This photo that shocked the world won numerous awards. Why did the photographer say he was embarrassed to shoot?

This is an old photo that has been widely circulated and shocked the world. This photo is called "The Consequences of Drought in Uganda" and was taken by Mike Wells. From the perspective of photo shooting technology, this is a very successful photo work. However, the back of the photo is shocking. The picture shows a close-up portrait of two hands, one big and one small, one black and one white, one fat and one thin, in stark contrast and shocking.

In the photo, the child's hand has completely shrunk, just like a mummy's hand. If it weren't for photo censorship, outsiders would easily mistake it for an animal. Unfortunately, this is the hand of a hungry black boy. The photo was taken in April 1980, when Uganda was suffering from an unprecedented drought.

Uganda is one of the poorest countries in Africa. It is located in eastern Africa, across the equator, bordering Kenya in the east, Tanzania and Rwanda in the south, Congo (DRC) in the west and South Sudan in the north. Most of its territory is located in the East African Plateau. There are many lakes in Uganda, known as "highland water town", but there was a drought in 1980.

In addition to drought, there were also serious conflicts between Ugandan tribes at that time. Natural and man-made disasters have made the disaster situation in Uganda more and more serious, with more than 6.5438+0.2 million people on the verge of starvation and death. At that time, the Calamo family area in the northeast was the most drought-stricken area. Just then, American photographer Mike Wells followed an international relief organization to the family area in Calamo, Uganda, to investigate the real situation of drought.

In front of a Catholic church in Calamo's family area, a group of starving victims waited for the church to distribute food. A priest saw the photographer coming, asked a mother with a baby in her arms to put her baby's hand in her own, and said to Mike Wells, "Look, this is the naked reality here. The relief food we distribute is not very effective, or even far from enough. " .

Mike Wells was completely shocked by what he saw. He took this photo at once. Mike Wells took a close-up photo showing the severity of drought in Uganda. The thin little hands of black children, set off by the priest's big hands, give people a strong sense of stimulation.

Once this photo was published, it caused a great sensation in the world. The influx of humanitarian supplies from all over the world has saved countless Ugandan lives. This amazing photo has also won numerous world awards. "Its power of shock and persuasion far exceeds the expression of written language. It broke through the barriers between different cultures, aroused people's common conscience and made people lend a helping hand. " .

However, Mike Wells, who took this photo, said, "This is the darkest moment of my life. Winning the photography award made me feel more and more humiliated. I would rather never take such a photo. " There is no doubt that Mike Wells is a photographer with a conscience. It was he who took this photo and let more people in the world know about the drought in Uganda.

Reference: Top Ten Famous Photos in the World

History itself is a realistic part of natural history, and it is also a realistic part of the natural generation process of human beings. Marx