Do you recognise this historic photograph?

[jmilkins]

They say a picture tells a thousand words. And this one is apparently pretty well known.

RIP Peter.

 

[Rich Silfver]

http://www.ishkur.com/sports/olympicmoments8.php

and

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1755148.htm

 

[RML]

Black Pathers. Olympic Games. Runners. Winners. Early 1970s. I know the photo. I know the connections. But does it hold a thousand words for me? I don't think so. I'm not American and was born in 1970, so the whole Black Panther thing don't mean much to me.

 

[jmilkins]

Black Pathers. Olympic Games. Runners. Winners. Early 1970s. I know the photo. I know the connections. But does it hold a thousand words for me? I don't think so. I'm not American and was born in 1970, so the whole Black Panther thing don't mean much to me.

Not far off RML , but Black Panthers is a common misconception: http://www.smh.com.au/olympics/articles/2004/06/18/1089484304254.html

Another article I read has stated that the image I attached is the "second most recognised image in the world after the moon landing photograph."...[/I]

I 'm interested to see if poeple do recognise the photo, and what it may mean to them.

I certainly agree that images have more or less power depending on the viewer's perspective, and perhaps closeness to the event depicted.

 

[Gid]

Instantly recognisable to me, but that's because of my age. I watched some of the games on TV and black power was a significant issue at those games. It may not have much meaning for anyone under 40 though.

 

[vha]

Thanks for posting, not that found of sports, but have heard about Black Panters, even though I'm from Norway.
History is always interesting, especially if it has some meaning , and you can´t say that everyday about the Olympics . .

vha

 

[wongyboi]

The man on the left is actually Australian from memory who past away very recently.

A lot of people know the above shot but in B&W and more panned to the right with the Australian sort of cropped out.

 

[rover]

Is it the photograph or the event that is remembered in this case?

and

In retrospect, today, is it the actions of the athletes or the reaction of the officials stripping them of their medals that stands out today?

I don't think we have to debate the second question here, but the answer to it and the emotions involved my be what make that moment so lasting, not the image. On the other hand, the image allows the moment to live on.

 

[rover]

In my eye, this image more defines the moment than the moment defining image as it is a true case of being taken at the decisive moment. It defined a career and it the picture of a great champion that is perhaps more recognized in the sports world than any other.

 

[Sparrow]

Not far off RML , but Black Panthers is a common misconception: http://www.smh.com.au/olympics/articles/2004/06/18/1089484304254.html

Another article I read has stated that the image I attached is the "second most reconised image in the world after the moon landing photograph."...[/I]

I 'm interested to see if poeple do recognise the photo, and what it may mean to them.

I certainly agree that images have more or less power depending on the viewer's perspective, and perhaps closeness to the event depicted.

I remember the newsreel film not the still picture, here in the UK the photo that summed up the changes in the “race issue” for me anyway, has always been the portrait of Marsha Hunt by Patrick Litchfield, it became an icon of racial and sexual equality, and not a bad picture to boot


Sadly he re-took the image a for medical charity just prior to his death last year and after cancer had cost her a breast, hard to believe it’s so long ago

 

[jmilkins]

The man on the left is actually Australian from memory who past away very recently.

A lot of people know the above shot but in B&W and more panned to the right with the Australian sort of cropped out.

Cropped out? Very interesting!

It was Peter that suggested that the Tommie Smith and John Carlos wear one glove each when they only had one pair. He wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge in support.

Yes he's Australian, and the time he ran the 200m (20.06) is still an Australian record. His time also would have won him the 200m gold medal at every subsequent Olympics until 1984.

Sadly Peter did indeed pass away on Tuesday after a heart attack. Peter was my uncle, and I'm very much looking forward to meeting the 2 men he shared the podium with at his funeral in a few days.

 

[Silva Lining]

An iconic photograph indeed, but I was amazed to hear that it is the second most recogined photo after the moon landings... I guess it depends on who you ask - I have freinds, whos fathers found this event and it's message was a defining moment in their lives...to my father it means nothing.

Some pictures can say a thousand words, but sometimes it can be a single thought that is much more powerful.

 

[jmilkins]

Well said Manolo, Vha ,Phil, Stewart and Rover .

And yes that image is a pretty decisive moment of Ali too...

 

[bob cole]

Do you recognize his historic photograph?

Do you recognize his historic photograph?

When I saw this photograph, I remembered it from a few days ago when The New York Times ran an obituary -- and the photo --on the Australian in the picture...Peter Norman...64...


http://tinyurl.com/kj58b

 

[ddutchison]

In my case the "thousand words" (or the hundred, or so, that explain the picture - as posted above) are more interesting than the shot itself. I remember the event but not the picture. To my eyes it's a good work-a-day shot of an important news event,

In contrast, I new exactly which picture Rover had posted before I had looked at it. It's a spectacular shot of an important news event.

I do find it pretty hard to believe that this is the second most recognized picture in the world after the moon landing shots (or even that the moon landing shots are first. I suspect Korda's portrait of Che Guevara might hold that honour, and if it doesn't, it's got to bump this one out of second place).

Anyway, in keeping with the topic of recognizing photographs, here's a now rather famous thread of a bunch of people on flickr who didn't recognize a HCB shot when it was posted for critique... enjoy

 

[VinceC]

There are many more widely recognized news photos. Perhaps because they've become cultural icons, people don't think of them as news photos. The moon landing, for that matter, has more than a single image connected to it.

Other important news photos:
Iwo Jima flag.
Oswald shot.
Che Guevara (mentioned above).
The Hindenberg explosion.
Earthrise over the lunar horizon (taken from lunar orbit, not the surface)
Moon and Half Dome at Yosemite
The girl injured by napalm in Vietnam
The Vietnamese police chief shooting an insurgent at point-blank range
Martin Luther King at the Lincoln Memorial
The man-versus-tank standoff at Tianenman Square

 

[Kin Lau]

Interesting discussion so far, but I'd wonder what the "most recognized" would be if you asked the 1.1 billion Chinese or the more than 1 billion South Asians (India + Pakistan + Bangladesh + Sri Lanka + .....)

 

[vladhed]

vaguely remember seeing it before - haven't a clue about when it's from. Certainly not the 2nd most recognizable images IMHO

 

[kbg32]

I remember this very well, watching this on television at the time. R.I.P. Peter.

 

[leica M2 fan]

1968 Olympics Mexico City

1968 Olympics Mexico City

I remember the Olympics well and the Black Power salute and all the controversy surrounding it. What I remember most about that event is George Foreman walking around the ring after his victory waving a small American Flag ! Much more memorable to me.