W. Eugene Smith was an American photographer. He was born on December 30, 1918. He began a job as a photographer at age 14 with two newspapers. After going to college, he began working for Life magazine to take pictures of World War II. Smith liked to shoot photographs that could potentially lead to an improvement in the world. He eventually went to work on his own and did many photo essays of suffering villages to raise awareness. Smith died on October 19, 1973.
This photograph was taken in Okinwa in 1945
Photo by: W. Eugene Smith
Website:http://spartacus-educational.com/USAPsmithE.htm
Much like Smith, I believe a photograph can have a large impact on society and help to promote social change. I think that people see certain photographs that make them passionate about what that photograph displays. I visited a National Geographic exhibit on vacation and saw these amazing photographs, but also watched a film about the photographers. It told about how they went to a war zone and were captured all while taking photos. They were all safe, but it made me realize how important photographs can be. Seeing photographs about topics like war or other social issues evoked many emotions in me. Taking photographs that make people feel sad or angry or even uncomfortable can lead to a memory. If people are shown photographs it puts an image in their head to add to the facts they hear. Remembering a photograph can help people think more about how they can fix the problem. Photographs of events like these help raise awareness as well.
This photograph was taken during the Vietnam war. I find this a very powerful image especially because you can see the emotion in the man's face. There are ruins around him and the conditions look terrible. I believe photographs like these can make people think more about what is happening and come up with ways to help.
Photo by: Hugh Van Es
Website: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/vietnam-war-photos-that-made-a-difference/?_r=0
