Steve McCurry
Steve McCurry was born February 24, 1950 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He attended Penn State University and originally planned to study cinematography and filmmaking but graduated with a degree in theater arts in 1974. But he finally got into photography when he started taking pictures for the Penn State newspaper. Steve McCurry is well known for his photo: “Afghan Girl”, Which features a young Afghanistan a girl with striking green eyes and impeccable beauty. This photo made National Geographic magazine covers multiple times. He is especially well known for photographing different cultures and places around the world, and very well known for documenting the toll war takes on humans especially in regions like Pakistan and Afghanistan.
First of all, what makes his work so important is the fact that he goes all around the globe photographing different places people and cultures. He prefers photographing a single image rather than taking a series of images of a particular place. He feels that a single photo needs to stand on its own with its own place and feeling. His photos in general heavily featured color and always have impeccable balance. You will often see people in motion or undertaking a task in his photos. Another thing he often uses is leading lines and patterns to appeal to the viewer. He even has an album called ‘Eye Appeal’. With regard to what type of photography he does, as far as I see, his gallery has a decent mix of portraits, still life images, landscapes, and more. Although, I particularly like how many of his photos are both a still life image, and a portrait at the same time.
I feel that Steve McCurry’s work has one of the most important messages out of the everyone in large the community of photography. He has risked his life many times in places like Afghanistan to get many famous photos that we know today. Like I said before, his entire portfolio revolves around taking the viewers eyes on a world tour. He photographs people, animals, architecture, roads, and much more, from places around the globe. His photos are meant to show the world what lies beyond their own nationality and their own community. He focuses on bringing out the beauty in many places of the world that are less known but deserve representation. Not only that, but many of his albums focus on showing us the effect of war and violence on peoples' lives, and whilst photographing this, he also manages to bring out the beauty in many places that are perceived to be 'dangerous' or 'unstable' in the eyes of the commonwealth.
His photos absolutely have me wonderstruck. How can someone take something so simple, like a railway platform, and turn it into a glorious work of art. This is exactly what I want to do when I photographed anything. It’s very difficult to make something simple look outstanding like he does. His work in representing various cultures and helping you meet new people really inspired me, and is something I definitely want my own photos to display. Being a person of color in this country, I feel it's important for me to represent my own culture and community. The whole point of capturing a feeling rather than just an instance makes a lot of sense to me.
First of all, what makes his work so important is the fact that he goes all around the globe photographing different places people and cultures. He prefers photographing a single image rather than taking a series of images of a particular place. He feels that a single photo needs to stand on its own with its own place and feeling. His photos in general heavily featured color and always have impeccable balance. You will often see people in motion or undertaking a task in his photos. Another thing he often uses is leading lines and patterns to appeal to the viewer. He even has an album called ‘Eye Appeal’. With regard to what type of photography he does, as far as I see, his gallery has a decent mix of portraits, still life images, landscapes, and more. Although, I particularly like how many of his photos are both a still life image, and a portrait at the same time.
I feel that Steve McCurry’s work has one of the most important messages out of the everyone in large the community of photography. He has risked his life many times in places like Afghanistan to get many famous photos that we know today. Like I said before, his entire portfolio revolves around taking the viewers eyes on a world tour. He photographs people, animals, architecture, roads, and much more, from places around the globe. His photos are meant to show the world what lies beyond their own nationality and their own community. He focuses on bringing out the beauty in many places of the world that are less known but deserve representation. Not only that, but many of his albums focus on showing us the effect of war and violence on peoples' lives, and whilst photographing this, he also manages to bring out the beauty in many places that are perceived to be 'dangerous' or 'unstable' in the eyes of the commonwealth.
His photos absolutely have me wonderstruck. How can someone take something so simple, like a railway platform, and turn it into a glorious work of art. This is exactly what I want to do when I photographed anything. It’s very difficult to make something simple look outstanding like he does. His work in representing various cultures and helping you meet new people really inspired me, and is something I definitely want my own photos to display. Being a person of color in this country, I feel it's important for me to represent my own culture and community. The whole point of capturing a feeling rather than just an instance makes a lot of sense to me.
Some of his photos:
Recreating the art:
This project finally gave me the opportunity to explore new artists and think hard about what kind of photography I enjoy and want to pursue. The following images were carefully thought out, and I believe that they could have multiple messages depending on how one looks at them. Some of these images have been previously shot, but I decided to include them anyway because I feel like they closely relate to my ethnography, and are very 'unique' photos for reasons you will see.
The Gift
Business
Lifeless, yet alive
Land and Sky
Together
Faith
Final Reflection
One word I’d use to describe this project is ‘Universal’. I believe Steve McCurry’s photos, as well as my photos, accurately display different cultures, religions and philosophies, from all over the world. I really enjoyed recreating his photos, but what I enjoyed more is the freedom of creating it in your ow way. I decided to change the message, or the setup enough that it is new, but not too much that the similarities aren't still visible.
The idea for the first picture, "The Gift", came to me immediately when I saw it. The spray paint in McCurry's photo says 'Life's a joke'. In general, I do not agree with people who complain about life being a 'joke' or a 'waste of time'. Every time one encounters hardship, you cannot blame it on life. In a span of 90 years, it's impossible that life won't throw a curve-ball on you. This is why I want to change people's mentality to one where they think life's a gift, which is what I wanted to show in my picture.
