The greatest photo?

When we said we could include pictures in our posts this photo immediately came to mind. It was 2003 and I came across this picture in “VIVA” Magazine. I remember staring at it for at least a minute and then showing it to my mum. It really shocked me. I couldn´t (and I still can´t) believe how someone could take a picture when facing such a harsh reality.

If I come to analyse it, this picture has, at least for me, many points that should be discussed. In the first place, I believe it is the best example of selfishness. It is said that the photographer, after taking the pict, helped the child to get up and that she could go on walking on her own. Why could the camera be more powerful than his feelings? Despite the situation, the man took the photo before helping the girl. Other people would have thrown the camera away instead.

Though, as I´ve just mentioned, it is said that the child didn´t die, I guess that if this were true, someone would have found that girl years after the photo was taken, to show that the photographer wasn´t a heartless person –and to make hoards of dollars out the good news, too. Unfortunately, we cannot even listen to the photographer´s words since he committed suicide a year after taking the picture. If the child didn´t die, then why did he receive so much pressure and why couldn´t he shout to the world that he just took a good picture and then helped the child to survive?

I believe there is something else about this picture that should be said. It won a well-known prize among photographers: the Pullitzer. Does the picture deserve a prize? I don´t know much about taking photographs. I guess that the focus is quite good and that the colours combine perfectly with the situation portrayed, but the image that has been portrayed has been known for centuries now and no one has ever done anything about this. Hunger and poverty are not new to anyone.

The picture won the Pullitzer since it was claimed that it summarized the world´s history (and Africa´s history as well) but if this is so, then it should be worrying rather than amazing.
Maybe we´ll never know the truth about what happened after the photo was taken. I´ve always hoped to know something about the girl in the picture and which her fate has been. Do you know something else? And most importantly, how do you feel when looking at the photo? I hope there won´t ever be more examples like this.