Items11The creator’s order
  1. 1Migrant MotherMigrant MotherDorothea Lange, Nipomo, California, March 1936 The pickers in this camp had come for the pea harvest, only to find the crop ruined by freezing rain, and they were living on frozen vegetables from the fields. Lange made five exposures of Florence Owens Thompson and her children, and the San…0
  2. 2Hindenburg disasterHindenburg disasterSam Shere's photograph, Lakehurst, New Jersey, May 6, 1937 A dozen or more photographers were at Lakehurst for the landing, so the airship's fire was caught by many cameras at once. Shere's frame of the Hindenburg bursting into flames is the one that became an icon, and the disaster is often…0
  3. 3Cuyahoga RiverCuyahoga RiverThe burning river in Time magazine, 1969, from a fire in 1952 On June 22, 1969, sparks from a passing train set fire to oil-soaked debris on the Cuyahoga in Cleveland. That fire was out before anyone thought to take a picture, so Time illustrated its story with archival photos of a much bigger…0
  4. 4Tomoko and Mother in the BathTomoko and Mother in the BathW. Eugene Smith, Minamata, Japan, 1971 The Chisso plant at Minamata released wastewater laced with methylmercury into the sea, and the poisoning it caused was identified as Minamata disease in 1956. Smith and Aileen Mioko Smith lived in the town for more than three years, and their 1972 Life essay…0
  5. 5Pablo BartholomewPablo BartholomewPablo Bartholomew's photograph of a child victim, Bhopal, India, December 4, 1984 Poisonous methyl isocyanate gas had just leaked from the Union Carbide chemical plant over the city. Bartholomew photographed a child killed by the gas, and the picture was named World Press Photo of the Year in the…0
  6. 6Omayra SánchezOmayra SánchezFrank Fournier's photograph, Armero, Colombia, November 16, 1985 When the Nevado del Ruiz erupted on November 13, mudflows raced down the volcano and swallowed the town of Armero. Omayra Sánchez was trapped in the debris while rescuers who could not reach her waited for equipment, and Fournier…0
  7. 7Arko DattaArko DattaBorn Feb 4, 1969Arko Datta's tsunami photograph, Cuddalore, India, December 28, 2004 Two days after the undersea earthquake and tsunami, Datta photographed a woman grieving next to the body of a relative, wailing on the ground with her palms facing the heavens. It was named World Press Photo of the Year, and a…0
  8. 8Deepwater Horizon oil spillDeepwater Horizon oil spillCharlie Riedel's oiled bird photographs, Louisiana, June 2010 In early June, Riedel photographed birds mired in thick crude from the BP spill on the Louisiana coast. His pictures for the Associated Press quickly became some of the best-known images of the disaster, and the oil-covered pelicans…0
  9. 9Final EmbraceFinal EmbraceTaslima Akhter, Rana Plaza, Savar, Bangladesh, 2013 After the garment factory building collapsed on April 24, Akhter spent the day helping rescuers, then went into the ruins around 2 a.m. and found two people embracing in the rubble, their bodies trapped under concrete. She spent months trying to…0
  10. 10Hurricane HarveyHurricane HarveyThe La Vita Bella nursing home photograph, Dickinson, Texas, August 2017 As Harvey's floodwaters rose inside the home, owner Trudy Lampson photographed elderly residents sitting in water and sent the picture to her daughter in Florida to get help. A relative posted it online, where some claimed it…0