Steve McCurry: A Photographer I Admire

A photographer that I admire is Steve McCurry, and American editorial photographer.

The reason I admire Steve McCurry is because all of his pictures tell a story. He travels all around the world and takes pictures of different people from different backgrounds and all types of cultures. Just by looking through his photo gallery on his website takes you on a journey. It exposed me to so many different people and places I didn't even know of. You can see the emotion of the people in the pictures he takes, whether they be portrait or candid, which not every photographer can capture. He goes into third world countries and captures the struggle of these of it's citizens and the type of environment they live in. He brings awareness to what is going on in the world, but does it in a very artistic which I think is really admirable.

My favorite types of pictures that he does, which are some of his most popular, are portrait pictures of children because he takes photos of the coolest and most beautiful kids who practice different religions and cultures, which you can see in his pictures. There's one with a young girl with one blue and and one brown eye, one with another girl painted blue with a symbol painted on her forehead and beads around her neck. He just finds the most interesting people.

He also isn't afraid to document war. He has a section on his website entitled "war" which consists of powerful photos of things like a hand sticking up out of the mud, like a person is signaling for help and another one with a man covered in what looks like mud or tar who has fallen onto the ground in front of a war tank and a duck in a pond covered in oil, etc. He shows the horrors of war and control going on in other countries and at home and what people are going through all around the world. There are hundreds of more pictures like that one just in that one section, that evoke so much emotion and tell such a powerful story.

In addition to what's in the picture are the characteristics of the picture and how it's being taken. All of his photos are such beautiful quality, perfectly in focus and you can see every individual detail. Every wrinkle and scar on an old man's face and every freckle on a child's nose can be seen so clearly, which in my opinion adds to the drama of his photography.

Here are some of my favorite photos that he has taken throughout his career:

Afghan Girl

Monsoon

Camels Under a Blackened Sky

Reflection of the Taj Mahal

Train

Light Heart Hard Head

Red Powder Boy

To Save a Child

Nepal

Afghanistan Exhibiton

Steve Curry will always be one of my most favorite photographers of all time. His photos tell a unique story that most people are afraid to tell or even acknowledge and shows a different side of the world and puts it into art, which I think is amazing.