Unfortunately I don't know how to roller blade, but I do now how to stand there and not smile.
"Business" is a self portrait, and one of my personal favorites. The source image is a kind Indian gentleman who is in a pensive state, wearing a colorful head-dress. In India, wearing a nice, colorful head-dress like that is 'hip' and 'cool' in the villages of India. It's considered a formal, sharp, and expensive outfit. Naturally, I decided to recreate it with a contemporary, 'formal, sharp and expensive' outfit. The reason it's titled "Business" is because I feel like both of these photos have a serious feel to it, depicting grit and hard work.
My picture, "Lifeless, yet alive", shows us the life and energy in inert statues. It was really difficult to recreate it. First of all, I couldn't break the doll to mimic the source photo, and I couldn't lean it against a 'dirty' wall. Nevertheless, I still feel like I was able to bring out the same feeling.
"Land and Sky" is possibly one of the prettiest images on this project. The bright blue sky, and the golden yellow mountains are just absolutely stunning. In addition to that, I think the foreground, mid-ground and background are perfectly visible in these 2 images. This picture was taken in Kashmir, India, and none of my pictures can properly show us the beauty of the mountains other than this one.
"Together" is a picture I decided to mutate a little bit. McCurry's photo was taken from the album the album 'Solitude' where you see a trekker hiking through the Himalayan trails, all alone. In my picture however, I show a group of trekkers, hiking all together in harmony. Being alone may be a form of release for a few people, but to me, the idea of doing something like hiking, is best enjoyed with the company of your friends and/or family.
"Faith" is one of the images which is probably the hardest to see similarities between mine and his. Steve McCurry's photo shows a man holding Islamic religious scriptures in the palm of his hands. I feel that he is showing us that God can be found in writing and books. What I was trying to accomplish with my photo, is that God can also be found in nature, which is why you can see me 'cradling' a little red plant, as believe God is part of it as well.
This project was undoubtedly the best project of this Tri. Now that isn’t to say that there were no difficulties. Bringing out vivid colors like Steve McCurry was extremely difficult, especially during Michigan winter. Also, his photos are from the farthest parts of the world, and recreating them in Ann Arbor was certainly not easy. This project really let me spread my wings to practice the kind of photography that I like. Hopefully, at some point, I will get to actually go to these places and take my own unique photos. Until then, I will continue to gather 'inspiration' from cultural photographers like McCurry and keep the ideas flowing.
The idea for the first picture, "The Gift", came to me immediately when I saw it. The spray paint in McCurry's photo says 'Life's a joke'. In general, I do not agree with people who complain about life being a 'joke' or a 'waste of time'. Every time one encounters hardship, you cannot blame it on life. In a span of 90 years, it's impossible that life won't throw a curve-ball on you. This is why I want to change people's mentality to one where they think life's a gift, which is what I wanted to show in my picture.
Unfortunately I don't know how to roller blade, but I do now how to stand there and not smile.
"Business" is a self portrait, and one of my personal favorites. The source image is a kind Indian gentleman who is in a pensive state, wearing a colorful head-dress. In India, wearing a nice, colorful head-dress like that is 'hip' and 'cool' in the villages of India. It's considered a formal, sharp, and expensive outfit. Naturally, I decided to recreate it with a contemporary, 'formal, sharp and expensive' outfit. The reason it's titled "Business" is because I feel like both of these photos have a serious feel to it, depicting grit and hard work.
My picture, "Lifeless, yet alive", shows us the life and energy in inert statues. It was really difficult to recreate it. First of all, I couldn't break the doll to mimic the source photo, and I couldn't lean it against a 'dirty' wall. Nevertheless, I still feel like I was able to bring out the same feeling.
"Land and Sky" is possibly one of the prettiest images on this project. The bright blue sky, and the golden yellow mountains are just absolutely stunning. In addition to that, I think the foreground, mid-ground and background are perfectly visible in these 2 images. This picture was taken in Kashmir, India, and none of my pictures can properly show us the beauty of the mountains other than this one.
"Together" is a picture I decided to mutate a little bit. McCurry's photo was taken from the album the album 'Solitude' where you see a trekker hiking through the Himalayan trails, all alone. In my picture however, I show a group of trekkers, hiking all together in harmony. Being alone may be a form of release for a few people, but to me, the idea of doing something like hiking, is best enjoyed with the company of your friends and/or family.
"Faith" is one of the images which is probably the hardest to see similarities between mine and his. Steve McCurry's photo shows a man holding Islamic religious scriptures in the palm of his hands. I feel that he is showing us that God can be found in writing and books. What I was trying to accomplish with my photo, is that God can also be found in nature, which is why you can see me 'cradling' a little red plant, as believe God is part of it as well.
This project was undoubtedly the best project of this Tri. Now that isn’t to say that there were no difficulties. Bringing out vivid colors like Steve McCurry was extremely difficult, especially during Michigan winter. Also, his photos are from the farthest parts of the world, and recreating them in Ann Arbor was certainly not easy. This project really let me spread my wings to practice the kind of photography that I like. Hopefully, at some point, I will get to actually go to these places and take my own unique photos. Until then, I will continue to gather 'inspiration' from cultural photographers like McCurry and keep the ideas flowing.
Thank you :)
PS: Thanks Ms. Gessert for all the help!! Really, REALLY enjoyed this class. Will definitely be taking Photography II with you. Cheers!