A Photograph that made me think – ‘The Napalm Girl, Nick Ut

‘A Photograph that made me think’

I remember seeing this photograph for the very first time, I reacted immediately to this because to know my family were apart of this makes it more personal to me and makes me wonder how they had felt to have experienced this situation.

The photograph shows a story, without everything that’s included in this picture it may not make sense to some people. The fact that there is a smoky thick mist at the back tells a lot about the photo, also the reactions of the people in the photo. You have children crying and running away, whereas you also have little kids that are running but you can tell from their facial expressions that they don’t really know what is happening. As the girl is undressed and the kids are not wearing any shoes it shows that it was unexpected and they were just living normally until they had to run.

It also makes me curious of where their parents are, it makes me wonder what happened to them and if they are in tears because they’re not with them. The fact the picture is in black and white shows how old this photograph is however it gives it a more emotional feel to the photograph. This is because black and white gives it a more of a dull atmosphere in these kind of photos and it sets a more sadder atmosphere.

Marcus Tu

L1 Photography, University of the West of England