Most Famous/iconic photographs in history

[HangingBasketCase]

Does anyone else enjoy photogtaphy? I've been looking at some of the most iconic photographs of all time, and I have a few favourites. I'll share three of them with you now.

Firstly lunch a top a skyscraper. Taken in New York during the building of the Rockerfeller Centre. I can't get my head around how they were able to sit on a metal beam, so high up without anything to secure them! If you ever visit the Rockerfeller centre you can recreate this photo, it's become that famous!

Secondly St Paul's Cathedral taken early in the morning following a devastating air raid on the city of London. All of the buildings around the cathedral were destroyed, yet almost miraculously St Pauls survived. How inspirational this image must have been to people at the time, seeing the dome of the Cathedral rising from the smoke like a Phoenix from the flames.

Finally "The Kiss", taken on VJ Day 1945, in Time Square. I believe the identities of the couple are unknown, but they weren't actually a couple. They were random strangers, he just grabbed hold of her and kissed her in happiness because the war was over. Wonder what we'd make of that now?

serenaserene, that photo of those little toddlers all being evacuated

These female Teddy "Boys" have always intrigued me. One of the first subcultures where girls could and did participate.

Their jackets were genuine Edwardian...bought from jumbles and barrows...crazy to imagine how much attention and shock they must have attracted.

There are so many images showing the insanity of war: Result of incendiary bombs on Dresden

ladymariner that cctv picture haunts me too. If i had the power to turn back time i would go back and lead James back to his mum. It kills me.

Not as searing as some of the photos mentioned upthread, but still poignant

This isn't really famous but I found it included in a photo story of the family's terrifying escap from bushfires in Tasmania. They stayed in the water for three hours until they were rescued. Their entire farm was destroyed.

This photograph of the Harrow Rail Crash has always stayed with me. I remember looking at it as a child and trying to work out how the trains couldhave got where they were, and how anyone would ever get out of it...

Tilly. It's easy to imagine children had some kind of Blytonesque adventure in the countryside, but the reality of being taken from their families must have been utterly bewildering.

I included the link to the end of sweet rations with a smile - imagine how good that first taste of chocolate must have been when a carrot on a stick was apparently a viable alternative to ice cream!

I think this one will soon become iconic

SilentAllTheseYears have just looked the book up, don't think I could read that, too sad

The boy photo is very famous. The second I saw at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and it always haunted me.

I was going to post that one of the boy in the Warsaw Ghetto too bambambini - the frightened defiance in his eyes is terribly haunting

I remember the end of sweet rationing.

TBH it wasn't a major event, more political/media hype as throughout the war there always had been sugar available, though just in very small rations.

Poor families of which there were millions, often without a male (better paid) breadwinner still bought meat bread and dairy rather than sweets.

More stunning, were fruits such as bananas and peaches, even oranges were amazing, and a box of dates at Christmas was a taste of the exotic

iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/the-execution-of-a-vietcong-guerilla/

This photo from the Vietnam war.

I've always found this photo very iconic. also these fairy ones

This is iconic in Australia, from our last terrible bushfires.

This was a fashion shoot for Dior by Richard Avedon in 1955. No photoshop in those days. All done with film.

more of Avedon's work here

Iconic photos from Robert Capa
Matisse in his studio
and Picasso on the beach

I wonder why the falling man picture became so iconic? I remember another photograph that was widely published, of two jumpers who were holding hands as they fell. That's the one that's stayed with me all of these years.

Just thinking about the Abbey Road photo. Album cover photos, now there's a whole other thread to be explored...

Loving this thread, such evocative photos!

This is a photo of The Hindenberg airship which exploded in 1937

As a child I dreamed one day I would fly Concorde. Sadly didn't get the chance

I think the supermodels in the early 90's were iconic.
To put it into context it was almost a quarter of a century ago

Annie Leibowitz has done so many iconic covers, but this one needed no words