If you don't think you have seen Steve McCurry's work, you probably have. One of the most famous modern portraits is that of a red scarfed Pakistani Girl with the wild and huge beautiful eyes. That very shot owns the from cover of his 1999 book 'Portraits' which contains over 100 fantastic portraits from his travels across India, Morocco, The US and Afghanistan to mention a few.
This book and of course his work captivates me. The quality of the portraits is one thing but we come to expect that expert craft from McCurry. What draws me though, is his selection, his choice of subjects each one tells a story. They are real portraits, not snap shots of people he passes but penetrating studies of their lives and characters, captures in a fraction of a second.
There is an emphasis on the young. Many of the portraits, I would guess even more than half, are of young people, children under the age of 12. This is an interesting observation as often when we think of making a portrait that tells a story, we default to the experienced and assume that experience comes with age. What we forget, or miss, yet McCurry does not, are the stories embedded on many a child face also.
What have I got from this book? A better understanding of the portrait to put it simply. This is raw portraiture, its editorial in essence and a study in its appearance. This teaches me to seek out and photograph special people, interesting people, people with something to say without opening their mouths. From now on, taking that family portrait will just seem flat, a little lame and uninspiring.
Im booking a few tickets, a little travel, first stop Latvia … Im going to have a go at this.
Portraits - Steve McCurry
Published by Phaidon Press 1999
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