Choice cuts

How many trillions of photographs must have been taken in the past 140 years? Amy Davies asked some of our regular contributors for their favourites....a difficult task, to say the least

I did a quick search to see if I could ascertain how many photographs had been taken in the history of photography.

Some results from over ten years ago suggested the number at that time was around 3.5 trillion. Other reports suggest that there are 93 million selfies taken every single day, never mind pictures of cats, food, or even those taken with a sense of even greater importance.

In short, it’s safe to say that there are a lot of photos to choose from. Picking your favourite from a given year is pretty difficult. Picking just a single one when you’ve got 140 years’ worth to choose from, well that’s nigh-on impossible, right?

Still, I asked some of our regulars to do just that, because life isn’t always easy. Over the following pages, there are a few choice selections from some of our regulars, including two of our own AP staff picks. Of course, we’d love to hear what your own favourites are, so do let us know via the usual methods listed on page 3.

‘This beautiful black & white image by Andreas Feininger, taken just after the war, shows the Port of Manhattan against a smoky backdrop of silhouetted skyscrapers. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric image that perfectly captures the glamour and promise of America at that time. The skyscrapers represent progress, hope and the triumph of human ingenuity while, in the foreground, the port was for decades the primary entry point for the millions of immigrants who came from all over the world to help build America and share in its success.