Choose one example from each artist and briefly describe their contributions to documentary photography. Post the examples to your blog with full citations.
The above image is of an oil fire in 1991. The caption shares that Sebastiao Salgado did not publish these images until a book in 2016. This prove a significant contribution as these photos provide insight into events that have never been seen before.
This image is captioned “SPAIN. 1937. Bilbao. Running for shelter during an air raid.” It stood out to me as a contribution to documentary photography because it shows a side of air raids that are very rarely thought about or seen. Especially in this image which brings a young girl into the situation. The photo is very strong as every subject is looking in the same direction, proving the fear and unknown that they are feeling.
I think that this image is a very effective piece of documentary photography. Without knowing much, it is clear that this iceberg pictured is shrinking, which sends the important message of climate change into today’s world. While statistics are effective in educating the public, it is even more effective to provide the image to appeal to the audiences pathos. This is why this image is a significant contribution to documentary photography in that way.