Steve McCurry looks back on a life in photography

‘I never want to stop’ — The legendary US photographer reflects on kindness, creative impulses and his four-decade career behind the lens.

American photographer Steve McCurry has faced bandits and burglars, battlefields and bombs, a drowning and plane crash, arrests and accidents — all in the name of getting the photograph. Over the past 40 years, the intrepid artist has traversed the globe creating an archive of indelible images of people, places and moments.

Now, he has teamed up with his sister Bonnie McCurry to create Steve McCurry: A Life in Pictures (Laurence King), a tour-de-force through four decades of work, including 100 never-before-published gems shown for the first time. McCurry’s journey is detailed throughout the book, providing an intimate view of the man behind the lens.  

“I compare photography to food, air, and sleep,” McCurry says, with a laugh. “I can’t imagine myself saying, ‘Well, I am 68 years old and I have been eating for so many years. It was fun, I enjoyed it, but now it’s time to take a break from that.’”

Steve McCurry, Sicily, Italy, 2017

“This creative energy, this impulse, is what gives us purpose, pleasure, joy, happiness and love. You wouldn’t want to stop any more than you’d want to stop eating or breathing. It’s a vital part. It’s our passion. For me, it’s something I would never want to stop doing.”

Complex realities and universal truths flow throughout McCurry’s photographs, as his connections with his subjects transcend the limitations of language while underscoring the fundamental power of respect. In his travels, the artist seeks out the landscape of daily life, of the people in an unguarded moment when the mask is off, and the true spirit is free to emerge.

“If you are somewhere in the world and there’s a smile or an act of kindness, some kind of a joke that’s shared, these are things that break the ice between people despite not sharing a language or culture,” he says. “If you go into a shop or a home and you are respectful, we all respond to that. It’s a basic way to communicate with people, and it’s what we need more of in the world.”

Steve McCurry, Marseille, France, 1989

His sensitivity to his subjects and their lives has informed his approach from the beginning of his career, first documenting the aftermath of the 1977 Johnstown floods to his arrival in Afghanistan in 1979, where he moved with the Mujahideen. Months later, when the Soviets invaded, McCurry’s photographs were picked up by magazines around the globe, launching his career and sending him on incredible journeys around the globe.

When selecting new images for the book, McCurry enjoyed the pleasure of rediscovering days long gone by. “Maybe 35 years ago I was in a hurry and I didn’t do a complete selection and overlooked these photos for whatever reason,” he adds. “It’s fun to go back and look, to relive those moments and find pictures that in the passage of time have become more historic. We look back and we see the difference of how we once were.”

Steve McCurry, Oil Wells Burn, al-Ahmadi Oil Fields, Kuwait, 1991

Steve McCurry, Peshawar, Pakistan, 1984

Steve McCurry: A Life in Pictures is available now on Laurence King.

Follow Miss Rosen on Twitter.

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. 


Latest on Huck

Smiling person in black wetsuit riding surfboard on calm ocean with rocky hills in background.
Sport

Maryam El Gardoum is breaking new shores for Morocco’s indigenous surfers

The Amazigh Atlantic — Through her groundbreaking career and popular surf school, the five-time Moroccan champion is helping women find their places in the waves.

Written by: Sam Haddad

Dimly lit underground carpark, long winding corridor with concrete walls, floor, and pipes above.
Activism

Youth violence’s rise is deeply concerning, but mass hysteria doesn’t help

Safe — On Knife Crime Awareness Week, writer, podcaster and youth worker Ciaran Thapar reflects on the presence of violent content online, growing awareness about the need for action, and the two decades since Saul Dibb’s Bullet Boy.

Written by: Ciaran Thapar

Colourful embroidered jackets worn by two people, with skateboarder visible in background. Bright colours and graphic designs on the clothing.
Sport

Volcom teams up with Bob Mollema for the latest in its Featured Artist Series

True to This — The boardsports lifestyle brand will host an art show in Biarritz to celebrate the Dutch illustrators’ second capsule collection.

Written by: Huck

Black and white image showing a group of shirtless men socialising, some laughing.
Culture

A visual trip through 100 years of New York’s LGBTQ+ spaces

Queer Happened Here — A new book from historian and writer Marc Zinaman maps scores of Manhattan’s queer venues and informal meeting places, documenting the city’s long LGBTQ+ history in the process.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Four persons - three women and one man - posing outdoors. The women are wearing elaborate clothing and jewellery.
Culture

Nostalgic photos of everyday life in ’70s San Francisco

A Fearless Eye — Having moved to the Bay Area in 1969, Barbara Ramos spent days wandering its streets, photographing its landscape and characters. In the process she captured a city in flux, as its burgeoning countercultural youth movement crossed with longtime residents.

Written by: Miss Rosen

A person wearing a black cap and holding a sign that says "What made me"
Music

Tony Njoku: ‘I wanted to see Black artists living my dream’

What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s avant-garde electronic and classical music hybridist Tony Njoku.

Written by: Tony Njoku

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.