Spot News...Whoa

It was difficult for me to find a photo that didn't capture and hold my attention in the POY gallery. Granted...that's why these are the pictures of the year. But one section of the gallery left me amazed simply because it showed me something most would a) deem unfit for me to see and b) left me appalled for both the subjects and the circumstances. The Spot News sections covered photos on topics only rarely touched on in the news. I was surprised to find them there in living color (or haunting black and white.)

Every single image left me asking questions. That's why I am amazed. One image in particular and the caption that went along with it. The picture was of a child screaming while up against a wall, covered in blood. The title was something like orphaned in an instant and the caption goes on to tell the child watched while her parents were killed as US soldiers fired on their car in Iraq. I want to know why? I want to know who's blood was that? The child's? Or their parents? What happened to the child? And is this really common???

As gruesome as the photo might be (and that's a while different topic of discussion) I think the best quality of any photo published should be the thoughts they provoke. That's what makes that particular group of winners horrifyingly amazing, because I can't tear my mind away from them.