Afghan Girl, 1984

There are great nature photographers and there are specialist portrait photographers.
And then there is Steve McCurry. He has been one of the most iconic figures in contemporary photography for more than 40 years. Born in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, McCurry studied film at Pennsylvania State University before going on to work for a local newspaper. After several years of freelance work, McCurry made his first of what would become many trips to India. Traveling with little more than a bag of clothes and another of film, he made his way across the subcontinent, exploring the country with his camera.
It was after several months of travel that he found himself crossing the border into Pakistan. There, he met a group of refugees from Afghanistan, who smuggled him across the border into their country, just as the Russian invasion was closing the country to all Western journalists. Emerging in traditional dress, with a full beard and weather-worn features after weeks embedded with the Mujahedeen, McCurry brought the world the first images of the conflict in Afghanistan, putting a human face to the issue on every masthead.
Since then, McCurry has gone on to create stunning images across all seven continents and in countless countries. His work spans conflicts, vanishing cultures, ancient traditions, and contemporary culture alike—yet always retains the human element that made his celebrated image of the Afghan Girl such a powerful image.
As Steve likes to say, “I’m interested in people—how people are different, yet how they are the same. We all dress differently and speak different languages; perhaps we have different religions. But fundamentally, we still share a common humanity, a commonality. That difference is what really fascinates me.”
McCurry seeks out the unguarded moment and strives to convey some aspect of what it is like to be that person—or, in a broader sense, to relate their life to the human experience as a whole. He distills his impressions—the colors, the landscape, and the fate of those he portrays—into a single photograph.
McCurry has been honored with some of the most prestigious awards in the industry. The French Minister of Culture has also appointed McCurry a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, and most recently, the Royal Photographic Society in London awarded McCurry the Centenary Medal for Lifetime Achievement.