[Sharon]

There are many famous photographs in the media. Yet what occurred just before that famous shot was taken?

1.

August 15th, 1961. Berlin. A policeman in East Germany guards the recently erected wire fence that divides the two German blocs, the seed of the late Berlin Wall. In the background a group of citizens are chatting, seemingly oblivious to the authority’s uneasiness. On the west side, photographer Peter Leibing documents the building of the wall and captures the moment of tense calm inspired by the policeman’s pose, but he could have never guessed what he was about to photograph…



2.

August 8th, 1969. The world’s most famous band is about to advertise an album that, in the end, would be their last: Everest. The band would fly to the Himalaya to make a photographic book for the album’s illustration, but due to production issues they changed the title and the whole project, so they ended up taking a few quick shots in a street of London near the recording studio. Nobody was too happy about this last minute resolution. Photographer Ian McMillan captured the moments previous to the artists’ final pose…



3.

December 1999. Dr. Joseph Brunner is about to carry out a routine surgery in Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville. A merely 21-week-old fetus diagnosed with spina bifida awaits the surgeon’s scalpel’s skillful move inside its mother’s womb. In the operating room, freelance photographer Michael Clancy is covering for USA Today a report on children suffering from this disease. He takes a few trivial shots of the operation and the room. Moments before opening the mother’s womb, the surgeon allows him to come closer to the operating table to capture a tiny detail…



4.

The 30′s. Battlefront during the Spanish Civil War. War correspondent Robert Cappa is sent to cover the resistance’s activities first-hand. He spots soldiers from their trench. Nothing foretells what was about to happen moments later to the militiaman on the left…



5.

February 23rd, 1945. Suribachi summit. Japan. The North American army occupies the hill at 10:20 in the morning. Lieutenant Harold G. Schrier is the patrol leader and has been ordered to place his transport ship’s flag (the USS Missoula) on the summit so it could be sighted from every neighbouring beach. But the flag was too small. It was immediately ordered to bring a second flag of bigger proportions…



6.

In the 20′s, Czech architect Jan Letzel built the most solid and modernist building in his career to hold a small Japanese town’s museum programme. His experience in anti-seismic structures came from the amount of projects he had carried out all over the East. However, he would have never imagined that just a couple of months later, his museum would still stand after the most devastating catastrophe ever caused by the hand of men…



7.

September 21st, 1979. Unforgettable night at the Palladium. The kings of British punk, The Clash, take their lawbreaking live to the other side of the ocean. New York, devoted, cheered their success without hesitation. Photographer Pennie Smith covers the band’s tour and is crouched down beside the narrow stage that night. Suddenly, the bass player sets to bang his Fender Precision against the floor. The first blow caught the reporter unprepared. But the second blow became the most famous picture in the history of rock…



8.

1990. Aids is still synonym for death, fear and rejection. A taboo for most media. Journalist Therese Frare wants to make society aware of the sick people’s humanity and undertakes the monitoring of David Kirby, an activist that contracted aids in the 80′s and went back home to die close to his family. The reporter lives with them in the hospital and during the death throes taking shocking photographs, among them the most controversial one in the history of aids…



9.

February 1st, 1968. Bay Lop, member of the National Liberation Front, is being escorted without a course along a street in Saigon. Two days earlier the same liberation front had ignored a cease-fire by attacking a police station. The superintendent decides to carry out the public revenge himself under the gaze -and lenses- of North American photographer Eddie Adam…

[Kanda444]

amazing post!

[Photoplay]

Great post Sharon. .

[Kelseecat65]

Fantastic post!!

[tecumseh35]

I guess that guy should have stayed in his trench.