100 Photographs That Changed the World
(Digital Journalist) Let us first pose a question: Is it folly to nominate 100 photographs as having been influential to world events, or is this a valid historic inquiry? LIFE will, here and in the following pages, put forth its argument. You be the judge. Having been in the business of presenting stirring, revelatory photography since 1936, LIFE has a vested interest in claiming for photojournalism a place of high importance. Given its preferences and an endless page count, LIFE would put forth a thousand and more photos of substance, each of them worth at least a thousand words. Words. Ever since chisel was taken to slate, it has been accepted that words can and do change the world. Whether it be the Torah, the New Testament or the Koran, the Magna Carta or the Declaration of Independence, J’Accuse, Oliver Twist or Catch-22, Common Sense or Silent Spring, the effect of words can reach so many hearts and minds that it impacts the human condition and the course of mankind. Speeches incite, editorials persuade, poems inspire. Can photographs perform similarly?
Mystech: Even though we’ve probably seen most of these before, having them back to back with full captioning and context is really a visually moving experience. Warning some are graphic. Link to the thumbnail page and full article within.
That is a very compelling thing to look at. I agree that seeing one or two of them on thier own is something we are all used to. But that in a collection, it is very moving.