Richard Lam is a photographer and filmmaker based in Vancouver, Canada. He says he finds inspiration in “both the grandeur of epic scenery and the intimacy of the shared human experience,” and it was certainly the latter at play when he snapped his most well-known shot to date. When hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Vancouver after their team lost a major hockey final, the situation quickly descended into a full-blown riot. After being knocked to the floor by police, a young couple consoled one another by kissing, and Richard took his chance, capturing an image that trivialized the mindless violence on the street around them. We explored the photo as part of our series “More Than Meets the Eye,” in which we dissect the most talked-about photographs of the last decade.
