Steve McCurry

1.

STEVE MCCURRY

2.

Steve McCurry (born
February 24, 1950) is an
American photojournalist,
a representative of
documentary photography,
best known for his
photograph of an "Afghan
girl", which first appeared
on the cover of National
Geographic magazine.

3.

EARLY LIFE
McCurry was born in Philadelphia and attended
the University of Pennsylvania. At first he
studied cinematography and cinema, but
eventually received a degree in theater arts and
graduated from the university with honors in
1974. He became interested in photography when
he started photographing for the university
newspaper The Daily Collegian. In 2001, Steve
McCurry exhibited in an international art
exhibition organized by the Leo Burnett agency
with Italian artist Umberto Pettinicchio, in
Lausanne in Switzerland.

4.

CAREER
He started his career in photojournalism during the
war in Afghanistan. McCurry crossed the AfghanPakistani border in rebel-controlled areas, disguised
in local clothes, and rolls of film were sewn into it.
His photographs were among the first photographs of
the conflict and were widely published, he won the
Robert Capa Gold Medal as the best foreign
photojournalist. Subsequently, McCurry continued to
make photo reports of international conflicts,
including the Iran-Iraq War, the civil wars in
Lebanon, Cambodia, the Philippines, the Gulf War,
the war in Afghanistan. His work has been published
worldwide in various magazines, and he has
frequently published in National Geographic. He
became a member of Magnum Photos in 1986.

5.

PHOTOS OF THE "AFGHAN GIRL"
McCurry took his most famous photo,
"Afghan Girl," at a Pashtun refugee
camp near Peshawar, Pakistan. The
picture itself was called the "most
famous photograph" in the history of
National Geographic magazine, and
her face became famous after placing
the photo on the cover of the June 1985
issue of the magazine. Photography has
also been widely used in Amnesty
International brochures, posters and
calendars.
The identity of the "Afghan girl"
remained unknown for 17 years, until
McCurry and the National Geographic
team found a woman named Sharbat
Gula in January 2002.