A pity we aren't hanging murderers any more - so hanging the photo will have to do. Your shot is a great one to convey its message.

Thanks, Bob.

Wow. That is worth a minute of silence and then some.
I like the fact that you captured what looks like a pair of young people, perhaps similar in age to the victims. Just seeing their backs, imaging their faces and thoughts.
Intense.

Thanks, Sarah.

An impressive and thought-provoking image. I appreciate seeing this, as I am fairly sure the original was never shown here (protecting us?).

Thanks, George. That's an interesting question. The exhibition is shown in many countries with restrictive laws about what can be published. I wonder if Canon (the sponsor) co-operates if told to remove a photo. I realize, by the way, that Australia doesn't have laws like that, but maybe it was removed for fear of traumatizing people. In Toronto it was shown in a special section for the grislier photos.

Mmmm...........not sure about this one! I can't help wondering how the family and friends of those affected feel about it.

An interesting question, Keith. James Alex Fields Jr. is the criminal to me, though -- he should have been thinking about that before he drove his car into the crowd at speed. There wouldn't be any photograph to bother the families and friends if he'd acted like a compassionate human being. And of course there wouldn't be dead and injured people.

To me there is a public interest in demonstrating the enormity of the atrocity. Of course, I can't expect you to assign the same priority to that that I do. I am perhaps affected by the trial here in Canada of Gerald Stanley for the killing of Colten Boushie. There were no credible witnesses to the attack, and a photograph would have been invaluable. The RCMP didn't bother to take crime scene photographs, either, till all the evidence had been washed away by rain.

Anyway, I am quite aware that I may be in error here and you in the right.

Kelly himself cannot look at this photo, by the way. Luckily he moved to a non-photographic job the next day.

Thanks for your well considered reply John. I have no problem with the photo itself (or with you for taking this shot), rather the way it has been displayed publicly like this. I can see the value of it from an evidential point of view...........showing it at an exhibition seems a touch unseemly.

I don't think it's as simple as right or wrong...................but it certainly thought provoking (which is part of why I love photography so much).

This was shown in an enclosure, Keith, with a prominent warning about the subject matter of the photos in it, which I think was a good idea. The photos in the enclosure (a fixture of the exhibition) are always eye-opening.

Sarah P mentions the young people. When I was a child, late 1950s, I was immensely shocked, made to feel ill, by the 'death of Nancy' in a BBC serialisation of Oliver Twist. I am not convinced that a youngster of that age today in the UK would be so moved. It really is necessary to remind people of what violence does and means. I was pleased recently when my 6 year old grandson asked me why characters in computer games don't stay dead like they would in real life ....

I would be pleased, too, John. In many ways it's a struggle for all of us to stay in touch with what's really happening in a world of make-believe. Your grandson's off to a good start.

A look at this photo would be a salutary experience for many, I'm sure. As I mentioned to Keith, Ryan Kelly himself cannot look at this picture. It's a depiction of violence stripped of all the heroism and romanticizing with which it's usually depicted.