Moments before ...
Visual artist Pavel Maria Smejkal took history's most iconic photos and removed their compelling subjects, forcing us to visualize what the scenes looked like moments before they were shot. Click through for a haunting and unique look at some of the moments that defined our past.
In 1989, when the Chinese military moved into Beijing's Tiananmen Square, an anonymous man stood in front of the line of tanks, supporting his fellow pro-democracy protestors.
Kent State Shooting
On May 4th, 1970, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on Vietnam protestors at Kent State University. A student, John Paul Filo, heard the shots while in the photography lab and ran out to snap the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo.
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
The Pulitzer Prize-winning photo was shot on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal during the Battle of Iwo Jima in WWII. Of the five soldiers, three would be killed in action in the following days.
The Terror of War
"The Terror of War" was taken by Vietnamese photographer Nick Ut during a South Vietnamese napalm attack in 1972. The photographer saved the 9-year-old girl in the photo, rushing her to the hospital. The two are still in contact today.
The Execution of Nguyễn Văn Lém
Photojournalist Eddie Adams captured this heart-wrenching photo in 1968. The photo depicts the Chief of National Police of Republic of Vietnam executing Viet Cong officer Lem.
Raising a Flag Over the Reichstag
Yevgeny Khaldei took this iconic photograph during the Battle of Berlin in 1945. The image of Soviet troops raising the Soviet Union flag atop the German Reichstag building has become one of the most recognizable WWII images.
The Vulture and The Child
The haunting photograph captured by South African photojournalist Kevin Cater won a Pulitzer in 1994. However, Cater was widely criticized for not helping the starving child and the guilt led him to commit suicide soon after receiving his prize.
Soviet photojournalist Dmitri Baltermants captured the Nazi massacre of Jews in the city of Kerch in 1942. The image is infamous for the woman searching for her loved ones, inspiring the title "Grief."