Which is the most famous photograph in history, in your opinion?

[paulfish4570]

excellent point, contarama.

 

[robklurfield]

I haven't made up my mind about the "most famous" yet, but the image of Che even appears, occasionally, in the US. This was shot in house where my daughter lived in Florida for a few months last year. The homeowner, who I never met, turned the wall into a climbing wall, giving old Ernesto a little bit of the Mount Rushmore treatment for those agile enough to scale him. I'll reserve any comment as to whether or not Mr. Guevara deserves such treatment, but without further ado, the vote of an unknown Florida homeowner....

I would have to go with Korda's Che image. Yep, that is everywhere. (except in US) Could potentially be the most famous t-shirt image of all time. It seems that in Cuba, Che outsells Fidel by at least 100 to 1.

 

[ZeissFan]

Most famous? Probably impossible to answer? Even I have no way of saying.
A photo of the first atomic bomb blast. The first photo ever taken by Niepce. Bobby Kennedy dying in Los Angeles after being shot by that dog Sirhan Sirhan. Marilyn Monroe's cover for Playboy. The Civil War photos by Matthew Brady. "Moon, Hernandez" by Ansel Adams.

I might think of some of these.

 

[JoeV]

This is funny:

As is this:
http://www.cartoonbank.com/governme...a-wearing-a-bart-simpson-t-shirt/invt/127162/

 

[Contarama]

What is it about the greatest photos/images that make them great?

 

[paulfish4570]

undefinable mystique ...

 

[monochromejrnl]

Important/significant?

Fox-Talbot's Latticed Window being the first negative would surely stand a good chance in that/those categories.

+1, agreed

 

[monochromejrnl]

Not even close, that is likely George Washington on the US one dollar bill.

IIRC it's actually a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II - it appears on most the currency of most commonwealth nations.

 

[Al Patterson]

Apollo 8, Earthrise over the moon.

 

[Al Patterson]

What is it about the greatest photos/images that make them great?

Yes, one of the greatest images of all time....

 

[splitimageview]

I haven't read all the posts, not sure if these were mentioned.

Dorothea Lange 'Migrant Mother'
Yosuf Karsh 'Churchill'
Arthur Sasse 'Einstein with his Tongue Out'

 

[igi]

I also agree Alberto Korda's Che Guevarra potrait is one of of the most famous if not the most famous. Even someone without interest in historical photographs could recognize that photo.

Most photos given the "most famous" title are actually just famous in America and Europe (maybe because the camera and photography is of western origins) but Korda's Che Guevarra portrait has attained that high level of world-wide identification.

 

[JohnTF]

For me, still, after all these years:

Eddie Adams - Nguyen Ngoc Loan, police chief of Saigon, firing a bullet at the head of a Vietcong prisoner.

Still gives me a very cold feeling.

The video even more so.

Regards, John

 

[mto'brien]

 

[Rick Waldroup]

That is just downright disturbing, Matt.....😱

 

[Keith]

I think that was the work of Leonardo Dicaprio!

 

[splitimageview]

For something lighter, how many millions have been greeted by the Windows XP desktop photo every day for years? 😉

 

[Rob-F]

The Times Square kiss comes to mind, along with the Iwo Jima flag raising. I suppose it may vary with your generation.

These are two that came immediately to mind. Also, Marilyn Monroe standing over the air conditioning grate.

 

[porktaco]

as much as iwo jima, robert capa and ansel adams are all important, they're all "western" in reference. i don't know that an indian or chinese farmer would have any idea about them. but a gandhi or a mao photograph? hey now. even the tiananmen tank guy (and even leaving aside china-censor issues) and - to a large extent - che do not get the play that an iconic image of a political leader of a billion+ population country does. plus there are far fewer choices in the gandhi and mao aisles of the mass-media supermarket. so, i nominate tiananmen mao, which is on display all day every day.

 

[Roger Hicks]

as much as iwo jima, robert capa and ansel adams are all important, they're all "western" in reference. i don't know that an indian or chinese farmer would have any idea about them. but a gandhi or a mao photograph? hey now. even the tiananmen tank guy (and even leaving aside china-censor issues) and - to a large extent - che do not get the play that an iconic image of a political leader of a billion+ population country does. plus there are far fewer choices in the gandhi and mao aisles of the mass-media supermarket. so, i nominate tiananmen mao, which is on display all day every day.

There seem to be surprisingly few pics of Ghandi in India, anywhere, and as I say in the other thread, Mao looks the same in all pics: there's nothing iconic in any one pic. Ernesto had the advantages of beng young(ish), good looking, and (on that day) of having a fascinating expression. He was also murdered young(ish): shooting a captive without trial (which seems on the balance of probability to be what happened) is not generally regarded as 'execution'. This gave him an aura of martyrdom. 'Life fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse."

Cheers,

R.