A lot is being discussed in the press today, and here on TakePart, about the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests and obviously the iconic image of a lone student protester standing strong in the face of authoritarian rule–of both the figurative and literal variety. Would our remembrance of this wave of dissent be felt so strongly (or at all) if this brave young soul hadn’t literally stood on the edge of his own morality and history? Moreover, would we even give this moment in time a second thought without the aforementioned image having been burnt into our collective mind’s eye?

This image is actually not just a sole glimpse into history. As the NY Times is reporting today, the now famous pictorial of the so called “Tank Man” is actually four images. With a variety of other protest events taking place, there was a team of reporters on hand covering the time, as such, several caught the moment on camera. What made this one small piece so incredibly important is that it did exactly what a great photograph should do: it captured a story, a movement in a single, striking visual–one that stands amongst the most memorable of the 20th century.

This is not the only point of view of this story, so to speak.

The New York Times is also running an article detailing the release of a little known photograph taken by journalist Terril Jones who had been covering the story as a reporter for the Associated Press. His photo is shot from a much different–for lack of a better term–angle. The snap he stole shows the “Tank Man” off in the distance, while in the foreground we see three other students moving out of harm’s way, and as the lens suggests, the picture was taken as Mr. Jones was ducking for cover behind a bike rack; interesting enough, this was his sole shot of the moment. As the writer points out, what makes this version so powerful is the fact that we see the action in a manner that is “on the ground”; we aren’t left to feeling like this is some poised photo-op, but rather are reminded that these now iconic photographs show us a glimpse into what was a chaotic, groundbreaking, and in some ways, revolutionary time.