Photographer Essay.

Steve McCurry 

March 28, 1950- Present

Steve McCurry is an American photojournalist for National Geographic and is best known for his photo “Afghan Girl.”  He attended Penn State University to study cinematography and filmmaking, but got a degree in theater arts. The way he got interested in photography was when he was taking pictures for the Penn State newspaper. He first started his career when he had to disguise himself in native clothing, and crossed the Pakistan border. He kept his rolls of film hidden in his clothing and the images he took were published all around the world. Steve continued to do stories about international conflicts like the Iraq War. He receives many awards including Magazine Photographer of the Year. 

McCurry usually takes photos of the human consequences of war, not only showing what war does to landscape but rather on the human face. McCurry has a special way of capturing the language and culture of human experience.

McCurry’s most recognized picture,”Afghan Girl”, was taken in a refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan. He later found Sharbat Gula and he said, “Her skin was weathered; there are wrinkles now, but she is striking as she was all those years ago.” McCurry does both digital and film photography but his preference is transparency film. Eastman Kodak let McCurry shoot the last ever produced roll of Kodachrome transparency film which was processed in July 2010.