Steve McCurry Biography
Steve McCurry was born on April 23, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied film at Pennsylvania university and after he graduated with a degree in theater arts, he worked at a local newspaper. After 2 years of working there he went on a trip to India with only his camera and some clothes to become a freelance photographer. At age 29, his professional career took off when he crossed the border from Pakistan to Afghanistan illegally. This is where he took photos of the Soviet War which were the first images to come out of that war zone. In 1984 he took the famous picture of an Afghan girl named Sharbat Gula. Now he is a contributor to many magazines everywhere and he is a member of the photo agency Magnum.
Steve McCurry had always had a passion with things that had to do with a camera. Once he got into still images he did whatever it took to be a photojournalist. He was smuggled across the border! Even though he was a photojournalist, he liked to have a story come out of each one of his pictures; have the pictures speak for themselves. His importance of being a photographer is that he showed the lives of many different people in just photographs. He portrayed emotion through his pictures. Also he was one of the first known that photodocumented many events that many of even the most prestigious photographers wouldn't risk to do.
He, as a photographer was nicknamed “Prince of Darkness” because he preferred to shoot at sunrise with the rich, warm light. When taking his photographs, he made sure that people didn’t try to look a certain way. He wanted them to be themselves, not grinning, smiling, or putting on some kind of silly face. He wanted to show the commonality in humanity. He felt the elements of a strong picture was made of composition design and emotion, and if done correctly, it would show the deeper truth. He also liked the power of eye contact in pictures.
Steve McCurry was born on April 23, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied film at Pennsylvania university and after he graduated with a degree in theater arts, he worked at a local newspaper. After 2 years of working there he went on a trip to India with only his camera and some clothes to become a freelance photographer. At age 29, his professional career took off when he crossed the border from Pakistan to Afghanistan illegally. This is where he took photos of the Soviet War which were the first images to come out of that war zone. In 1984 he took the famous picture of an Afghan girl named Sharbat Gula. Now he is a contributor to many magazines everywhere and he is a member of the photo agency Magnum.
Steve McCurry had always had a passion with things that had to do with a camera. Once he got into still images he did whatever it took to be a photojournalist. He was smuggled across the border! Even though he was a photojournalist, he liked to have a story come out of each one of his pictures; have the pictures speak for themselves. His importance of being a photographer is that he showed the lives of many different people in just photographs. He portrayed emotion through his pictures. Also he was one of the first known that photodocumented many events that many of even the most prestigious photographers wouldn't risk to do.
He, as a photographer was nicknamed “Prince of Darkness” because he preferred to shoot at sunrise with the rich, warm light. When taking his photographs, he made sure that people didn’t try to look a certain way. He wanted them to be themselves, not grinning, smiling, or putting on some kind of silly face. He wanted to show the commonality in humanity. He felt the elements of a strong picture was made of composition design and emotion, and if done correctly, it would show the deeper truth. He also liked the power of eye contact in pictures.
Critiques
1. The first picture called Afghan Girl is a portrait of an Afghan girl in torn garments looking at the camera with stunning green eyes. The colors in the portrait seem to be very saturated and dense which make the picture have a tense feel to it. At the time this picture was taken, this girl, named Sharbat Gula, was living as a refugee in Pakistan during the time of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. So, as you can imagine, she was probably very scared, but had a toughness to her. I think this picture depicts what she felt like as a refugee with such subtle aspects. Steve McCurry used shallow depth of field and texture to make the background a grainy out of focused portion to really focus on the girl. The color saturation of these opposing colors really balanced the picture but also emphasized Sharbat’s eyes.
2. The second picture called Flower Seller at Dal Lake is an environmental portrait of a man rowing a boat down a river with colorful flowers in the back. The picture is taken from behind the man and the flowers looking down the river the way the man is. Yet again, this picture is very colorful and saturated. I think this picture represents the happiness of people through the use of flowers and calm waters can be a symbol of calmness and tranquility. So even though many bad things happen in this world, there is also a pureness and happiness to it. Steve McCurry used expansive depth of field and reflection to frame in the boat and the man. He also used movement to convey the boat moving through the calm waters.
The third picture called Boy in Mid Flight is a stop action shot of a boy running around a corner of what seems to be an alleyway. The wall to the left of the boy is white and has red handprints on it and the wall in front of the boy is a vibrant blue color. Like in all the pictures this picture is very saturated to emphasize the colors. I feel like this picture is trying to convey him running away from something because the wall to the left has red handprints that can emphasize danger while the blue conveys comfort. Steve McCurry uses a quick shutter speed to achieve this photograph and to achieve a sense of movement. He also uses the walls to frame this boy and give it a balanced feeling.
