Photographers are people who take pictures. Photographers have methods to get the shots they want or need. These photos show the style and personality of the photographer.
Steve McCurry is a photographer known for his pictures of wars and cultural life. McCurry was born in Philadelphia in 1950. Wanting to pursue cinematography and film, he graduated in 1974 with a theatre art degree. His interest in photography soared while he was a photographer for a newspaper company. After working for the newspaper company, McCurry traveled to India to take pictures. He then traveled to Afghanistan through Pakistan in Afghan attire with film sued to it. His photos of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan made him a well-known photographer and gave him an award. One of the best pictures from this invasion was his portrait of an Afghan girl for National Geographic in June of 1985. The individual has red clothing around her head and green eyes. This girl showed sadness, an emotion shared by people suffering from war. McCurry also takes pictures of what people do in their culture.
McCurry is my chosen photographer because I like the way he documents events through photography. His photos contain experiences of wars and cultural life. I like his use of compositional elements and have known them previously in class.
The “Boy in Mid-Flight” photo McCurry taken in Jodhpur, India in 2007, is one of my favorite photos because of the meaning and the compositional elements. This photo shows a boy running into the blue building’s alleyway with light coming out. There is a blue wall with blood-stained handprints and an orange building on the right side of the picture. The buildings share the analogous colors of blue and orange. Compositional elements used in this photo are Leading lines, repeating patterns/repetition of forms, and the rule of thirds. The leading lines are from the blue buildings, the repeating patterns/repetition of forms is from the blood-stained handprints, and the boy is in one of the right quadrants of the rule of thirds. The context of this photo is that boy is running away from war. Blood-stained handprints on the blue wall could be about the number of people who have died. McCurry is trying to show the impact of war and how it affects people’s lives. War made the boy scared and want to escape. I can relate that the boy is trying to find a way to escape from war. The light help symbolizes escape and a solution to the darkness, which is war. The leading lines also help with escaping war.
As you can see, Steve McCurry is one of the best-known photographers in the world. His love for photography started when he was working for a newspaper company. His career skyrocketed from the pictures he took in Afghanistan. His photos tell a story about the events. His use of compositions made his photos more interesting. His works will give inspiration to new photographers around the world. Without his existence, photography would be different.
Sources:
Steve McCurry Biography – Steve McCurry on artnet
Steve McCurry | Photography and Biography (famousphotographers.net)
Steve McCurry – Boy in Mid-Flight, Jodhpur, India For Sale at 1stDibs
This Week’s Photo — Boy in Mid-Flight — Steve McCurry | by Arshdeep Matharu | Medium
The story of Steve McCurry & Sharbat Gula, the Afghan Girl – Public Delivery
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