Friday, October 1, 2010

Powerful Pictures

Hey everyone, its Friday, and i'm sure you don't want to do a lot of reading, so i'm going to go a bit off-topic and post some powerful pictures from different times in history.  Thanks for all your great comments and for supporting my blogs.  I will try and keep it fresh, interesting, and relevant to your interests, always.

"A picture is worth a thousand words," but I think its much more than that.  A picture can define an era, it can destroy one.  It can raise fear, hope, spread unity, or discord.  It can make one famous, or ruin someone elses life.  Why do we take pictures of everything around us?  The answer again, although sometimes deep rooted, is power.


Many great and powerful families have fully documented their lives with pictures and have professional scribes to recount their lives since they were small.  Imagine people like the Rockerfellers, old families who have established power bases so huge, it is almost incomprehensible to some.

Even the famous Japanese cannibal, Issei Sagawa, knew to document and keep pictures of the horrific acts he commited after murdering an innocent and beautiful Dutch university student in Paris more than twenty years ago.  Pictures establish power if used correctly, and can inspire hope to those who need it most.  Propoganda?  Perhaps, but it is undeniable that the future will contain more pictures, some which have yet to be taken, but have the potential to change the world.





P O W E R F U L     P I C T U R E S


A satellite view of Hurricane Katrina




It hasn't been that long, and how much has really changed?


Very powerful picture, would 1000 words really suffice?


Never before published, Terril Jones' view on the man who stood up to an army of tanks


Man who jumped to his death rather than burning from above


ACCIDENT : Sorry meant Brazil, posted wrong captions


During 2010 Olympics, tragic death at the luge event, picture captured of death on impact


Japanese beheading of the enemy


Real life Simba?  Lions are truly one of the most powerful beasts in the animal kingdom


Vulture waiting for child to die before eating him.  No one ever knew if he survived or not, the nearest camp being over 2 kilometres away.  The photographer committed suicide not long later.





19 comments:

anontcotrol said...

These bring tears to my eyes.

The Reviever said...

The first photo of the monk... This guy had balls. And he used them in right matter.

It's really touching photo, if I recall correctly it's on one of Rage Against the Machine album covers.

Dyaitsidyam∂ said...

wow man those are some intense pics, thanks for sharing.

Austin Da Silveira said...

wow, incredible photographs

Drackar said...

Interesting stuff...I had no idea there was liquid water in Antarctica. Let alone sand. ..oh wait. It says Brazil right in the fucking picture. :|

Janus Kane said...

The last one, I've read that story before. Very strange gelatin balls we are, bouncing against gravity with the rest of the life sludge. A little imagery I thought up today, thought you might somehow appreciate it more than most, mate. At this level we see tradgedy, but we pull up and katrina is just drifting along it's surface peacefully. Raining on the rest of the thin film of life clinging to the gravity well here.

We all wish to fly sometime.
-JKane

Side note... Beautiful selection of heart moving pictures, comrade. Fight the good fight.

Krow said...

Awwww SIMBA!:D

Anonymous said...

I guess perspective isn't always a good thing.
Or maybe, it's nice to see a beautiful side to it.
Depends on your point of view.

LuCiUs said...

Another great post. Really good pictures. Keep up the good work man.

Saryn said...

That vulture pic always gets me...The circle of life indeed I suppose.

That Which Haunts said...

When I was looking up "serial killers by kill rate" I came across the cannibal. Imagery is powerful alone, scenes capture more than the immediate image and can be infused with great energy. I really like the Che Guevara one because of how iconic that image has become, you see it everywhere. Shepard Fairey (as much as he gets shit) realizes this principle and utilizes it. Great post.

Crunky said...

if i was that kid, i'd a ate the vulture... if i was that photographer, i'da given the kid a sammich...

Adamantium said...

Awwww that picture of the kid is so disgusting and depressing :*(
Nature is brutal, though I cannot blame the vulture.

I have always been fascinated by that monk... must have had an iron will. Not something you see these days, for good or for bad...

Archivist X0042 said...

that katrina looked photoshopped

Dan said...

Dang. Those are some pretty powerful pictures in the way they can summon emotion.

darkmanx said...

Cool photos man, imagery is definitely a powerful tool to get a message across.

Joebloggs said...

The one of katrina is too digital im afraid i dont think its real

BLUERAD said...

^ Yeah

I believe it is a rendition?

Zombie Kei said...

These are the photos that leave you with a feeling. Things like that are rare, and No one has offered much of that nature in a long time...