Napalm Girl, 1972: The Story Behind the Photo and the Fight Over Who Took It
On 8 June 1972, a girl ran toward the cameras. Her name was Phan Thị Kim Phúc, and she was nine years old.
Ed Kashi Spent Two Weeks Photographing Saigon From the Back of a Motorbike
Sometimes the best project begins when the first idea fails. You arrive with a plan, but what you find does not fit it. Story Behind The Photograph
Paul Nicklen Opened His Cabin Window to a Polar Bear. Then She Tried to Come Inside
What would you do if a polar bear appeared outside Story Behind The Photograph
Why a Single Photograph of Nadir Became the Final Image in Luke Oppenheimer’s Ottuk
Sometimes the answer comes during editing. Sometimes it appears months or years after a photograph was made. But for Luke Oppenheimer, it happened before he even pressed the shutter. Story Behind The Photograph
The Story Behind Pete Souza’s Bin Laden Raid Photograph and Hillary Clinton’s Famous Reaction
For 40 minutes, Pete Souza photographed from one spot. He was inside the White House Situation Room during the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound. Story Behind The Photograph
Gregory Crewdson Built an Entire Beauty Salon for One Photograph
In my interview with Crewdson, we went through how Madeline’s Beauty Salon was made. Story Behind The Photograph
How Tristan Duke Turned a 4,200-Year-Old Climate Record Into a Photograph
Inside a piece of glacier ice, Tristan Duke found a record of a climate crisis from 4,200 years ago. He turned that record into a photograph by placing the ice directly onto photographic paper. Story Behind The Photograph
The Photograph That Changed How Eric Meola Sees Portraits Forever
One photograph changed how Eric Meola sees people. It was not planned, commissioned, or carefully prepared. Story Behind The Photograph
The Storm, the Hill, and the Silence: How Olga Karlovac Captured Silence in Motion
One snowy night in late March, Olga Karlovac left a party and walked alone onto a small hill above Požega in Croatia. In half an hour, she made four or five images that ended up in her book. Story Behind The Photograph
In the Orchard at Dusk, A Deer Stepped Into Pia’s Frame
In the orchard at dusk, Pia pressed the shutter. Pia Guilmoth had been standing there for a long time, waiting without knowing what might happen. Story Behind The Photograph
How Steve McCoy Turned “Bad Family Photos” Into An Art Project That Still Makes People Laugh
When Bad Pictures Make Great Stories. Steve McCoy started photographing his family in ordinary, sometimes funny situations. Story Behind The Photograph
The Story Behind ‘Chicken Girl’: How Steve McCoy Captured a Defining Portrait of Skelmersdale
‘Chicken Girl’ vanished, resurfaced, and became a record cover. Steve McCoy took the photograph in Skelmersdale in the 1980s, working with people in their everyday spaces. Story Behind The Photograph
Inside the White House: A Photographer’s Battle to Make the Shot Trump Refused to Pose For
What happens when the President won’t pose for the cover? It sounds like a small problem, but in the White House it becomes a battle. Story Behind The Photograph
Outside the Dream: Child Poverty in America Stephen Shames
In 1985, photographer Stephen Shames was documenting the quiet crisis of child poverty in the United States. This photograph was made in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles, where an informal encampment of unhoused families had gathered along the beach. Story Behind The Photograph
Inside the Quiet Turn in Rasmussen’s Work: Beauty That Pulls You Into Violence
The most powerful image sometimes isn’t the one you expect. It can be the photograph that feels small, almost like a mistake. Story Behind The Photograph
The Leap Through Fire: Story of Ed Kashi’s Iconic Image
What does it take to capture one unforgettable frame? In 1991, Ed Kashi stood in the middle of Derry, Northern Ireland, during a night heavy with history and tension. Story Behind The Photograph
Jason Gardner Spent 3 Hours in a Paris Forest Using Only Natural Light. His Double Exposure Technique Makes Faces Disappear Into Nature
Can a camera capture someone's soul merging with nature? For most photographers, this sounds impossible. Story Behind The Photograph
A Week with the Universe: Photographing Stephen Hawking
In the mid-1980s, photographer Stephen Shames traveled from Philadelphia to Cambridge, England. He wasn’t chasing fame or breaking news. He wanted to spend time with a man who had already changed the way we understand the universe: Stephen Hawking. Story Behind The Photograph