Steven McCurry Essay

Steven McCurry- Photography mogul
By Dakshina Chetti
January 19th 2010

Steven McCurry is a world-renowned traveler, photographer and humanitarian. His visits have reached across the globe to countries such as Cambodia, India, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Mali, U.S.A, Afghanistan, Pakistan and beyond. With over 80 travels forwards and backwards across Asia, he is extremely familiar with this area of the world. McCurry’s photographs are profound and eloquent, unifying vibrant contrasts with an arrangement of distinctive angles. McCurry’s work deals with tunneling deep into the essence of the photographed, to extract as much emotion as possible. His photographs touch the hearts and minds of everybody with their poignant and emotive edge. In many of McCurry’s snapshots, the themes encompass of the daily pleasures and troubles of life, as well as the occasional lesson learned or thought to ponder.
“I’ve learned that humor is universal” quotes Steve McCurry, in one of his blog posts.
Many times his portraits have daunting features such as intense eyes, a big smile, a lingering gaze etc. These are yet other components of the distinctiveness of McCurry’s shots.
“Sometimes you look at somebody on the street and they just seem to have a strong presence, a look, a certain kind of attribute that comes out in the face.”
But what actually distinguishes his photos from that of others is that his images aren’t set up, just discovered and revealed in lens of the camera. Pure and unchanged, still so engaging and refined. What I mean is, the pictures look so genuine yet perfected at the same time. McCurry explores human exertion to handle the changes of the urban world, the unknown hardships of today, love in unexpected places, he captures the essence of living and sincerity in each and every image.
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st of my portraits are not formal situations; they are found situations”
He has received plenty of awards and many of his pictures have developed into renowned emblems of professional photography, such as “The Afghan Girl”, a portrait of an Afghan Refugee in a Pakistani camp. Her eyes resemble marbled plaques of jade while her face is swarming with subdued emotions, her stare follows you around. It’s almost indescribable, no doubt this image has come out as one of his most memorable accomplishments.



While rummaging through Steve’s website, where galleries of his photographs can be viewed, I came across two images that lingered in my mind. Usually, his images have their premeditated effect but none of his snapshots had startled me. The first picture I found was shot in Varanasi, India 1983, on what appears to be a day of the monsoon season. The sky seems clouded but a small blanket of baby blue can be spotted at the top corner of the image. A route of turbid water makes its grimy way around, flooding streets and houses. Nobody can be seen below the waistline, people can be spotted cowering along the borders of steps and ramps. Still, things seem to go as usual, with people waddling through the blurred water, cars and bikes pushing their way through. In the foreground, you can distinguish a small rickshaw with its wheels submerged underwater. A portly man sits inside the rickshaw, anxiously gazing at the buildings. His chest is covered with a red and yellow-checkered shawl, tied around both ends of the seat. This man's shoeless feet rest inside the chair, as a small shelter of shielding cloth acts as a shade above his oiled head. The driver isn't seated, he stands beside his bike, wearing an exasperated frown on his fatigued face, his eyes look down towards the water and his shirt is soaked with filth. With a hand gripping the steering wheel and another on the bike seat, it’s easy to see his desperate attempt to move his rickshaw forward. The man sitting down doesn't seem to be paying any attention to the driver’s efforts and instead, seems to peer into distance, observing his surroundings. I find it somewhat offensive that as the driver is so arduously trying to push his bike through the grimy sewage, the man just sits, seemingly oblivious. Through all this misery and misfortune, what with the apparent poor conditions and incoming flood, life continues. This picture shows that nothing has changed and everyone just has to deal with it and move on. Nobody will be helped or pitied, its life and everyone has their own. I love how this picture shows the pains and troubles of events in people's lives and how, while showing an image of a terrible mishap, teaches us one of the many morals of our existence: Life goes on, no matter what.

It's tough to compare my life with this picture because I usually end up feeling remorseful. My life is different in so many ways. Most of the time, when so much as a simple glass-crashing or knee-scraping accident happens to me, there’s always someone. Everything and everyone around me constantly is constantly there for support. I’ve never actually had to deal with a real issue on my own. Of course, the image and I have some similarities in the sense that, even if I am being supported, life continues for me too, either way. I feel embarrassed because I realize that generally, when I have an issue at hand, I tend to become easily aggravated if I cannot find ways to solve my problem so that I don’t have to deal with it to any further extent. It’s exasperating for me to even consider living through my dilemma and frankly, at that point it doesn’t usually matter to me that some people don’t have the choice to even consider extra support.
This photo is like a tiny wake up call, a reminder that, no matter how many barriers come to stand in my way, I can’t just let this affect my life so that I’m at a disadvantage. I have to move on and continue to live my life, solve my “crisis” and deal with it.
The second image I came across was taken in Bombay, India 1996. The photograph was shot from inside a car, most likely a taxi. The windows are smoggy and long trails left by raindrops strike across the blurry glass. A fraction of the front seat can be seen. If you look carefully, you’ll notice that part of the back window is open while the front window remains entirely closed. A young lady stands on the other side of the window, there is a small child resting on her hip, gazing into the car. The infant is drenched, his matted hair pressing against his damp forehead; his eyes resemble two globes and his expression is heart breaking. He appears vulnerable, fearful, curious and apprehensive, his small face ogling at the camera lens. No more than two years old, his miniature hands cower into the woman’s scarlet sari. He wears a sullied chemise that evidently hasn’t been washed for weeks, the white has faded away and been replaced with an unpleasant hue of raw umber. Buttons are missing from the shirt. The girl’s withered-looking fingers gently press against the window, her eyes seem sliced in half by the top of the window as she peers inside the car through the open space. This girl gives the impression of someone inquisitive, weary, pleading and despairing. Everything about her begs for help, her fingers remain pressed against the window. It’s as if she holding on to an opportunity, something better than what she has, a change in her life. From what I see I presume this is yet another begging family pleading for money and help in the streets of Bombay. I also deduce that this is her child and that they both live in poverty and work together in search of money.

