Steve McCurry is an American photographer born in Philadelphia. He went to Pennsylvania State University to study filmmaking. At the age of 28, he left his job at Todays Post, with a one-way ticket to India with only clothes and a camera. He crossed through Pakistan into Afghanistan after hearing about the civil war currently occurring in Afghanistan. His photos of the drastic time in Afghanistan were published in the New York Times and Time Magazine. Steve McCurry has an extremely unique style. He manages to capture emotion in all the people he photographs. Often his pictures focus on the culture. He rarely captures landscapes and architecture, but when he does the focus is on the unique style the builds have. He travels to places many will never have the ability to see. The main idea behind every one of Steve McCurry’s photos is to capture the moment. Everywhere you go has a different style or feeling. McCurry visits different places than the average American and spreads what he sees. His photos can capture the times' others are going through and the culture they value. His photos manage to educate others about what is occurring in other parts of the world. I think we can all learn from Steve McCurry’s style of photography. He has influenced my work in the way he captures a moment. I learned that the best way to include emotion in your photographs in by capturing the moment. When you see fake smiles and staged sadness, it is never the same as capturing the moment how it is. Personally, my photos are all staged and capture almost no emotion, so that is what I am working on to become a better photographer.
Steve McCurry's Photos My Photos
Untiled Image 1 Simply Present
Untitled 2 Just a Flower
Untitled 3 Two Eggies
My photos include aspects of my everyday life. That is what makes them special. For example my brother in the shotgun seat of the car I take every day to school. The flowers that rest on my table. And then the food, which I use to cook with my mom every weekend.
Many of Steve McCurry's photos were taken in a moment, of a moment. This is what makes his photos special and influential. However, this means that the only way to recreate many of his photos would be to travel across the world and hope the events are recreated. Sadly this is not an option for me. Therefore I chose photos that have meaning to me, as well as doable. The other thing about Steve McCurry's photos that make them special is the fact that not very many people have the same photos as him. This is another thing that makes his photos special but extremely hard to recreate. So when working on these photos I did my best to replicate the exact photos but also taking into account what would be important for McCurry.