# Think of a famous Photo. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 12, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050 "2008-04-12T16:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/61 "2008-04-13T00:58:22Z")
[QUOTE=Mach Tuck] I’m surprised [this one](http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery/GPN-2001-000009.jpg) hasn’t come up yet. Definitely first for me. [/QUOTE] That’s a good one…gave me a chill when I clicked on it. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/62 "2008-04-13T00:58:24Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Bus Guy] Probably some shrink would have something to say about the differences between people whose first choice was something traumatic or violent, or some of us whose first thought was something mildly erotic. [/QUOTE] I didn’t choose “Love in the Afternoon,” or whatever it’s called, because it’s romantic, though; I chose it because it’s beautifully composed. It could be, as well, that others didn’t choose the napalm strike and so forth because they’re traumatic and violent, but because they’re historically significant. And history, sadly, is violent. At least, the visuals tend to be violent. The moon landing and the Yalta summit (great choice!) are not violent, but the Yalta summit marked an end to a hugely violent war. Of course, art can be violent too (Guernica)…I’m getting a headache. Anyway, it generally comes down to art or history. Most people in this thread chose history. Funny thing, though: the student facing down the tank is the only one that made me tear up, perhaps because it’s one of the few that happened in my lifetime. And since no one’s posted it yet: [here.](http://www.truthmove.org/workspace/photos-content/mlk_jr_slaying.jpg) No one’s mentioned 9/11 yet either, and I cannot for the life of me find the photo I’m thinking of. Most images of the towers collapsing are video captures; most images of the Pentagon are poorly composed (and on conspiracy sites). But the **photo** I’m thinking of is of bystanders watching the collapse. The woman with the pixie cut is covering her mouth. The woman in the sleeveless sweater is pointing, and IIRC, there’s a guy just staring. That’s the first still photo that comes to mind. ETA: Oh, dangit! Sorry, **ivylass**. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/63 "2008-04-13T01:00:11Z")
**Rilch** , see my post #39. And I know I should know, but what’s your context of your linked photo? I know it’s the Martin Luther King shooting, but what are they pointing at? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/64 "2008-04-13T01:02:07Z")
Where the shots came from. And normally, that photo is cropped and doesn’t include the people in the parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/65 "2008-04-13T01:13:18Z")
No worries, **Rilch**. Like I said, this thread is fascinating…I’m enjoying the heck out of it. There’s a photo of some of the Bush administration sitting at a long table watching TV during the Sept 11 attack…I think with the exception of one or two, all of them have their hands over their mouths in shock. I’ve often wondered, why humans tend to cover their mouths when seeing a traumatic event. Look at any photo of bystanders during Sept 11…you’ll see a great many have their mouths covered. Hmmm…sorry for the hijack…keep posting links! ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/66 "2008-04-13T01:30:11Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] This one: [http://www.brianripley.com/images/ExecuteVietCong-Feb1-68w.jpg](http://www.brianripley.com/images/ExecuteVietCong-Feb1-68w.jpg) [/QUOTE] This is the one that came to my mind, sad to say. I had a friend years back that had been in Special Forces in Nam and said he was there when this took place and would have been behind and to the right of the photographer. I wish it had been the Moon landing pic instead. That is to say I wish that pic had come to mind, not that my friend had been on the Moon… oh hell, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/67 "2008-04-13T01:50:50Z")
After some time to think about it, which I didn’t do when I dittoed the Spanish guy getting shot (that was my first reaction), I believe [this one](http://www.starstore.com/acatalog/James_Dean_Times_Square_L.jpg) would have come to the top. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/68 "2008-04-13T02:08:08Z")
[This one.](http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d97/Clothahump/09-11A.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/69 "2008-04-13T02:19:16Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] That’s a good one…gave me a chill when I clicked on it. [/QUOTE] She was [‘re-found’ found later](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharbat_Gula), and I do recall they put her _back_ on the [cover again.](http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/index-text) Tripler I remember seeing both covers, side by side (just like on my second link). ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/70 "2008-04-13T02:28:38Z")
[QUOTE=MsWhatsit] [This one.](http://img.timeinc.net/Life/special/kiss01.jpg) [/QUOTE] That was my first thought too. It’s a little weird that so many people think of that image. I wonder if it’s because that photo doesn’t specifically capture a significant event like, say, the Iwo Jima flagraising or some such. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/71 "2008-04-13T02:36:15Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] That was my first thought too. It’s a little weird that so many people think of that image. I wonder if it’s because that photo doesn’t specifically capture a significant event like, say, the Iwo Jima flagraising or some such. [/QUOTE] You know those posters that have words like “courage” and “commitment” and other buzzwords found in corporate America and some feel-good picture to go with the word? This picture should have some word like “Elation” at the bottom. That’s the mood, and the reason most people who were alive that day (I was too young for school) might pull it down from the brain album. It might be worth another thread to explore the pictures that come to mind first that would go with other such words. Stuff like: Boredom Panic Drunkenness Excess Pride Gluttony The Seven Deadly Sins Apocalypse Now ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/72 "2008-04-13T02:50:00Z")
I thought of Fenton’s [photo of the cannonballs on the road taken during the Crimean War.](http://morris.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg-part-one/) It’s actually a pretty boring picture, compared to other entries in this thread, and it’s only the controversy and discussion surrounding it that makes it interesting. The second one I thought of was the one **MsWhatsit** linked to, and the third was of the [Civil War sniper that was staged.](http://www.archives.gov/research/civil-war/photos/images/civil-war-098.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![MadPansy64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@MadPansy64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadPansy64)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/73 "2008-04-13T03:16:18Z")
[QUOTE=MsWhatsit] [This one.](http://img.timeinc.net/Life/special/kiss01.jpg) [/QUOTE] Yep. [That one.](http://img.timeinc.net/Life/special/kiss01.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/74 "2008-04-13T03:21:54Z")
The V-J Day kiss was my first thought as well. Asked Mr. Brown and he mentioned [this one](http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/shenews/07/johnjohn.jpg) immediately. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/75 "2008-04-13T03:30:10Z")
A f64 club pic: [Mount Williamson, The Sierra Nevada, from Manzanar, California](http://www.hctc.commnet.edu/artmuseum/anseladams/details/pdf/MtWilliamson.pdf) Visually peaceful, but check the location of the photo. War-related, in a degree-of-separation sorta way. ---
**Author:** ![threnodyangelfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@threnodyangelfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threnodyangelfire)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/76 "2008-04-13T03:42:10Z")
[This](http://www.throwpots.com/graylady.jpg) is the first one I thought of. Way different to most. Though now I am completely in love with that Kiss photo. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/77 "2008-04-13T04:09:15Z")
I honestly don’t know why, but [this](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Train_wreck_at_Montparnasse_1895.jpg) was the first photo I thought of when I read the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/78 "2008-04-13T04:15:34Z")
Totally out of character for me, but that one of the Vietnamese girl carrying her baby with flames in the background (or maybe she was horribly burned). I have trouble looking at that one, and I’d expect me to think of a moonwalk or something first. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/79 "2008-04-13T06:36:29Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] I honestly don’t know why, but [this](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Train_wreck_at_Montparnasse_1895.jpg) was the first photo I thought of when I read the thread title. [/QUOTE] I’ve seen that before - what happened? ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050/80 "2008-04-13T06:42:44Z")
[QUOTE=MsWhatsit] [This one.](http://img.timeinc.net/Life/special/kiss01.jpg) [/QUOTE] Me too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-famous-photo/445050.md?page=5)