Photography is the passion to communicate to other people emotions stirred by a subject. If you do not care about a particular topic – logically – the result will be mediocre. Interest contributes to achieving incredible images. Photography is the art of communicating your passion, so you must be passionate about the subject photo.
Equipment has nothing to do with it. Many amateurs blame their equipment as inadequate and believe that just purchased more accessories will get better results. Spending more cash will not automatically get an increase in the quality of your photos.
Here are some of the most amazing photos taken in history, in a time where photographers didn’t have access to the technology we use today.
1. Hungarian protest in New York
This image documents a protest held in New York on May 8, 1976, denouncing oppression to which the Hungarian population had been subjected to by the Romanian authorities at that time.
It was not really a protest against Romanians, but Romanian authorities. A protest against communism, against Ceausescu, even in New York, something you do not see every day. On the other hand, the topics are as current as possible today. Protesters display messages related to the desire of self-government and autonomy of Hungarians in Transylvania, denouncing oppression, Stalinism and fascism in Romanian.
2. The head of the statue of Liberty is delivered and unpacked – June 17, 1885
On June 17, 1885, the French Steamer Isère arrived in New York port safely. New Yorkers were enthusiastic for the statue, as the French vessel arrived with the crates holding the disassembled statue on board. Two hundred thousand people lined the docks to welcome the Isère.
3. Romanian Communism
The photo above was taken by Andrei Pandele, a young architect who began photographing his home country, Romania, in the 70s. He captured a period of huge change under communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, depicting hard labor conditions, as in the picture above where people are simply on top of a tram in order to get to work.
4. Construction of the Berlin Wall – 1961
Two days after sealing the passage between East and West Berlin with barbed wire, East German authorities began building the Berlin Wall in order to permanently close off access to the West. For the next 28 years, the Berlin Wall was a symbol of the Cold War.
5. Annette Kellerman campaigner for women’s right to wear a swimsuit, was arrested for indecency – 1907
Annette Marie Sarah Kellerman was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville star, film actress and writer. She was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume, instead of the then-accepted pantaloons.
6. Mannequins melted and twisted by a fire at Madame Tussaud’s in London – 1930
Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in London need no introduction. The photo captures the image of mannequins melted during the 1930 fire.
7. A mother puts up her children for sale in Chicago – 1948
40 year old Ray Chalifoux and his wife, Lucille, 24, tried a desperately to put food in the mouths of her children. Jobless and facing eviction from their flat, the Chalifoux family surrenders and makes a heart breaking decision. The photo shows a sobbing mother as her children (left to right: Wool, aged 6, Rae, aged 5, Milton, aged 4 and two-year old Sue Ellen) pose on the steps of a building.
8. A photo forbidden by the U.S.S.R., by Antanas Sutkus, worth 4,000 pounds
A collection of 155 photographs taken by Russian photographers were sold in exchange for 313,250 pounds by the Sotheby’s auction house in London. These are those inconvenient photographers who tried to depict the communist regime as life in the U.S.S.R. the way it was.
9. The beginning of Andy Warhol
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Farah Fawcett, Muhammad Ali, Dolly Parton and others were photographed in a series of instant photos by Andy Warhol, which disclose an important part of the creative process behind the American artist. Although Polaroid snapshots were used as the starting point for Warhol’s paintings or engravings, now they can be seen as art –pop works.
10. American Wild West 150 years ago
Having documented the American Civil War, photographer Timothy H. O’Sullivan started a journey west and came back with some priceless pictures, probably the first photos of the legendary Wild American West.
O’Sullivan’s journey was part of a series of expeditions funded by the U.S. government, which took place from 1867 to 1869. To these expeditions took part scientists, soldiers, artists and photographers who had the common task to discover ways in which they could use the natural resources of the area. O’Sullivan’s contribution was to photograph the enormity of this land.
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