AmateurPhotographer

COMPETITION
steve mccurry
Reader questions
Do you post-process your
own images?
I don’t personally do the
mechanics on the images, but I
work closely with a wonderful
printer, and together we look at a
picture and decide how to manage
it, just as I used to do with
darkroom printers. I’m a big fan of
printing my pictures, getting them
on paper. We print every day.
Which was your favourite
assignment and why?
The first Gulf War back in 1992
was the most profound story.
The oils spills in Kuwait were an
incredible environmental disaster
and the amount of destruction
was biblical; it was visually epic.
Rarely have I been in a place that
was so dramatic – it was like
being in this disaster movie
except that it was real.
At which point in your life
did you realise you wanted
to be a photographer?
I originally wanted to be a
cinematographer, and went to
college to study filmmaking.
On the course there was a still
photography module and I fell in
love with the still camera. When I
left I was torn between stills and
movie making and could have
gone either way. What decided it
was that I couldn’t get a job in the
film industry, but did manage to
get one on a newspaper. I’ve never
regretted this decision.
Do you find it difficult to
persuade people to let you
photograph them?
You’re never going to get 100%
of people saying yes, but I’d say I
have an 85–90% success rate,
which is a pretty good rate. If
people think you’re sincere and
your intentions are honourable,
most people will give you a few
minutes of their time. The thing
you have to remember, though,
is when you see a striking face
on the street and you ask to
photograph them, you don’t know
their story, and what kind of day
they’re having. If you’d just had
some bad news and I came up
to you and asked to take your
picture, you’d probably say: ‘No
thanks, I’m not in the mood.’
As a photographer, you can’t
take it personally and get upset
about it; you just have to play
by the law of averages.
Most readers are familiar
with your Afghan girl
portrait and admire its
intensity, but looking through
your work, there are many
equally powerful portraits.
What’s your secret?
Often, and I’ve witnessed this in
my workshops, there’s a distance
between the photographer and
the subject – an apprehension, a
timidity; the photographers use
an arm’s-length approach. They’ll
take a couple of frames and then
wave goodbye. I think a better
approach is just to jump in head
first and really try to break down
that separation.
It shouldn’t be as if I’m taking
something from you because you’re
a curiosity and you’re odd, and I’m
this rich tourist. You have to get
past all of that and be like two
people just hanging out. A bit of
humour and some warmth always
helps. Let the person feel relaxed.
Have you had any disastrous
or near disastrous events in
your career?
Hundreds! I always try to work with
a margin of safety, but occasionally
things go terribly wrong. I’ve had
incidents in the past where people
didn’t want to be photographed and
I’ve maybe pushed things a bit too
far, and realised that not only could
I lose my film, and my camera, but I
could also get beaten up. So I’ve
learned from experience that if
people don’t want to be
photographed, then don’t push it.
Are there countries where
photographing people is more
Rajasthan, 2012.
Mahouts sleep with
their elephant
Jaipur, Rajasthan
2008. Man walks
through Jantar
Mantar, an
18th century
astronomical
observation site
challenging, where they’re less
keen to be photographed?
For some reason Morocco has
always been difficult. There are also
places where people always want to
be paid to be photographed, and
that’s a different issue.
What’s your attitude toward
paying for pictures?
I think it needs to be on a case-by-
24 14 May 2016 I www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113