Steve McCurry: The Stories Behind the Photographs Steve McCurry has been a photojournalist for over 30 years. e is the recipient of the !obert Capa "old Medal# the $ational Press Photographers %&ard %&ard and four first pri'e a&ards a& ards in the (orld Press Photo contest.
Women gathering clover in Wadi Hadhramaut, near Shibam, Yemen, 1999 ‘When I first arrived in Shibam, I was astonished – it is extraordinar! It "erfectl illustrates what a uni#ue "lace Yemen is in terms of architecture, environment and landsca"e!$ %he sixteenth centur buildings ‘loo& li&e mud s&scra"ers rising out of the flat desert "lain! %he cit is surrounded b mountain escar"ments on the far
Yemen, Steve (c)urr
*os in the boot of a taxi, +abul, fghanistan, 199)oncerned about the "light of the Ha'ara "eo"le of fghanistan, (c)urr hel"ed establish a non."rofit called Imaginesia! ‘It$s an attem"t to get warm clothes, textboo&s, "encils and noteboo&s to the *amian region of fghanistan, where the Ha'ara "eo"le live! (abe most significantl, significantl, we$ve we$ve hel"ed to set u" classes for children and their mothers in +abul! In addition, Imaginesia has s"onsored a oung Ha'ara woman who is studing for a
%fghanistan Children# Steve McCurry
%rain station "latform, 0ld elhi, India, 1923 ‘%he station is a theatre, and everthing imaginable ha""ens on its stage! %here is nothing the trains haven$t observed!$
!iding the )ndian !ail&ays# Steve McCurry
(en "raing in the Ha'ratbal mos#ue, Srinagar, +ashmir, 1992 ‘I can$t stress how im"ortant it is to wor& with a trusted assistant or guide! %hat "erson reall has our life in his hands, and he can ma&e or brea& our stor!$ 4or his "ro5ect in +ashmir, (c)urr wor&ed with friend and 5ournalist Surinder Singh 0beroi, who went b the nic&name 6ovel! ‘6ovel is a big, burl Si&h and the main "erson who hel"ed me on the stor! I sat with him virtuall ever night going over different ideas and stor "ossibilities, ma&ing notes and lists of "otential locations and sub5ects to "hotogra"h!$
*ash+ir# Steve McCurry
Wor&ers turning ro"es of sugar "aste into hard cand, +abul, fghanistan, -778 ‘I wanted to do the stor because the Ha'aras were clearl a "eo"le suffering "ersecution the did not deserve! %he are considered heretics b the Sunni ma5orit, and their social standing is similar to that of the alit or ‘untouchable$ caste in India! ow, with growing %aliban influence des"ite a decade of merican and %0 intervention, the Ha'aras are "robabl going to suffer again!$
Blood and S+o,e in a'arajat# Steve McCurry
(an reading the :ur$an, Sana$a, Yemen, 1998 ‘With its biblical oriental f lavor, its mar&ets and its ancient walled cities, Yemen is exotic, but there$s much more to it!$
-e+en# Steve McCurry
Welder in a shi".brea&ing ard, *omba, India, 199; ‘%he shi"s are absolutel huge, and these "eo"le are li&e termites, slowl brea&ing them down! %he vessels are reduced to scra" within three or four months, and then 5ust gone!$
(or,# Steve McCurry
(other and child loo&ing in through a taxi window, *omba, India, 1993 ‘I was in a taxi waiting at a traffic light during the monsoon, and a woman brought her child u" to the car window! I raised m camera, too& two frames, the light changed, and off we went – it all ha""ened in about seven or eight seconds! %wo months later, I came across t hese two frames when I was editing the "ictures in ew Yor&! I was delighted that the "icture came out as well as it did! It seemed to smboli'e the se"aration between m world and hers – I$m in this air conditioned bubble, she$s out there in the heat and the rain – and how those two worlds came together for a moment!$
)ndia# Steve McCurry
%hree mon&s climbing to the (ingun "agoda, crac&ed during an earth#ua&e in 1239, (andala, *urma, 199; <%here is something dee"l a""ealing about *uddhist countries! I am endlessl intrigued b the wa the mon&s live, b the wa *uddhist "hiloso"h em"hasi'es com"assion, as well as b the iconogra"h! %he ethics and the aesthetics of *uddhism are melded in a uni#ue wa!$
Bur+a Buddhis+# Steve McCurry
gra 4ort Station, gra, India, 1923 ‘=ach time a train rolled in, I would tr to ca"ture the incredible swirl of life there, all the time ste""ing over "eo"le cam"ed out on the "latforms, and wor&ing m wa around mountains of luggage! India$s stations are a microcosm of the countr! You see life being lived out right in front of ou! =verthing is on view – eating, slee"ing, washing, caring for children, conducting business! )hai wallahs sell tea, cows and mon&es forage for food, "eo"le com"ete for tic&ets – the noise of the crowds is li&e an assault! Someone ma be re"airing shoes, another might be cutting hair or shaving someone! (an of the barbers who o"erate in stations have 5ust a chair
Trains# Steve McCurry
Struggling camels silhouetted against the oil.fire, al.hmadi oil field, +uwait, 1991 ‘%he dar&ness caused b the burning oil wells was li&e a moonless night! %he ex"osure on m camera was about a #uarter of a second on f-!2!$ %he "hotogra"hs show a scorched, infernal "lace, ‘but the don$t conve the fine mist of oil that hung in the air and coated m cameras, or the deafening roar of the burning wells! or do the show the unex"loded bombs and mines that dotted the desert! I$ll never forget the moment I got out of the car to stretch m legs and caught a glim"se of an allied lawn.dart mine behind the vehicle with our tire
*u&ait (ar# Steve McCurry
