15 minutes solid it looked at this

**** man, that's really harrowing, got tears in my eyes now. It shows the power of photography. Praying for both of them..xx
 
I think having kids has a lot to do with it. This wouldn't have affected me as much before I had my two children.

Hope the little one is ok
 
That is a picture that says a 1000 words. very thought provoking
 
I found that very difficult to look at, with two small children of my own I just want to run up the stairs and hug them tight after seeing that.

It is such a powerful image, I really hope the wee one is ok.
 
Great shot and certainly makes you think about the effects of war and the number of innocents that get caught up in it all.
 
I don't have children. I don't really much like children, but it still hits a nerve and makes you feel for them. I wouldn't want any children to be hurt!
 
very moving shot, reading the blog she didnt survive

as a dad of 5 it really does make you think about your own children
 
Contrary to the main vibe it doesnt do a lot for me

its sad that the little girl died , but photographically speaking (out of the context of the blog) it doesnt tell the story , theres no eye contact, you cant see what he's doing, what the cause was, where it is etc.

so yes its a sad thing and you have to feel for the girls parents/family if any - but its not an iconic image of the war - compared with, say, the little girl hit with napalm in vietnam
 
big soft moose said:
Contrary to the main vibe it doesnt do a lot for me

its sad that the little girl died , but photographically speaking (out of the context of the blog) it doesnt tell the story , theres no eye contact, you cant see what he's doing, what the cause was, where it is etc.

so yes its a sad thing and you have to feel for the girls parents/family if any - but its not an iconic image of the war - compared with, say, the little girl hit with napalm in vietnam
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I agree that its not iconic to view/look at. However its because you cant see their faces that it gets me. Is he crying? Talking to her? Whats he saying?

She didnt survive and that makes me think of not only the family but the poor trooper. He is faceless and therefore could be any of us. His life has also changed for the worse.

Iconic .... no ..... but it gets a point across ... a hard hitting point. Something none of my photos have ever done. There full of twoddle & glam music rubbish.
 
big soft moose said:
Contrary to the main vibe it doesnt do a lot for me

its sad that the little girl died , but photographically speaking (out of the context of the blog) it doesnt tell the story , theres no eye contact, you cant see what he's doing, what the cause was, where it is etc.

so yes its a sad thing and you have to feel for the girls parents/family if any - but its not an iconic image of the war - compared with, say, the little girl hit with napalm in vietnam
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Do you have any children?
 
Tokkelossi said:
I agree that its not iconic to view/look at. However its because you cant see their faces that it gets me. Is he crying? Talking to her? Whats he saying?

She didnt survive and that makes me think of not only the family but the poor trooper. He is faceless and therefore could be any of us. His life has also changed for the worse.

Iconic .... no ..... but it gets a point across ... a hard hitting point. Something none of my photos have ever done. There full of twoddle & glam music rubbish.
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Mmm... Was just thinking the same. How would the photo have differed if the tog had tried to get THAT image? Would it even have been taken at all?

Point being, one out of all the posts on this thread alone is indifferent to the image (sure, you're looking at it from a technical perspective)... All the rest talk about the emotional impact.

To me, that's what photography is about.
 
joescrivens said:
Do you have any children?
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No - but thats not really the point, I have nephews , freinds with kids etc but it isnt any of them in the picture.

I just dont do kareoke greif , I dont know the child in the picture, they dont mean anything to me personally, and while in abstract its sad that any child should die unnecessarily, thousands of children die every day - chances are at least 3 figures worth have died somewhere in the world while we were writing these posts, and their deaths arent any less unfortunate for not being caught on camera.

and at the end of the day this is in the photography board section which in my view means its about the photograph - not the horrors of war per se - and photographically it doesnt do anything for me , because as i said above theres no context, no story etc so the picture doesnt touch me emotionally - because taken alone rather than in the context of the blog it could be more or less anywhere and doesnt say anything
 
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joescrivens said:
Do you have any children?
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Do you think people without children are incapable of feelings or something??
 
big soft moose said:
No - but thats not really the point, I have nephews , freinds with kids etc but it isnt any of them in the picture.

I just dont do kareoke greif , I dont know the child in the picture, they dont mean anything to me personally, and while in abstract its sad that any child should die unnecessarily, thousands of children die every day - chances are at least 3 figures worth have died somewhere in the world while we were writing these posts, and their deaths arent any less unfortunate for not being caught on camera.

and at the end of the day this is in the photography board section which in my view means its about the photograph - not the horrors of war per se - and photographically it doesnt do anything for me , because as i said above theres no context, no story etc so the picture doesnt touch me emotionally - because taken alone rather than in the context of the blog it could be more or less anywhere and doesnt say anything
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You could say any individual image on it's own doesn't tell a story if you take that view. We hardly ever know who the subject is, where they are etc... Powerful images spark the curiosity and force you to speculate about the context and the back story.

To me this is a powerful and moving image that shows the harsh reality of war- it's the innocent that suffer most. I agree with 'Tokkelossi' beside the image of the child and the blood the most powerful part of this image is the fact that you can't see the soldiers face. Is he crying? Is he saying something to the child? What is he saying, is he saying sorry? Was he responsible?

Some of the most moving images I've ever seen were poor from a technical point of view. First and foremost photography is a medium for emotion.
 
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gingerweasel said:
You could say any individual image on it's own doesn't tell a story if you take that view. A photography doesn't always have to tell the full story, in fact the most powerful ones spark the curiosity and force you to speculate about the context.

This is a powerful and moving image that to me shows the harsh reality of war- it's the innocent that suffer most. I agree with 'Tokkelossi' beside the image of the child and the blood the most powerful part of this image is the fact that you can't see the soldiers face. Is he crying? Is he saying something to the child? What is he saying, is he saying sorry? Was he responsible?

