The back story apparently is this (found from this site: http://whitewingeddove.blogspot.com/2006/11/fave-foto-friday.html):
According to the book Photography Handbook: Media Practice, this is Mary Miller, who had lived with her sister in Buffalo but had recently left saying she was going to Indiana to visit other relatives. (Her sister said she couldn't think of a reason for the suicide, but remember divorce was very taboo back then.)
She checked into this hotel as "M. Miller, Chicago", locked herself in the bathroom and crawled out onto the window ledge. Photographer Russell Sorgi happened on the scene by chance; driving home from another assignment he saw a speeding police car and followed it. In the book, he describes the mechanics of how he set up and took the shot. It was one of those cameras that you have to remove the exposed slide and put in another one for each shot. He took two establishing shots as she sat on the ledge, and had just slammed the third slide into the camera when Miss Miller waved to the crowd and pushed off.
The photograph was used in a psychological study. It seems that only 4% of students who look at the photo actually notice Mary falling to earth in the center of the shot. It was also used to amazing effect by Neil Gaiman in the story "Passengers", in Preludes and Nocturnes.
Hello, miss, I would like a cup of coffee while I wait.
What are you waiting for?
Oh, you know, the usual.. the end of the world.
Actually, the photographers name was printed as I.Russell Sorgi...he was my grandfather.
My photograph was taken by a professional artist next to a famous president.
It has a deep meaning
Mesoamerica
yosemite falls
the veronica lake hair style :)
Bozo The World's Most Famous Clown - 1958 Sidewalk Peddler's Meddler 3-24 was released on: USA: 1962
dorothea lange
Robert Rines
y dont u answer it LOSERS
June 1985
I believe that Richard Avedon took the famous black and white photograph of a woman with an umbrella jumping off a curb. Please see the related links for the photograph and some information about Richard Avedon. Here is a link to the infamous photo (below):
Probably gave the most famous photograph of WW2; the flag raising on Mount Suribachi. No other photograph even comes close.