Since 1800 also known as the advent of Photography, a new meaning has been given to “capturing the moment”; however, not all snaps have become synonymous with words such as intelligence, economic austerity, cruelty, and happiness, but there are some photos that have surpassed the test of time and cultural shifts. These are 9 of the most Iconic Photos that have been ingrained in humanity’s collective knowledge and will pass on to future generations as icons of culture.

The 9 Most Iconic Photos Ever Taken

1800 is generally considered the birth time of photography. However, the process was complex and usually took a few hours to a day to capture a scene. Thus 1839, when Louis Daguerre invented the daguerreotype process for shooting images and made photography practical, is considered the true birth year of photography. Cameras became better and better generally over time, but it was not until the 1990s when photos started to see mass produced digital cameras, which would later transform into smartphones. To celebrate 177 years of photography, we have gathered 9 of the most Iconic photos that have documented the course of humanity.

#1 Landing on the Moon

Source: NASA

Michael Collins captured this image of Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong in the lunar module whilst heading towards the moon and preparing for landing with our beautiful Earth in the background.

#2 Sunset on Mars

Source: NASA

Continuing the space theme only a few decades later with the drones roaming our neighboring planet Mars, we’ve acquired some soil samples and surrealist sunsets.

#3 “V-J Day in Times Square” 

Source: CNN

“V-J Day in Times Square” is a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt that captures an American sailor kissing a nurse in a white dress on Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day) in Times Square in New York on August 14, 1945.

#4 Nelson Mandela Walks Free

Source: Metro

After having spent 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela Walks Free on February 11, 1990. This moment is considered as the end of the apartheid in South Africa and its start on becoming the peaceful and modern country we know today.

#5 Funnyman – Albert Einstein

Source: Metro

Albert Einstein was then a theoretical physicist and is now the synonym of intelligence. Everyone has a humorous side to them- even the man who developed the theory of relativity.

#6 Flower Power

Source: Buzzfeed

Jan Rose Kasmir, then an American high school student, was photographed on 21 October 1967 at the Pentagon while taking part with several thousand anti-war activists in the attempt to end the war in Vietnam. The photo was republished worldwide becoming a symbol of the flower power movement.

#7 Marilyn Monroe

Source: Yoka

In character for the filming of The Seven Year Itch, Marilyn Monroe poses over the updraft of a New York subway in Manhattan on September 9, 1954. Monroe (birth name Norma Jeane Baker) starred in a total of 28 movies and grossed over $200 million. Monroe was then and is still now considered as Hollywood’s greatest sex symbols.

#8 Audrey Hepburn And The Little Black Dress

Source: Yummistyle

Granted the photo is more of a movie-still, the whole image of Audrey Hepburn and her sleek “little black dress” by Givenchy gave Breakfast At Tiffany’s its iconic timeless cinematographic and fashionable aura.

#9 Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Source: Emilii

On March 12, 2011, when a tsunami hit Japan and destroyed the nuclear station in Fukushima, the tragedy left many without a home and spread enormous quantities of nuclear pollution all around the Pacific Ocean, even reaching the USA.

A girl who’s undergoing radiation screening is kneeling to see her dog through a window in Nihonmatsu, Japan on March 14.

Der Beitrag 9 Most Iconic Photos Ever Taken erschien zuerst auf My-Picture.co.uk blog.