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Famous photographs

Let's take a look at some famous photographs in art!

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Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville (French for Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville)
Photographer: Robert Doisneau
Robert Doisneau was a French photographer who often took photos of the charming daily lives of Parisians, whether it was street cafes or children playing. This photo is his most recognizable work, a photo of a couple kissing in the busy streets of Paris. He took it in 1950 using actor-models. The identity of the couple was a mystery until 1993, when a random couple tried to take Doisneau to court for taking the picture without their knowledge. This action forced Doisneau to prove that he actually posed the shot.

V-J day in Times Square
Photographer: Alfred Eisenstaedt
Alfred Eisenstaedt was a German-American photojournalist and photographer. He was well known for his candid shots. He once photographed the meeting of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Italy. This photo is of an American sailor kissing a young woman whom he did not know on August 14, 1945 in Times Square, New York (after World War II was over). He was "running along the street grabbing any and every girl in sight." This photo was published in Life magazine. Many claimed to be the people in this photograph, but in the end it was thought to be Glenn McDuffie and Edith Shain.
Another photo of the same scene was photographed by U.S. Navy photo journalist Victor Jorgensen, from a different angle. This was published in the New York Times and was called Kissing the War Goodbye.

Afghan Girl
Photographer: Steve McCurry
This photo was taken by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry in 1984 - it was on the magazine's cover the next year. The girl pictured, was one of the students at the refugee camp. She was about 12 at the time. Her identity was unknown until 1992. Steve searched for this girl for many years. Her facial expression and haunting eyes symbolize the dignity and resilience of her people. He finally found her - her name was Sharbat Gula, seen below here years later with the original magazine cover.

Einstein with his Tongue Out
Photographer: Arthur Sasse
Taken in 1951, this photograph showed a silly, wacky side of the genius that was Albert Einstein. His contributions to nuclear physics and quantum mechanics catapulted the man as a genius beyond anyone, but this photograph shows Einstein's humility and in a way, "humanizes" him. This photo was taken when Einstein was trying to celebrate his 72nd birthday, but was stuck on the Princeton University campus where he was teaching because of the press. After being tired of smiling, he finally stuck his tongue out to the photographer. Talk about personality!

Gandhi at his Spinning Wheel
Photographer: Margaret Bourke-White
Margaret was one of the famous photojournalists in history. Taking photographs of Gandhi was rare, but this Life magazine photographer received a rare chance. She was about to shoot, when Gandhi's secretaries stopped her. They told her if she was going to photograph Gandhi at the spinning wheel, which was a symbol of India's struggle for independence, she would first have to learn how to use it herself.

It was also Gandhi's day of silence - not to mention the fact that he hated bright light! Lastly, the humid Indian weather was messing up her camera equipment. She was only allowed to use 3 flashbulbs - the 1st one failed, she forget to pull the slide in the 2nd one, and the 3rd one finally worked. This was the photograph that almost never was!

Images
Ackland
Wikipedia
Sharbat Gula
MaryT