Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry is one of the most accomplished photojournalist alive today. He is known most famously for his work in Afghanistan, and particularly the famous Afghan girl photo that was published in the National Geographic.  This is one of the most recognizable photos ever taken. 

 Born in 1950 McCurry graduated cum laude from Penn State 1974 and got his start in photography working for the Penn State newspaper The Daily Collegian. After college he traveled around the world doing freelance photography and worked for a newspaper for a few years. He really wasn't well known at all until he snuck into Afghanistan just before the Russian invasion and smuggled back some of the first pictures of the conflict there. These photos were widely published and were really the start of his career. Thanks to his work there he won the Robert Capa Gold Medal for Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad. His work in Afghanistan has inextricably tied him to the place.

“When you visit a place so many times, you notice what areas really need help and you want to call it to the attention of the world. You realize that even a nominal effort can be a significant contribution to a country like Afghanistan. It was a way for me to thank and give something back to the many people who have helped me in my work over the years”

McCurry established a foundation called ImagineAsia that provides books and school supplies to schools in Afghanistan. He has returned to Afghanistan many times over the course of his career and seen it destroyed by war.

“Afghanistan has changed in many significant ways. When I first visited Kabul, the city was intact and functioning. Visiting for the past 27 years, I have seen Kabul as a fully functioning city to a city on its knees—and I am happy to say I am seeing it now in its rebuilding stages.”

In 2001 he and a team from national geographic went back to the same town in Afghanistan to look for the girl in the famous Afghan girl photo. Amazingly they found her and rephotographed her.

McCurry is an expert at photographing people. He can capture an emotion or theme in the face of a person like no other photographer can. All of his work involves a person as the subject. This ability combined with the innate knack for being in the right place at the right time that good photographers seem to have, has made him one the worlds most renowned photojournalists. His body of work is massive due to his unceasing drive to document humanity. He often gives this gem of advice to young photographers.

"If you want to be a photographer, you have to photograph. If you look at the photographers whose work we admire, they've found a particular place or a subject, dug deep into it, and carved out something that's become special. And that takes a lot of time and a lot of work - that's not for everyone."

McCurry has won many awards for his photography such as; the Magazine Photographer of the Year. four first prizes in the World Press Photo Contest, the International Understanding Through Photography award, and the Olivier Rebbot award twice. He was even given the exclusive honor of shooting the worlds last role of Kodachrome, one of the first reliable color films produced by Kodak, he shot around 800,000 pictures with this film throughout his career.

McCurry has had to put his life on the line for his work many times. Hes covered conflicts in Beirut, Cambodia, the Philippines, the Gulf War, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Tibet. Being out in the field in dangerous areas such as these just shows his “drive to collect other people's stories to show what the world is like.“ He once nearly died in a plane crash:

“I was almost killed in Slovenia. I was in a small plane that crashed into Lake Bled, near Ljubljana. The pilot got too close to the surface of the water, and I found myself upside down and under water with a seatbelt that I couldn't undo. Miraculously I wiggled flee. There were only two of us in the plane, myself and the pilot. And he got out immediately -- he didn't help me -- I had to get out on my own.”

However he never stopped being a photojournalist and continues his work today, commonly being featured in National Geographic, and has published several books containing his photos. At 61 years old, he now lives in New York City and holds workshops to teach photographers what he has learned.

Works Cited

"Q&A STEVE Mccurry." Geographical (Campion Interactive Publishing) 74.10 (2002): 106. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

McCurry, Steve. "CONVERSATION WITH…: Steve Mccurry … ON AFGHANISTAN." UN Chronicle 43.1 (2006): 39. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

Bailey, Carol. "Society Recognition Awards." PSA Journal 71.10 (2005): 18. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

Hughes, Holly. "Photographer Steve McCurry Biography -- National Geographic." National Geographic. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 13 Nov 2011. <http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photographers/photographer-steve- mccurry/>.

 "Steve McCurry." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 08 Nov 2011. Web. 13 Nov 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_McCurry>.

Hughes, Holly. "An Interview with Steve McCurry." Photo District News. PhotoDistrictNews.co, 08 Jan 2008. Web. 13 Nov 2011. <http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/? verb=sr&csi=297875&sr=BYLINE(Holly)+w/3+Hughes)+AND+HLEAD(Steve McCurry: An Interview with PDN)+AND+DATE+IS+2008-01-23>.

. "Biography." Magnum Photos. Magnum Photos, n.d. Web. 13 Nov 2011. <http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx? VP=XSpecific_MAG.Biography_VPage&AID=2K7O3R1312JM>.