Steve McCurry – Profile
Steve McCurry is an internationally known documentary photographer with a speciality in India and south-east Asia. His best known photographs are rich vibrant color prints that show small moments of daily life with its struggles and joy.
Born in Philadelphia he graduated from the College of Arts and Architecture at the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in cinematography. After working for a local newspaper for two years he travelled to India and it is there that he discovered his passionate interest in the religion. Rather than the usual documentary photographic style of short-term projects Steve McCurry has allowed time for his projects to mature to gain deeper insights into the region by returning to locations he has already photographed to get a different perspective.
Photographers can have their entire careers summed up with a single iconic image and the photograph he took in 1984 early in his career of a scared Afghan refugee became symbolic of displaced peoples when it was used on the June 1985 cover of the National Geographic. His subsequent search and finding of Sharbat Gula has become a part of photographic legend with her being referred to as the “Afghan Mona Lisa”. Whilst this photograph is important it dominates how his work is seen but at the same time it puts a human face to the many international and civil conflicts he has covered including Beirut, Cambodia, the Philippines, the Gulf War, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Tibet.
Widely published it magazines his numerous books including The Imperial Way (1985), Monsoon (1988), Portraits (1999), South Southeast (2000), Sanctuary (2002), The Path to Buddha: A Tibetan Pilgrimage (2003), Steve McCurry (2005), and Looking East (2006) emphasize the humanity of the world through the small but significant moments of life.
His work is highly respected and he has won numerous prestigious awards including the Robert Capa Gold Medal, Magazine Photographer of the Year and an unprecedented four first prizes in the World Press Photo contest in the same year.
Click above to hear SteveMcCurry tell the story of meeting and Photographing Sharbat Gula, the woman from his iconic image "Afghan Girl"
Links
Steve McCurry's Personal website
The Blog of Steve McCurry (powered by WordPress)
A Life Revealed, a story by Cathy Newman about McCurry's reunion with Sharbat Gula (from National Geographic)
Biography of SteveMcCurry on National Geographic
Steve McCurry's biography on Magnum
Steve McCurry: Retrospective at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Watch Steve McCurry Reflections on Vimeo. Steve McCurry discusses some of his iconic photographs along with a personal tour of his retrospective at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (2010).
Watch The Omo Valley with Steve McCurry on Vimeo. John Rowe and Steve McCurry talk about the Omo Valley and OMOCHILD.org.
How They Found National Geographic's "Afghan Girl." Article by David Braun on National Geographic News
McCurry's famous photograph, "Afghan Girl," on the cover of National Geographic
For Your Bookshelf
Cover of "Steve McCurry - The Iconic Photographs"
Steve McCurry - The Iconic Photographs collects 30 years of Steve McCurry's work into a beautiful hardbound book.
Cover of Steve McCurry's "The Unguarded Moment"
The Unguarded Moment showcases photographs from McCurry's forays into Asia. The images reflect McCurry's eye for exceptional beauty.
Cover of "South Southeast"
South Southeast is a collection of Steve McCurry's photographs of South and Southeast Asia