Photographs have the ability to tell a story in a single shot. They play an important role in everyone's life, connecting us to our past, reminding us of people, places and feelings. Photos allow us to make memories that last forever and potentially influence the world.
Fetus, 18 weeks by Lennart Nilsson (1945)
LIFE published Nilsson’s photo essay ‘Drama of Life Before Birth’ in 1965 which sold within days. His images publicly revealed for the first time what a developing fetus looks like and helped raise more questions about when life begins.
Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston by Neil Leifer (1965)
Lewiston, Maine, on May 25, 1965. 23-yr-old heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali squared-off against 34-yr-old Sonny Liston, the man he’d snatched the title from the previous year. One minute and 44 seconds into the first round, Ali’s right first connected with Liston’s chin and Liston went down.
“Get up and fight, sucker!” – Muhammad Ali
Falling Man by Richard Drew (2001)
Man falling from the World Trade Centre in New York after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Drew considers the falling man an ‘unknown soldier’ who he hopes ‘represents everyone who had the same fate that day’
V-J Day in Times Square by Alfred Eisenstaedt (1945)
Hired by LIFE magazine and aimed ‘to find and catch a storytelling moment’. When WWII ended on August 14, 1945, Eisenstaedt found himself swept up in the moment on the street of New York. A sailor swept up a nurse, swoops her and kisses her in the joyous moment. His image has become the most famous and frequently reproduced photo of the 20th century.
“People tell me that when I’m in heaven, they will remember this picture.” – Eisenstaedt
