It is a photograph called “Starving Child and Vulture,” and it was taken by Kevin Carter in 1993.
Kevin Carter was a member of a group called the Bang-Bang Club, a quartet of photographers who chronicled apartheid in South Africa. While he was in Ayod, a village in South Sudan, he came across a child who had collapsed on his way to a feeding center. A vulture can be seen standing behind him.
He took this photo which has become infamous because it seems as if the vulture is about to prey upon the child. A very powerful photo indeed.
Many assume that after taking this photo, the photographer left the child to become food for this vulture as well as for other scavenging predators.
However, Kevin scared the vulture away and the child continued on his way to the feeding center.
People who saw this photo did not know this so they criticized Kevin for not coming into the child’s aid. This photo also sparked a debate on when photographers should intervene in situations such as this. Keep in mind that Kevin was told not to initiate any contact with any victims due to the possible spread of diseases.
The photo won a Pulitzer Prize, but sadly in July of 1994, Kevin Carter took his own life. It is no secret that the backlash he endured as well as the images that he had seen/photographed all took an impact on his mental health.