We've all heard the worn-out clich: "a picture is worth a thousand words". It may be an overused expression, but when you see a great photograph, it's impossible to argue with. Photography can be a truly powerful medium, both when it is used purely as an artistic tool, and when it is used to document important events taking place in the world. It is the practice of photojournalism, however, that has produced the most profound, insightful and emotive images. The most powerful shots crystallise moments in history and either open the eyes of the world to suffering and injustice or symbolise hope for the future.
Often, when photographers find themselves in warzones or at scenes of natural disasters, they are thrown into a challenging moral predicament. Their journalistic instinct is to document what they see and bring it to the attention of the wider world, but this often means they are watching terrible things happen and not intervening to prevent the suffering they witness. At the same time, photographers often put their own lives on the line, and many have paid the ultimate price in their efforts to get to the centre of the action.
One image, taken in Vietnam by Nick Ut in 1972, completely typifies the moral predicament war photographers face, whilst also conveying the risks they take. The photo shows a group of Vietnamese children fleeing in terror from a US napalm attack. At the centre of the image is a naked, badly burned girl named Kim Phuc, crying out in despair. The photo was shocked people around the world, displaying the consequences of America's tactics with uncompromising directness.
World-changing photos aren't only taken by journalists. In 1941, an SS soldier captured an image now known as The Last Jew of Vinnista. Discovered in one of his personal albums after the war, this sickening image shows a gaunt Jewish man sat on the edge of a pit of dead bodies, with a guard stood behind him with a gun to his head. All 28,000 Ukranian Jews from the city of Vinnista were killed during WWII.
The power of photos like these derive their power from an uncompromising depiction of humankind at its worst, but many images also exist which celebrate the great things humans have achieved, and they deserve an equal place in history. Just take a look at Buzz Aldrin's shot of the first human footprint on the Moon, taken in 1969, and marvel at the human spirit of adventure and discovery.
Often, when photographers find themselves in warzones or at scenes of natural disasters, they are thrown into a challenging moral predicament. Their journalistic instinct is to document what they see and bring it to the attention of the wider world, but this often means they are watching terrible things happen and not intervening to prevent the suffering they witness. At the same time, photographers often put their own lives on the line, and many have paid the ultimate price in their efforts to get to the centre of the action.
One image, taken in Vietnam by Nick Ut in 1972, completely typifies the moral predicament war photographers face, whilst also conveying the risks they take. The photo shows a group of Vietnamese children fleeing in terror from a US napalm attack. At the centre of the image is a naked, badly burned girl named Kim Phuc, crying out in despair. The photo was shocked people around the world, displaying the consequences of America's tactics with uncompromising directness.
World-changing photos aren't only taken by journalists. In 1941, an SS soldier captured an image now known as The Last Jew of Vinnista. Discovered in one of his personal albums after the war, this sickening image shows a gaunt Jewish man sat on the edge of a pit of dead bodies, with a guard stood behind him with a gun to his head. All 28,000 Ukranian Jews from the city of Vinnista were killed during WWII.
The power of photos like these derive their power from an uncompromising depiction of humankind at its worst, but many images also exist which celebrate the great things humans have achieved, and they deserve an equal place in history. Just take a look at Buzz Aldrin's shot of the first human footprint on the Moon, taken in 1969, and marvel at the human spirit of adventure and discovery.
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Photography is also the perfect medium for powerful portraits. Sapphire Studios are one of London's leading providers of this service.
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