Powerful Photographs

rbp · #1 05-24-2009, 03:13 PM

The Tiananmen thread got me thinking about the power of photography... anyone have a powerful photograph to share?

Here's some starters...

Tank Man:

Spoiler

Fat Man Mushroom Cloud:

Spoiler

Kevin Carter's photograph of a starving child watched by a vulture (this one may distress you):

Spoiler

Phan Thị Kim Phúc fleeing after a napalm strike (also distressing):

Spoiler

The Earth from the Moon:

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Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima:

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Miner's Strike police line at Orgreave

Spoiler

Martin Lurther King Jnr, delievering I Have A Dream:

Spoiler

Syndey Harbour Bridge, 1st of January 2000

Spoiler

...I stop there coz if I don't I don't know when I will

thaserty · #2 05-24-2009, 03:21 PM

sure that photography can really become powerful when we know the background story to it or it is so real that we can feel the feeling of sadness, happiness, pain, despair or whatever. Personally, I dont think that the last one is quite powerful.

YamiNoSekai · #3 05-24-2009, 03:22 PM

Well they do say 'A picture is worth a thousand words'. But the question I pose is what do you mean by 'powerful'? Something that strikes ones feelings while looking at it, or one that shows the power of something? Inspiration or Awe?

rbp · #4 05-24-2009, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YamiNoSekai

Well they do say 'A picture is worth a thousand words'. But the question I pose is what do you mean by 'powerful'? Something that strikes ones feelings while looking at it, or one that shows the power of something? Inspiration or Awe?

Well... if you look at the varity in there "powerful" means a lot of things... some of them are tragic, some are striking... I can't think of another word that quite captures all of the things shown other than "powerful" I suppose "emotive" would work... but doesn't seem right to me...

Quote:

Originally Posted by thaserty

sure that photography can really become powerful when we know the background story to it or it is so real that we can feel the feeling of sadness, happiness, pain, despair or whatever. Personally, I dont think that the last one is quite powerful.

It nicely symbolizes the Millennium celebrations... that was my reason for selecting it... a global celebration... and yes... obviously there is background to every image which gives it more power... the Martin Luther King image isn't powerful by itself, while the Kim Phúc one is without explanation...

I'm not suggesting people have to throw images in a vacuum...

animedoll · #5 05-24-2009, 03:28 PM

i don't find public speeches/paragraphs or published work to be very moving..instead i prefer personal stories.

thaserty · #6 05-24-2009, 03:31 PM

well I think its more of a question of what can you read in the photograph,
It is the same issue when reading art. Art do come in variety of form. Painting that is so beautiful can be kitsch, propaganda is a mere kitsch because its only give out aesthetically pleasing effect.
Photograph is the same. Some photograph of a puppies or a kitten or something that only use beauty or cuteness cannot be said that it is a truly beautify photograph (Yes, same goes for fashion photo and model shot).
It has been said that photograph is the 'way of stopping and living in time' and yes, powerful photograph is where you can see, feel and experience the same feeling as the subject in that photo felt. Horror, Pain, Hope and Faith for example