Some of the most moving images I've ever seen were poor from a technical point of view. First and foremost photography is a medium for emotion.
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This is bang on. Also, to add, I'm not sure how anyone could really complain about a lack of context in this image. I think the context, in the wider range, is pretty obvious. Given that it was shot in 2005 there are only a few places, a few conflict zones involving American army Rangers, where this image could have been taken. I've also linked to the photographers own blog posting which provides more context for this image. Sometimes an image isn't meant to be seen on it's own but paired with words. However in saying that this image is quite clearly a powerful image.

I think it's extremely condescending to assume that those who are in some way affected by this image are in some way completely oblivious to the fact that many hundreds of children die in unfortunate circumstances across the planet. To assume that we all have some sort of disconnect from other humans simply because we don't know them is simplistic at best.
 
Tori said:
It's not that I don't like them exactly, I work with them all week!
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Oh there have been times with my two ....... oh .... just one ...... little bitty .... moment ..... when if i had a cream pie ..... :lol:

I always hang onto the hope that they will change my nappies :D
 
big soft moose said:
No - but thats not really the point, I have nephews , freinds with kids etc but it isnt any of them in the picture.

I just dont do kareoke greif , I dont know the child in the picture, they dont mean anything to me personally, and while in abstract its sad that any child should die unnecessarily, thousands of children die every day - chances are at least 3 figures worth have died somewhere in the world while we were writing these posts, and their deaths arent any less unfortunate for not being caught on camera.

and at the end of the day this is in the photography board section which in my view means its about the photograph - not the horrors of war per se - and photographically it doesnt do anything for me , because as i said above theres no context, no story etc so the picture doesnt touch me emotionally - because taken alone rather than in the context of the blog it could be more or less anywhere and doesnt say anything
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didn't think so.

once you have kids you'll understand. Nieces, nephews, friends kids etc. None of this is the same. once you have your own children you can't look at a photo like this without feeling something.

As a parent you see this and you immediately identify with your own bond with your child. If fills you with dread because you're always in the back of your mind worrying that something could happen to the most precious thing in your life and then that terrible thing has happened to someone. You are filled with empathy for her parents.

As a non parent though it doesn't mean you can't feel anything either. If you don't then you don't but even when I look at this and try not to imagine my own children in that blanket I think the power lies in this figure of a soldier who you associate strength and courage and resilience carrying this defenceless being and he loses all those associations and just becomes this protector. Leaning in to try and comfort the child probably telling her it will be ok when he knows it won't. It's very powerful and made more so by not seeing either of their faces, leading you to think of your own things they might be saying to each other, their facial expressions etc.

as for context, what more context do you want? American soldier in a recent war, hugging a child who is badly injured. Doesn't take a genius to work out this is either iraq or Afghanistan, but who cares where it is, it's not about the location it's about these two people.
 
I think the photo works because you can`t see either face. What is the ranger thinking,what is he doing and what are his emotions? That is the interest in the photo, well it is for me.

I would not say it is iconic, but it isn`t bad. I have seen harder hitting stuff than this, even so it is thought provoking.
 
did anyone say this was iconic? I've seen a few people dispute that it isn't iconic in this thread. But I don't recall anyone claiming it is iconic.

I don't think it is iconic either.
 
joescrivens said:
did anyone say this was iconic? I've seen a few people dispute that it isn't iconic in this thread. But I don't recall anyone claiming it is iconic.

I don't think it is iconic either.
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It is a very thought provoking photograph either way.
 
On another day we'd have people wondering how the tog could take the picture rather than throw his camera down and help.

It doesn't have the impact to me of the Oklahoma firefighter photo that it closely resembles but it doesn't have to have to carry an emotional punch.
 
I don't care what anyone says about whether it's iconic or not. It's still a bloody powerful image. It might not be the best photo technically, but it captures raw emotion and that's what it's all about, isn't it?

And reading the blog alongside it makes it even more touching. The picture itself says plenty about war, its atrocities and how it can affect everyone, but then when you realise that those caught in the middle have to live with it on a daily basis - and yet the kids still play out in the streets being themselves... So sad...

I thank God for my own kids and that they don't have any of those worries...
 
Let's forget whether the photo is technically good or not. The nature of photojournalism is such that the circumstances around it's creation aren't exactly conducive to best choice of lens, composition, light, camera settings, etc. It's not what it looks like, it's what it means to you, your interpretation of it. It's moving beyond the aesthetic.

As a father of a child of around the same age, I couldn't help but think that if I was unfortunate enough to live somewhere else in the world, this could be her. If you've not got a child, I don't think you've any comprehension of the bond that a parent feels to a young, helpless child, even if they aren't mortally wounded. I certainly didn't before becoming a dad.
 
viewfromthenorth said:
If you've not got a child, I don't think you've any comprehension of the bond that a parent feels to a young, helpless child, even if they aren't mortally wounded. I certainly didn't before becoming a dad.
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A very sweeping statement, and totally untrue.
 
viewfromthenorth said:
As a father of a child of around the same age, I couldn't help but think that if I was unfortunate enough to live somewhere else in the world, this could be her. If you've not got a child, I don't think you've any comprehension of the bond that a parent feels to a young, helpless child, even if they aren't mortally wounded. I certainly didn't before becoming a dad.
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Bang on!

Unless you have kids you just have no idea what it feels like to have a child. Someone who has kids knows what it feels like before and after having kids whereas people without kids can't comprehend it.

Before I had kids I would have said that was rubbish, but now I do have kids I understand it.
 
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