984)
Sharbat Gula, a refugee from Pakistan was photographed by journalist Steve McCurry in Afghanistan. When the image was used as the cover for National Geographic in 1985, Sharbat was simply known as ‘Afghan Girl’. It wasn’t until McCurry was sent back on a mission by National Geographic in 2002, that she was formerly identified. Some say that the photo is reminiscent of the Mona Lisa (the photo sometime being known as the Afghan Mona Lisa). McCurry took a follow up photo as part of the 2002 documentary ‘Search for the Afghan Girl’. To see the image click here***
Following on from this story, South African photographer, Jodi Beiber, photographed Bibi Aisha, an Afghan Girl who had been the victim of facial mutilation. She claims to have drawn inspiration from McCurry’s photograph, stating: “For me, it was putting a moment of history in perspective. It was just one thing that added to the image”. Beiber’s image won her the ‘World Press Photo’ of the year award and the image ended up as the front cover of Time magazine, coupled with the caption: “What happens if we leave Afghanistan”.
Alternalists 
Arani
July 25, 2012
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