Picture Power

They didn't seem to know what had happened - they were very disorientated. The body of the driver was put into a body bag. One medic handed over the dog tags belonging to the dead soldier to another medic and, at this point, Sergeant Ken Kozakiewicz realised that his best friend had been killed by "friendly fire".

Picture power: Casualties of war

The World Press Photo foundation celebrates the 50th anniversary of its annual photographic competition this year.

In the first of five pieces by photographers talking about their award-winning work, David Turnley describes how he captured the image of a young US sergeant at the moment he learns that the body bag next to him contains the body of his friend, killed by "friendly fire".

The widely published photo became an iconic image of the 1991 Gulf war - a war in which media access was limited by Pentagon restrictions.

Here are some more award winning photographs from over the years.


1963: While working for the Associated Press, photographer Malcolm Browne was in Saigon, South Vietnam, when Thich Quang Duc dramatically protested against alleged religious persecution by the government. Browne was overcome at the horror and smell of burning flesh.


1973: Many of the winners are controversial, as is this one, which shows the president of Chile, Salvador Allende, moments before his death during a military coup. The picture was sourced by Marvine Howe working for The New York Times, the photographer is unknown.


1964: Don McCullin was covering the conflict in Cyprus for The Observer newspaper when he took this picture of a Turkish woman who has discovered her husband’s body.


1976: Françoise Demulder of Gamma agency became the first woman to win the World Press Photo award for this picture of Palestinian refugees in Beirut, Lebanon.


1983: After an earthquake in Turkey, photographer Mustafa Bozdemir photographed Kezban ضzer who found her five children dead, having been buried alive. Bozdemir says: "While her screams pierced my heart, it seemed like she thought her love could will them back to life."

and finally,



I met a farmer who told me of this young girl who needed help. He took me to her, she was almost on her own at the time, just a few people around and some rescuers helping someone else a bit further away.

She was in a large puddle, trapped from the waist down by concrete and other debris from the collapsed houses. She had been there for almost three days. Dawn was just breaking and the poor girl was in pain and very confused.

When I took the pictures I felt totally powerless in front of this little girl, who was facing death with courage and dignity. She could sense that her life was going.

By this stage, Omayra was drifting in and out of consciousness. She even asked me if I could take her to school because she was worried that she would be late.

I gave my film to some photographers who were going back to the airport and had them shipped back to my agent in Paris. Omayra died about three hours after I got there. FULL STORY

World Press Photo