Home Movies and Documentaries about Photography The 5 Best Photography Movies About Steve McCurry

The 5 Best Photography Movies About Steve McCurry

“What is important to my work is the individual picture. I photograph stories on assignment, and of course they have to be put together coherently. But what matters most is that each picture stands on its own, with its own place and feeling.”

Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry is one of the most renowned photojournalists and documentary photographers of our times. Born in 1950 in Philadelphia (USA), he started to photograph at the age of 19 working for a local newspaper. In the late 1970s Steve McCurry left his job and headed off to India. Disguised as a mujahideen rebel he entered Afghanistan in 1979 shortly before the Soviet invasion to cover the conflict. It was the start of a fascinating career that took McCurry around the world covering many war zones and areas hit by natural disasters.

Even though Steve McCurry’s stories are usually made of a series of pictures, he – like few other photographers – manages to tell a whole story with just one picture. Capturing complex contexts in a single frame has become his trademark over the years. Just as the vivid colors of his images of which many have become iconic; for example the portrait of the Afghan girl Sharbat Gula which was on the cover of National Geographic in the mid 1980s. Since 1986, Steve McCurry is a full-member of the prestigious Magnum agency, founded in 1947 by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, George Rodger and David Seymour.

Soumya Shankar Ghossal: Meeting Steve McCurry On The Streets Of Kolkata

In the following you’ll find a collection of the 5 best photography movies about Steve McCurry available on the Internet. The films tell the story of a fascinating man and his camera capturing the human spirit in regions torn apart by violence or natural disasters. For another behind-the-scenes look you might also want to check out the recently published book Steve McCurry: Untold – The Stories Behind The Photographs.

The 5 Best Photography Movies About Steve McCurry

  1. “National Geographic: The Last Roll of Kodachrome”: The end of an era. Steve McCurry is shooting the last roll of the legendary film that came of the assembling line. Starting in New York City this video follows him around the world looking for the perfect pictures: 7 weeks, 30.000 kilometers, 36 frames.
  2. Steve McCurry – A Retrospective: In 2011 Steve McCurry received the Leica Hall of Fame Award. With classical music in the background, this photography video-slideshow shows some of his most iconic images – amazing.
  3. “One on One – Steve McCurry”: Riz Khan interviewing the Magnum photographer. Rare insights in the way of thinking and working of Steve McCurry; talking about his techniques to capture the soul of a person he’s portraying.
  4. Magnum in Motion: Steve McCurry: Steve McCurry in his own words talking about some of his most famous images and the story behind them.
  5. Steve McCurry Untold: The Stories Behind the Photographs: The back story on how Steve McCurry works. The photographer himself talking about the editing process of his retrospective book which contains not only a selection of his most iconic images but also many personal documents that – like little pieces of a puzzle – fit together to paint the whole picture of a great observer of human life on earth.

If you are interested in photography films, please check out the list of the 10 best photography movies of all times.

Podcast

Check out my photography podcast – conversations with inspiring street photographers from around the globe sharing their secrets for creating amazing images. It’s mostly in German, but here are some episodes in English:

Valerie Jardin: “Street Photography – Creative Vision Behind The Lens”

Jason Koxvold: “Knives” – Left Behind In Rural America”

Dyanne Wilson: Chasing The Northern Lights In Yellowknife

Luc Kordas: Loneliness In New York

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