Sailor kissing girl in Times Square

Sailor kissing girl in Times Square by Alfred Eisenstaedt, V-J Day 1945 

Yet again here is another iconic photograph of the United States history. This photograph shows a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square when our triumph of World War II was announced. This photograph seems to represent to people what it felt like when World War II ended. I can only imagine how palpable the energy and excitement was at that moment. Imagine standing there in the middle of Times Square hearing the thousands of peoples cheers and screams and having that one moment stopped in time with this photograph.

The photograph is structured to have the kissing couple as the focal point and the one part of the photograph that is supposed to catch the viewers gaze. The contrast of the colors is just one of the ways in which the photographer creates a space around the couple. Another way the photographer creates space is by the focus of the camera lens. The camera focuses on the main figures, allowing things in the background to become blurry and out of focus, making the main figures even more prominent. The photograph features blacks and whites of different contrasts, and it creates an emphasis on the main figures because they are the most sharply defined colors.

70 years after this photograph was taken and every single piece, shade and line of the picture has been viewed, analyzed, and studied by millions of people, which it makes it hard to believe that the picture was, at one time, a reality. This photo is, and will remain to be, an iconic part of the United States history. That is what is so amazing about this photograph, even years after it was taken it can still represent the emotions of that day, so that we can all hold on to such a great feeling like that.