Steve McCurry

Craig and I attended a lecture by Steve McCurry and this is what Craig had to say about it:

Steve McCurry, Photojournalist
Kansas Union Ballroom, April 21, 2008.

I must admit that I was not familiar with Mr. McCurry’s work before attending this event. I had seen and been told that he was famous for his Afghan Girl photograph, which famously graced the cover of an issue of National Geographic. Aside from this detail, however, I wasn’t aware of anything else he had done and therefore didn’t know quite what to expect.
I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the lecture, and how much I appreciated his photographs. Even more surprising was that I actually recognized some of the pictures he showed, from various newspapers, websites, and magazines.
He opened by telling us briefly about his life, how he was interested in film and travel, and after graduating from Penn State left to travel the world, starting in India. He discussed freelance and assignment work while displaying photographs from India and Afghanistan. One idea he brought up that interested me was when he mentioned photographing the Taj Mahal. Iconic buildings, he explained, were often photographed from the same views and profiles and therefore end up looking standard and regular. The challenge for him was to capture a unique perception and angle, and he illustrated this by showing a side view of the Taj Mahal with the structure in the background, and women working in the fields in the foreground. They had probably been doing this for years and years, and over several generations, and he figured this would offer a unique timeless quality.
One thing he impressed upon me was the idea of the photographer as a storyteller. Being more of a writing and word oriented person, I prefer storytelling through words and explanation. However, when he switched from picture to picture, all the words he needed could remain unsaid. Most notably was one instance where he was showing pictures of Afghanistan, and was cycling through pictures he had taken of children. The audience was happy and he had developed a friendly, comfortable rapport with us. Suddenly, however, the screen changed to reveal the image of a crying child holding a toy gun to his head. The audience, myself included, collectively inhaled in horror. He explained the context of the picture, but it reminded me of the power that photographs have to communicate, especially since everyone in the room had the exact same reaction to the photograph. As the cliché indicates, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. Mr. McCurry definitely proved this to me.