This shot is one that we discussed many times in a journalism ethics class I took last year. This photo of a starving Sudanese toddler was taken by Kevin Carter, a South African photojournalist.

The small malnourished girl is seen attempting to crawl to a UN food distribution point. A vulture observes her, seeming to anticipate her death. While just the image itself is powerful and heartbreaking, how Carter got the shot and what happened when it was seen around the world is just as tragic.

This photo was published in the New York Times and Carter won a Pulitzer Prize for it. But people were constantly wanting to know what happened to the child. This is where the ethical questions come into play.

According to most accounts, Carter found the girl and vulture and crouched down beside them. He then proceeded to wait for about 20 minutes because he had hoped the vulture would spread its wings, creating a more interesting image. When it did not, he snapped the picture and moved on, leading to massive public outcry and criticism because it had not even occured to Carter that he might pick up the child and help her. Her fate remains utterly unknown.

Obivously, this brings up a lot of questions about the boundary between journalistic observance of an event and actual participation in an event - where is that boundary and when and how should it be crossed? Did Carter have an obligation to become involved or was he just doing his job?

The guilt surrounding that question haunted Carter. Two months after he won the Pulitzer, he took is own life.

Thus, I find the content of this image to be compelling in its own right, but the story of the man who captured the image is even more heartbreaking. I think it's important to remember that behind every image there is that initial person who saw it first and captured it before showing it to the rest of the world. A good photograph makes you feel like you have stumbled upon the scene yourself and you are seeing it with your own eyes - but only one person was actually there. Chances are, that person has a story just as interesting as the one conveyed by the photograph.