Photography Research Information about Steve McCurry
Personal background: Steve McCurry was born on born April 23, 1950, Darby, Pennsylvania. He is an American photographer that went to school at Pennsylvania State University. Some important life events that happened to him was when he graduated in 1974 with a degree in theatre. Another major event that he did was took photographs of major wars such as the Lebanon Civil War, Afghan Civil War, and the Gulf War. His most famous work of art is the Afghan Girl, which was taken in 1984.
Style: The visual characteristics that this artist’s work processes is a little bit of everything, in my opinion. One could compare his famous photographs to the well known Mona Lisa. I say that because the texture and quality of the painting is so delicate and ponderous just like the Afghan girl. The photo really makes you think! You could come up with a million ideas to guess what is going through her head at that time.
Philosophy: Throughout the majority of Steve McCurry’s life, his work has been to show the daily lives of other people around the world. Through his work, he was trying to say that we should do something about how civilians are caught in ongoing conflicts and wars within their country. The best way to express this strong sense of urgentness is by taking a photo to capture the moment of the crisis to gain awareness. I agree with Steve McCurry’s philosophy and his way of thinking as a photographer.
Influences: Steve McCurry has influenced my life in a handful of ways. He taught me how to appreciate my life more. As I was doing my research on Steve McCurry, I learned that he did more than just take a photo and call it a day. All of his work shows emphasis and heart in it causing me to put more heart into what I do. He is a great man that I will always keep in mind.
Sources:
A- http://stevemccurry.com/bio
B- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/contributors/m/photographer-steve-mccurry/
C- http://www.famousphotographers.net/steve-mccurry
D- https://www.pixelle.co/steve-mccurry/
E- https://www.cnn.com/style/article/steve-mccurry-afghan-girl-photo/index.html?gallery=%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets%2F150109115802-afgrl-10001.jpg
F- https://www.1stdibs.com/art/photography/color-photography/steve-mccurry-monk-running-on-wall/id-a_757162/
Compare and Contrast: The photos that I personally took is similar to my photographer's photos in two ways. The first is that each photo shows a similar action that is taking place. An example is that the monk is doing something really impressive by running the wall. One of the photos that I took shows one of my teammates attempting to do a slam dunk. Another way they are similar is that they both express the same expressions. The picture of the Afghan girl and the photo of Chris both show a face curiosity. The way that the photos are different is the timing/ when the photos were taken. I took my pictures pretty recently while my artists photos are a couple of years old. Another difference is the camera that was being used. I used a regular digital camera that I got from my school while my photographer most likely used a well equipped and expensive camera. Another big difference is that my photographers photos are way more appealing and clear than mines.
Personal artist statement: All of my images have a foreground and a background. For my first image, I cropped it more than usual to "bring it to life." I wanted to cancel out to the background and make the line of sight towards the individuals. For my second image, I tried my best to use selective focus and made the curves going down more than usual to make the individual look very similar to the Afghan girl. It was a little challenging, but I got it. For my last image, I wanted the viewers to feel excitement as they watch a possible slam dunk by one of the players on the #1 basketball team in the state of Michigan.