Alfred Eisenstaedt
Kiss in Time Square
Background History
Eisenstaedt was intending to take a beautiful picture of a couple that was happy that the war was ending. He was trying to show the freedom and happiness of all the couples. But in reality he was just taking a picture of total strangers just both happy that WWII was over. Kiss in Time Square was a photograph of a sailor that was so happy that the war was over that he grabbed the closest person/women to him and kissed her passionately, thinking she was a nurse. The sailor had lost his girlfriend in the crowd of people. " I focused on Greta, the "nurse". She remained unaware of my advance. That served my purpose well. I sought no permission of what I was about to do, I just knew that she looked like one of those nurses who saved lives during thew war. Their care and nurturing had provided a short and precious reprieve from kamikaze-filled skies", said George. George and Greta didn't even know each other. This photo is famous for the celebration of V-J Day at the end of WWII in New York at Time Square. This photo was not a studio shot it was one of those photos where Eisenstaedt looked in the right spot at the right time. And now it is a very famous photo.
My Opinion.
I love this photo! This photo is so romantic and it shows a lot of love and excitement around the world. This photo is unique because usually you see photographers stage how people stand and its all done in a studio. But Eisenstaedt's photos are different, they are action photos. To me they have a lot emotions and feelings. There is a lot of affection shown in this photo. Kiss in Times Square is a very emotional photo. They way that the photographer got the picture without them knowing about it and getting the picture right at the right moment and with the people all smiling and looking at them in the background and their surroundings, it almost looks like it could be staged and he set it up. But I think it was a lot of luck. He obviously knew what he was looking for but he just had to be in the right spot at the right time, and it just so happened that he was. I would not change a thing about this photo. It is a great photo that shows a lot of emotions and affection. He did a EXCELLENT job of capturing the people's personality and everybody's expressions and emotions toward WWII ending.