columbia mudslide photographed by carol guzy and Michel duCill
A Pulitzer prize is awarded to a photo that makes an audience laugh and cry. The emotion it gives to others makes the message mean a thousand words. Every Pulitzer picture has a powerful meaning behind it. The following pictures show just how much images affect our lives.
The Babe Ruth Farewell was taken by Nathaniel Fein in 1949 for the New York Herald Tribune. The photo depicts the great baseball player Babe Ruth, standing by home plate during his last game as a Yankee. The large crowd is cheering for the great baseball legend as he says goodbye. Many people strongly believe Babe Ruth was the greatest baseball player to ever live. Capturing this moment is very important to the sports world. The angle itself is special. People who look at the picture can see many of the players and crowd celebrating his career. The black and white image brings out the powerful goodbye Ruth gives to his fans. This photo is both happy and sad. This photo brings people joy because of how great Ruth was. The image is also devastating to many people because his successful career ended. This picture is worthy of a Pulitzer because of the joy it brings to the sports community.
The Ruby shoots Oswald photo was taken in 1964 by Robert Jackson. This image had to have been taken in a matter of seconds to get it. The photographer himself said it was luck. The event alone was a matter of shock. The JFK assassination is a big part of U.S history. There were many mixed emotions on Ruby shooting Oswald. Many Americans applauded him because of his courage. America felt very compelled to feel neutral on Oswald’s death due to so many people loving John F. Kennedy. This important moment of history is what makes it worthy of a Pulitzer.
The photos taken by Stanley Forman during the Boston Fire are dreadful to look at. The photo is a terrible sight to see. Seeing this image and many others gives people the impression that photographers do not have a heart. Being a photographer is a hard job. These extraordinary men and women run toward danger when everyone else runs away from it. There are good moments and bad moments. This just happened to be a bad one. The people falling out of the building is hard see. Therefore, it was an interesting question on whether to put it on the front page. It could be too graphic for many. Even if it is too hard to look at, the point of the photo is to tell the story. This photo is worthy of a Pulitzer because it takes your breath away.
The devastating mudslide in Columbia hit in 1986. The photo where someone’s arm was sticking out of the mud taken by Michel deChillie and Carol Guzy was very powerful. The person died an awful death and the picture captured how disturbing this was. This picture was used in the U.S to show Americans just how gruesome the mudslide was. The image got people talking and involved. This is the kind of picture where you must look twice. When someone looks at this picture, then they want to know the story behind it. This gets people reading the article. A photo like this is horrifying to look at. It is hard to imagine what that person went through. “Someone once told me that empathy was not imagining how you would feel in a particular situation, but actually feeling what the other person is feeling,” Carol Guzy said. The idea of the picture is to get viewers emotional. To get Americans knowing. This won a Pulitzer because it tested the limits of photo journalism.
The 1993 Summer Olympics happened in Barcelona. Many amazing images were taken by William Snyder and Ken Geiger. They went there with unlimited film and open ideas. The images when athletes celebrated were turned into inspirational moments captured by the photographers. An image that stuck out was a United States weightlifter throwing his bar of weights. He had just accomplished his goal when he threw the weights down to celebrate. His face says it all. He is yelling in joy. The still moment of the photo gives people a taste of how these athletes feel when they win. These individuals work for years with the one goal of reaching the Olympics. Once they win there, they have mixed emotions. A sense of sadness and happiness all at once. This weightlifter demonstrates both, making it worthy of a Pulitzer.
These photos all demonstrates what courageous work it takes to be a photojournalist. The job is not easy. These people do not do it for the money. They do it because they love it.
