Steve McCurry Photo Response

Steve McCurry, born in Philadelphia and graduated from the Pennsylvania State University for Arts and Architecture, travels extensively mostly in Asia to places such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Philippines. He photographs many different things, from people to piles of concrete. In many of McCurry’s photos we see him mostly focusing on the human consequences of war, not only showing what war impresses on the landscape, but, rather, on the human face. “Maybe one definition of hell is that it is the place where more effort produces fewer results.”

There are 2 of Steve McCurry’s photos that really touch me. One photo in particular is of a small boy wearing an orange sleeveless button up t-shirt with a brown hoodie over the top of his head coming down his back. Also this small boy is holding a pistol pointing it to the air. There is nothing in the background and he is the main focus. I think McCurry is trying to emphasize that there are many child soldiers in the world. From babies to grandparents there are soldiers. These people really do not have a choice if they do or don’t want to fight. Most kids don’t know what is right. They want to do what everyone else is doing so they join just to be like everyone else. If they are at war then they cannot go to school. If they have no education the rest of their lives are being ruined. Every child and adult has the right to get an education. No child should be involved directly in armed combat. The UN made rights for children, but these countries are where rights are denied. I look at my life and the young boy’s, the subject of the photo, life and just try to take it in. I go to a private school with a great education and activities to join while this boy fights to live with no education and no time to play. He is only a kid and he needs to play. He looks like a kid I would play soccer with at the park, but when I look at the gun it scares me. He could have killed families and seen death before his eyes. To be in his situation is just terrifying.

Another touching photo is of a bunch of children playing on an anti-aircraft gun. There are many bombshells near the front and the kids are swinging and hanging on the barrel. The boys and girls are having fun playing on it like a jungle Jim. The background is a far away city that is made of sand. They are far away from their home, but they are out of the violence. I think McCurry is showing everyone that kids will use their imagination in danger or not. That is what they do. They play and play and play, in school, on the street, or on a useable gun. Kids take all danger out and put in happiness. I look at these kids and think to myself “are they crazy?” They are jumping on what was, or possibly still is, a super dangerous gun. Then I realized that they are raised in a world of guns and terror and this is not as dangerous as playing in the city. They play and to them this huge gun, terrifying to me, is part of their everyday life, it’s just like a jungle gym and that’s the shock. Now that they are away from the city, they are free to play and jump and go crazy, just like us. This shows that all kids play, no matter what they are given they will play with it.

Learning about Steve McCurry has taught me a lot about photography. McCurry doesn’t try to take amazing photos, but takes photos of people living their normal lives. Just a simple picture of the Afghan Girl has won him many awards. All of his pictures are simple and precise. He focuses on normal people doing normal things. His pictures also show how people don’t have rights like we do. People in 3^rd world countries don't have the choices like we do. A photo will last a lifetime if it shows a story. Most of McCurry’s photos tell a story or make you think of your own story. To read a photo you look at all the detail. Everything is important, even the little bombshells. They all tell stories. Every photo has many journeys within them. Real war, real suffering, and real joy are all shown in photos, and it it’s the realness that connects the viewer to the situation more than the words. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The problem is that intentions which are based on faulty assumptions are doomed to failure”