186-201 STEVE MCCURRY / PORTRAITS OF MEN

AFGHANISTAN / 1992


[...THE CONTEXT / I DON’T THINK IT’S POSSIBLE TO TRULY GRASP THE RIPPLING IMPACT OF A MOMENT WHEN YOU ARE WITHIN IT. OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I REALISED THAT THIS ACT OR THAT WOULD BE WRITTEN FOREVER IN THE HISTORY BOOKS— SEPTEMBER 11TH, THE INVASION OF KUWAIT, THE WARS IN AFGHANISTAN— BUT THE TRULY REMARKABLE THING IS TO BE ABLE TO LOOK BACK & REALISE THAT THESE SEEMINGLY MUNDANE MOMENTS YOU SHARED WITH UNIQUE PEOPLE & VANISHING WAYS OF LIFE, ARE A GIFT THAT CANNOT BE BOUGHT. I TREASURE THE WISDOM & INSIGHT I HAVE GAINED FROM THESE MOMENTS, & GOING FORWARD, ALWAYS TRY TO KEEP MY MIND OPEN TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO OPEN A WINDOW INTO A PERSPECTIVE ALIEN TO MY OWN.

[...]

RISKING YOUR LIFE / THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL INSTANCES WHERE I HAD VERY CLOSE BRUSHES WITH DISASTER. ONCE I WAS IN AN ULTRALIGHT PLANE, TAKING PHOTOS OVER A LAKE IN YUGOSLAVIA, WHEN THE PLANE NOSEDIVED INTO THE LAKE. ANOTHER TIME I WAS THE SOLITARY GUEST IN A HOTEL IN AFGHANISTAN, WHEN A BOMB LANDED NOT 30 FEET FROM MY ROOM, BLOWING OUT THE WINDOWS & DOOR FRAMES. THOUGH I’M NOT ONE TO GO LOOKING FOR TROUBLE OR DANGER, THIS IS AN UNDENIABLE ASPECT OF THE WORLD WE LIVE IN. THERE IS A CERTAIN SATISFACTION THAT COMES FROM MAKING IT THROUGH ANOTHER DAY OF CLOSE CALLS & KNOWING THAT YOU HAVE MADE IMAGES THAT WILL HELP PEOPLE ACROSS THE WORLD TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SOME PEOPLE ENDURE EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES.

[...]

TRAVELLING ALONE, TRAVELLING 8 MONTHS A YEAR, YEAR AFTER YEAR / PAUL THEROUX, ONE OF THE GREAT WRITERS WORKING TODAY, WHO HAS TRAVELLED THE WORLD MANY TIMES, ONCE SAID ‘TRAVEL IS GLAMOROUS ONLY IN RETROSPECT.’
AT VARIOUS POINTS IN MY CAREER, THERE HAVE BEEN INTENSE PERIODS OF SOLITUDE, PARTICULARLY IN AFGHANISTAN— WALKING THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS, WITHOUT ANY TYPE OF COMMUNICATION, ELECTRICITY, OR ROADS. YOU FEEL COMPLETELY CUT OFF FROM THE WORLD, BUT EVEN THAT CAN BE A WONDERFUL THING SOMETIMES. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ATTRACTS ME TO STILL PHOTOGRAPHY IS BEING ABLE TO LITERALLY WALK DOWN THE STREET IN THE MORNING WITHOUT ANY PARTICULAR AGENDA OR PLAN— TO WANDER & EXPLORE THE WORLD WITHOUT ANY PRESSURES OR EXPECTATIONS. I LIKE BEING IN CONTROL OF THE ENTIRE CREATIVE PROCESS & WORKING ON MY OWN REALLY ALLOWS ME TO EXPLORE THIS GROWTH ORGANICALLY. I ALWAYS FIND CAMARADERIE WHEREVER I GO SO SOLITUDE HAS NEVER REALLY BEEN AN ISSUE FOR ME...]


/ EXCERPT FROM A TEXT BASED ON AN INTERVIEW WITH STEVE MCCURRY BY MONIKA BIELSKYTE & RUFUS KNIGHT
ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLY IN THE PRINTED EDITION OF SOME/THINGS MAGAZINE CHAPTER005




/ AFGHANISTAN / 2007
// AFGHANISTAN / 2005




KASHMIR / 2007




KASHMIR / 2005




BALUCHISTAN / 2007




PAKISTAN / 2005