Close your eyes and think of a photograph that moved you. Pictures hold incredible power, freezing in time crucial moments that would have passed us by.
Click start to play today’s Word Search and spot many of the world’s most influential photographers.
Here are a few famous photographs that you may recognise, and the stories behind them:
1. Steve Jobs’ portrait
The portrait of late American entrepreneur and CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, is iconic and became the landing page of apple.com in the days following his death. Considered by many as one of the most important portraits of current times, the shot was clicked by Albert Watson in a 4x5 camera – ironic, for such an innovative person as a subject. Jobs’ pose, with his hand on his chin, suggests relentless thinking, and his subtle smile exudes confidence and energy. In black and white, the image completely does away with distractions, and it seems as if Jobs is looking right at you with his piercing gaze.
2. Lunch time atop a skyscraper
Before the existence of photo editing software, American photographer Charles C. Ebbets clicked a shot that had people doubting their eyes. His image shows eleven construction workers at the 30 Rockefeller Plaza building, in Manhattan, New York, US, having lunch – except they’re not relaxing on the ground, but are seated on a beam on the 69th floor of the building. Taken in 1932, the image was the centre of debate over whether the scene really occurred or if it was a publicity stunt. Either way, the image’s subjects were real men, suspended sky high, and the picture is as striking today as it was decades ago.
3. Sharbat Gula or Afghan Girl
Published in 1985 in the National Geographic, this compelling photograph of a young Afghan girl with haunting green eyes still moves viewers, with some even calling the portrait the ‘modern Mona Lisa’. When American photographer Steve McCurry was at a refugee camp in Pakistan, he noticed Sharbat Gula first, inside a school tent. But he reportedly took her picture last, since she seemed extremely shy. According to an April 2002 report in the National Geographic, Gula had never been photographed until McCurry clicked her iconic portrait. And she had not been photographed since – until they met again, 17 years later, and McCurry was able to take a picture of her adult face, and share her name with the world.
What do you think of these images? Play today’s Word Search and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.
