19th August - It's World Photography Day today!
Hordes of photographs taken by enterprising photographers and photo journalists have become famous (like the Tienanmen Square freeze, Auschwitz's concentration camps, the portrait of Winston Churchill, John Lennon and Yoko Ono's frame taken by Annie Leibovitz on the morning of the day he was shot dead, Che Guevara's spanning gaze taken by Alberto Diaz in 1960 and so many more...)
There are some pictures that really make a shiver run down my spine and the mind is numbed for a few seconds. The images do keep coming back to my mind... They speak for themselves
Guevara's Crowd-Spanning Gaze"Once labeled 'the most famous photograph in the world and a symbol of the 20th century', this portrait of Che Guevara, photographed by Alberto Diaz Korda on March 5, 1960, is considered to be the most reproduced image in the history of photography. "
Korda, while on an assignment for ‘the Revolucion,’ took this photo of Guevara at a protest rally, after a Belgian freighter carrying arms to Cuba was blown up by counterrevolutionaries while being unloaded in Havana harbour, killing more than 100 dock workers. As he later recalled, it was a damp, cold day. Using a 90-millimetre lens, he was panning his Leica across the figures on the dais when Guevara's face jumped into the viewfinder. The look in Che's eyes startled Korda so much that he instinctively lurched backward and immediately pressed the button. "There appears to be a mystery in those eyes, but in reality it is just blind rage at the deaths of the day before, and the grief for their families." However, it was only after Guevara’s death, that this image, noble and defiant, with tilted beret and flowing locks, rapidly spread and was soon taken up by advertisers the world over. Now ubiquitous: Che’s image adorns mugs, hoodies, lighters, key chains, tank tops and of course those omnipresent T-shirts. More than thirty five years after his death, it still remains the logo of revolutionary chic. Through a twist of fate though, Korda received no royalties whatsoever for this photograph. Speaking in Havana just before he died, he said, "life may not have granted me a great fortune in money, but it has given me the even greater fortune of becoming a figure in the history of photography."
Korda, while on an assignment for ‘the Revolucion,’ took this photo of Guevara at a protest rally, after a Belgian freighter carrying arms to Cuba was blown up by counterrevolutionaries while being unloaded in Havana harbour, killing more than 100 dock workers. As he later recalled, it was a damp, cold day. Using a 90-millimetre lens, he was panning his Leica across the figures on the dais when Guevara's face jumped into the viewfinder. The look in Che's eyes startled Korda so much that he instinctively lurched backward and immediately pressed the button. "There appears to be a mystery in those eyes, but in reality it is just blind rage at the deaths of the day before, and the grief for their families." However, it was only after Guevara’s death, that this image, noble and defiant, with tilted beret and flowing locks, rapidly spread and was soon taken up by advertisers the world over. Now ubiquitous: Che’s image adorns mugs, hoodies, lighters, key chains, tank tops and of course those omnipresent T-shirts. More than thirty five years after his death, it still remains the logo of revolutionary chic. Through a twist of fate though, Korda received no royalties whatsoever for this photograph. Speaking in Havana just before he died, he said, "life may not have granted me a great fortune in money, but it has given me the even greater fortune of becoming a figure in the history of photography."
I took this one on our Independence Day, 15th of August. I found, among other photographs of children that I took that day, the pure innocence and joy reflected on their faces so beautifully that I couldn't help smiling and following them around... :)
They say, don't photograph children, as they easy subjects. True, but capturing human moods is one difficult task.
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