Sunday 20 January 2008

Steve McCurry


Photography is about all sorts of things: time, places, journeys, memory, nostalgia, private lives and public histories. Ant this is exactly what does best Steve McCurry. He is one of my favourite photographers because in his books everything is told through people living their every day experiences of pain and joy. "The Path to Buddha. A Tibetan Pilgrimage" displays the beauty of the lives of religious monks and farmers travelling to holy sites together with sections of portraits of this proud and dignified people. The images capture an intimate insight of unique and exceptional individuals without effort. The photographer engage with the models of his aestheticly perfect pictures with intensity and curiosity.
I have been trying to capture the essence of his work while taking pictures in Tibet before I even knew about him.

1 comment:

Mark Chilvers said...

I am also a fan of McCurry's aesthetic and I have one of his books, South South East I think it is called. Unfortunately the inspiration behind his work seems to be based pretty much just on the superficial and it lacks the depth I had expected. After hearing him talk about his work this was my conclusion although he does appear to have a sincere interest in Buddhism which was the subject for another of his books. Did you see the Afganistani girl that he photographed in the 90's and again last year. I hope he was able to help her as well as just make her a National Geographic curiosity.Having said all that I still think he has a great eye and wonderful use of colour.