Alfred Eisenstaedt, Times Square, New York City, 16 August 1945. Colorized by Mygrapefruit
One of the most memorable photos to come out of World War II is this one by Alfred Eisenstaedt, who describes his response to the news and the celebration below. I witnessed a few similar scenes on Washington Street in Boston where I was working as a copy boy, glued to the AP news wire on the old Boston Post.
"In Times Square on V.J. Day I saw a sailor running along the street grabbing any and every girl in sight. Whether she was a grandmother, stout, thin, old, didn't make a difference. I was running ahead of him with my Leica looking back over my shoulder but none of the pictures that were possible pleased me. Then suddenly, in a flash, I saw something white being grabbed. I turned around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse. If she had been dressed in a dark dress I would never have taken the picture. If the sailor had worn a white uniform, the same. I took exactly four pictures. It was done within a few seconds."
-- Alfred Eisenstaedt
John Moore/Getty Images, War Dead Honored On Memorial Day Weekend, 2007
I offer it as a comment to how we continue to mourn our lost loved ones and fail to put a joyful end to war as we once did in 1945. Extensive commentary about this photo may be found at this hot link.
The photo with the lady in front of a grave is from John Moore. See http://politicstheoryphotography.blogspot.de/2007/05/eliciting-poignancy.html
Posted by: Swen | 12/18/2012 at 04:44 AM