Jeff Widener,the photojournalist at the back of the singleofthemost tangible (and meme-worthy) imagesin complicated media,has oral outabouthowhe cametocreate“Tank Man” duringthe Tiananmen Square protestsin 1989.

Lowon movieand confusedafter being strikeinthe facewith the brick, Widener performed the hurlof 100 ASA moviefrom the travellerand used the Nikon F2withan 800mm lens;the film’sslow speed accountsforthe photo’s slight blurriness, though,as Widener notes,itwas“good sufficientto frontalmostevery journalinthe universethe subsequent day.”

For some-moreon Widener’s career over“Tank Man”as goodassome overwhelming examplesofhis photojournalismacross Asia, reviewthe full talkatPetapixel.