Powerful Photographs
Navy chaplain Luis Padillo gives last rites to a soldier wounded by sniper fire during a revolt in Venezuela. (Héctor Rondón Lovera)
Looking at this picture, it's harrowing. We see a young man, clinging to the chaplain with the last of his strength, as if there was more than life at risk. To him, there probably was.
In this black-and-white photograph, the strong, dark contrasts don't take away from the emotion of the picture, the focal point being the dying man's last hope of salvation, of finding peace. It's quite fitting, really, that the most lighted areas are around the subjects of this photo. It surrounds them, creating a halo-esque, frozen-in-time moment, which has been captured beautifully.
The setting itself is quite eerie. The run-down stores with their barred windows, the water on the streets which give out a bottomless, dark feel. As if the water itself is a mirror, showcasing the true nature of the events pictured.
I can't really describe why exactly this picture stuck to my mind. There's just something there, in the way it seems as if there were only them on the scene when this photo was taken, in this undisturbed pocket of serenity and emotion amidst what could've only been chaos.
Perhaps, it's just the raw 'reality' of someone's last moments showcased before our very eyes, but this photo is undeniably powerful. At least to me.
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