Pro in Focus
One of the biggest names in photography, Steve McCurry has a new book of images he shot around the globe. Steve Fairclough discovers more
The legendary Steve McCurry talks about his book InSearchofElsewhere
Like many of us around the world, Steve McCurry’s travels have been curtailed by Covid-19 – but the prolific photographer hasn’t been sitting still. The latest showcase of his work is in his new book, InSearchofElsewhere, which includes over 100 previously unseen images from his career.
Now aged 70, McCurry is currently at home in New York, but is already working on his next book project and is spending time shooting locally, either with his Leica SL or his phone. He reveals, “I use my phone quite a bit. I’ve actually published pictures [taken] with that. If it’s the easiest and quickest thing, [I’ll use that] and it’s less intrusive [than a camera].”
McCurry’s work first came to prominence when he was in northern Pakistan and heard about the war in Afghanistan from two Afghans. He subsequently dressed in Afghani clothing and crossed into rebel-controlled areas of Afghanistan to see the results of the conflict. McCurry left with his rolls of film sewn into his turban and stuffed into his socks and underwear. The resulting images were printed by Time,ParisMatch and TheNewYorkTimes, and won McCurry the 1980 Robert Capa Gold medal for Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad. Although he was originally a photojournalist covering conflicts, McCurry’s work has diversified over the years, and he is now just as well-known for his travel photography, portraiture and even his photographs of animals. His career has not been without controversy – with allegations of overzealous use of digital image manipulation surfacing in 2016 – but McCurry sounds very grounded and at peace as we speak to him about his new book…
Rediscovery
InSearchofElsewhere showcases unseen images of McCurry’s work from around the world, but how did it come about? “I’ve been undergoing a massive scanning project, trying to go through my archives, I guess because of Covid in some sense. But I’ve been doing this for quite a while – going through and looking at pictures I hadn’t really looked at for 20 or 30 years in some cases, but there’s also newer work. A lot of it just came about by just going through and trying to rediscover [things].” www.digitalcameraworld.com
I’m really grateful that I can still be excited about walking down the street
He adds, “A lot of times when you come back from a trip, you do a first edit and once you’ve done that, you sometimes don’t come back to it, maybe ever. With the passage of time you look at things differently… either with a historical perspective, things change; or maybe your ways of looking, which I think is important, have changed. The book is kind of going back and looking at my work in a different way. Then, also, there are pictures that I’ve made in the last couple of years that hadn’t been published.”
The result is a collection of images from over 30 different countries – a testament to the sheer breadth and depth of McCurry’s output – with recent work from 2019 that was shot in Antarctica, Madagascar, Cuba and Jordan. There are several recurring themes within the images – such as poverty, architecture, food and religion – but which area does McCurry prefer to train his lens on?
He replies, “I gravitate towards human behaviour, how we relate to each other or to the environment; human stories, human behaviour, and how we live our lives. I’m more interested in people and how we are than landscapes, still-lives or whatever. I think the book is primarily that – how we are with the environment and each other. Our interaction with animals always fascinates me.”
McCurry has been a contributor to the legendary photo agency Magnum Photos for almost half of his life – since 1986 – with assignments across the world; so have these decades of travel have changed his photography in any way? “I don’t really think it changes,” McCurry responds. “Travel is wonderful, because you’re constantly learning about new places and what we’ve done to this planet. I think going to a place like Antarctica… it’s important to see these places; I mean, you only live once. It’s good to experience as much as we can; and experiencing that part of the planet, and seeing how different it is, is just an incredible experience, as is the range of culture.”
Motivation
McCurry turned 70 in April 2020. With over 40 years of work behind him, does he find it hard to stay motivated? His reply is fascinating. “I guess I always wanted to travel, but you’ve got to be careful what you wish for. I ended up spending a considerable part of my life travelling and being away from home. But I always think it’s a positive thing and I guess just being able to sustain that for 40 years [is positive too].
“Talking about being motivated and still being excited, I’m really grateful that I can still be excited about walking down the street, wherever it may be. I was in a park nearby my home on Sunday
(in mid-October 2020) and just the joy of walking around and seeing shapes, colours and people doing things is a pleasure.”
The outcome of the 2016 debate about the extensive digital manipulation of a few of McCurry’s images was that he described his work as “visual storytelling” and “art”, rather than as photojournalism. And, to be fair to him, that’s a reasonable summation of his overall body of work, given that he is just as likely to be shooting colourful travelogues than covering war zones.
As to whether he has honed his visual storytelling over the years, McCurry reveals, “With observation, you always want to keep that sharp. I just think that observing things and being curious and attentive are kind of important… those journalistic traits. The rest kind of takes care of itself. You just have to be able to observe and see.”
When I ask what’s next for Steve McCurry, he explains, “There are a lot of things I had planned going into March [2020], and then everything got cancelled or postponed. I’m hoping to go to the Galapagos Islands and to Myanmar in March [2021], but let’s see. “We all thought in April that things would be behind us by August, and now we find ourselves heading into the end of the year and nobody, at least in this country (the USA), has a clue and this second wave seems to be more of a possibility than opening up. So, who knows? But as far as continuing to photograph I still do that, even from home… so we’re kind of doing the best we can.”
Observing things and being curious and attentive are kind of important… those journalistic traits