The fourth picture called A Mother and Child in Car Window is a picture that was taken from inside a small car looking out into the rain with a woman holding her child looking into the car. This picture is yet again very saturated which emphasizes the different colors. I feel like this picture represents sorrow. For the woman and her child out in the pouring rain and the warmth and dry just inside the car door, this just emphasises what we take for granted. I also feel that this picture shows curiosity with the boys big eyes looking into the car. Steve McCurry uses the rain as a sense of movement in this photograph. The car window is used to fame into the woman and the boy which emphasize the main subject.
The fifth and final picture called Man Running by Beach is a silhouette of a man running and his shadow stretched out under him with an ocean with islands in the background. Yet again the picture looks saturated to make the colors very vivid and vibrant. I feel like the shadow of the man in this picture represents being “larger than life’ feeling that you are stronger and bigger than you really are. Steve McCurry uses the uses of silhouettes and shadowing in his picture to make it have more of a magical look to it. Also I feel that the picture has a sense of proportions seeing that the mountains in the background are smaller than the man; sort of a juxtaposition to it.
First Shoot
Second Shoot
Final 5 Images
Reflection
From this project, I have realized that most the best images are made at the most unexpected times. For me, I realized this through the first photo shoot I did with my sister for this project. Because I was being inspired to do a portrait like the Afghan Girl, I was constantly trying to make my sister look a certain way for the picture. This was not working for me; so I went back through my biography of Steve McCurry to try to utilize and use more of his ideas of how and when to take pictures. He inspired me to use the warmth of the evening light to take most of my pictures and have more of their own calm expression on their face. This really inspired me with my photo shoots I ended up doing.
For the different images that I took and made my own, I really looked into what he was trying to say about the person through the image and tried to convey that through mine. Through these different pictures I used his different methods and what I believed he used to make my picture. For example, for one of the pictures of the munk looking into the horizon, i wanted to utilize the silhouette effect. So, I took a light meter measure of the sun and sky and then panned out on my sister. My sister was actually talking to my mom while taking this picture so i was trying many angles, maybe a little to hard, until I sat down with no hope left. As i was sitting down i noticed more of the sky was showing and so i snapped a shot and perfection, it was the perfect shot.
Through this experience I learned that I can’t stop trying and to play with different things. My inspiration I took from the pictures couldn’t be done with just my sister and my backyard, so I had to twist it up and make it my own. Thats how some of the greatest photographs can be made. Through these photographs I used many of the techniques we have learned in class like how to make silhouettes. Also, all his photographs were very saturated so while in photoshop I used the saturation mask for every single photo I took. I feel like my final photographs came out better than I imagined.
From this project, I have realized that most the best images are made at the most unexpected times. For me, I realized this through the first photo shoot I did with my sister for this project. Because I was being inspired to do a portrait like the Afghan Girl, I was constantly trying to make my sister look a certain way for the picture. This was not working for me; so I went back through my biography of Steve McCurry to try to utilize and use more of his ideas of how and when to take pictures. He inspired me to use the warmth of the evening light to take most of my pictures and have more of their own calm expression on their face. This really inspired me with my photo shoots I ended up doing.
For the different images that I took and made my own, I really looked into what he was trying to say about the person through the image and tried to convey that through mine. Through these different pictures I used his different methods and what I believed he used to make my picture. For example, for one of the pictures of the munk looking into the horizon, i wanted to utilize the silhouette effect. So, I took a light meter measure of the sun and sky and then panned out on my sister. My sister was actually talking to my mom while taking this picture so i was trying many angles, maybe a little to hard, until I sat down with no hope left. As i was sitting down i noticed more of the sky was showing and so i snapped a shot and perfection, it was the perfect shot.
Through this experience I learned that I can’t stop trying and to play with different things. My inspiration I took from the pictures couldn’t be done with just my sister and my backyard, so I had to twist it up and make it my own. Thats how some of the greatest photographs can be made. Through these photographs I used many of the techniques we have learned in class like how to make silhouettes. Also, all his photographs were very saturated so while in photoshop I used the saturation mask for every single photo I took. I feel like my final photographs came out better than I imagined.