The power of photography has been very evident in the last few weeks. The photo of a dead three year old boy washed ashore on the Turkish coast, became a rallying point for demands that world leaders need do more to ease the situation for the refugees fleeing conflicts in the Middle East.

Ever since the camera was invented, there have been several occurences where a single photograph has changed human history. One common example of this is Nic Ut's Pulitzer winning photo of Phan Thi kim Phuc, running away from a Napalm attack during the Vietnam war. The photo caused massive demonstrations and played a large part in turning the tide of public opinion against the American interference in the Vietnam war. What few know is that the bombing depicted in the photo was actually made by a South Vietnamese pilot and not the US Airforce. Still, the change in public opinion caused USA to withdraw from the war effort and Vietnam fell under communist rule.

To further exemplify how important photos are in today's media. The best selling German magazine Bild (meaning photo) chose to release an issue completely without any photos. Instead of photos, there were only empty squares and silhouettes where they images normally would be.

"When you don't see them, you realize the power of photos" â’¸ Bild.




â’¸ Bild.