It brings back memories from my trip to Bombay; this image is almost a déjàvu. I recall being in the taxi, with my money and camera, stuck in the rain and traffic. Beggars passing by were a heart-wrenching view. I clearly remember opening my window against the warnings of the driver in order to give some money. This picture brings back the irritation I held inside when I couldn’t comprehend why everyone was so insensitive. Our driver never opened his window either. These people were publicly mistreated, shunned and shooed. Everything was comparable to the picture, but then again, these just were my holidays. This image is this woman and her child’s life. I share in common, just a precious moment from the past but what I saw then; these people continue to live like this.

This is a theme of rejection, despair and gratitude. Beggars in Bombay are relentlessly discarded: cars drive away, people shout, windows close, honks blow. It’s hard to be unwanted by an entire society. In this image, the young woman has anguish shimmering in her eyes, she has nothing at all, no support, dependence or assurance of any sort. After this picture she will go back and continue her life as a beggar, going from car to car to car. It’s a lesson that things are different from either side of the window and that we have to value we have because it’s so much more than what some other people could have hoped for. We are some of the luckiest people alive and we should realize it.

Overall, Steve’s photos highlight the struggles and thrills lived by other people around us. Generally, McCurry’s photographs have a problem, or a conflict. Whether its: The Afghan War, India’s poverty, the Gulf War, poverty, droughts or even back problems.
McCurry pictures have taught me a lot about the art of taking pictures, such as: the need for fine color contrast, getting the right angle, digging deep into the people being photographed, extracting passion from every picture and capturing the more intense moments. I have come to understand that all of these elements are what define the influence of an image, such as: whether or not the picture will have its anticipated effect on its onlooker. I have also learned that color and angle can be used to alter and enhance a camera photo. Angles can balance out the foreground and background, laying more importance on the main object of the shot and color contrast can bring attention to a certain area of the photo or give the setting an ambiance/feel.
The great thing about photography is that it’s a way of changing lives through imagery. If a picture is taken well, it’s like experiencing the moment of the shot every time you look at it. Images can make us realize things, appreciate our world, comprehend each other, feel empathy and see things from an unbiased point of view. It can assist and improve our judgments, increase our knowledge and encourage us to see things another way.
Lingering photos are the greatest because you keep thinking about them and they incessantly come up in your mind. Enduring images are the ones with the most effect. Theoretically, the key to creating a long-lasting picture with a profound effect is to: Have good color contrast, detailed focus, an appealing angle, an exciting topic and a setting with feeling such as delight, struggle, pain, ecstasy or even grief.
‘For those who were desperate, my camera became an object of hope (...) Throughout my year-long coverage of the monsoon world, my strongest conviction was that I was involved in the fundamentals of life.’ - Steve McCurry
Reading a photo can sometimes take a lot of time, you have to: Look at the objects in the image, observe the surroundings, climate, mood, look at the people, expressions, actions, note the emotions, the smaller details, the angle, foreground and background and try to establish what is going on. An image can always be read as a story, or narrative and this helps me understand what is going on.
The people photographed in his images are generally in situations far different from ours, yet somehow we still relate to them. That is because of his work with feeling and emotion, the thing that all of us here on earth share. There is always the connection we have with his work because we can all recall sharing the same thoughts and moods shown his pictures. Everyone can relate to feeling a certain way therefore, we all establish a bond with his work.
‘Most of my photos are grounded in people, I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face.’ - Steve McCurry
His galleries reflect a collection of journeys, all the elements of good photography combine to tell a story of the image: what happened, what’s going on, why are things this way, what’s going to happen now? All these components to a long-lasting image reflect the tale of a journey, lived and experienced by the subject of the photograph.
Steve McCurry is by far one of the most influential cameramen I have ever seen, his images each tell a tale, and reach out to their viewers. A lot of them carry burdens of emotions and hold the tale of someone’s expedition in life to live and attain their goal.

Reference: Steven McCurry’s blog, stevemcurry.com