Entrevista a Steve McCurry fotógrafo de Magnum y National Geographic // Interview Steve McCurry
Summary
TLDREste guion de video narra la apasionante carrera de un fotógrafo que comenzó en un pequeño periódico en Filadelfia, buscando explorar el mundo y capturar su diversidad. India, con su riqueza cultural y contrastes, se convierte en su foco principal, donde encuentra influencias en artistas y fotógrafos como Vermier y Cartier-Bresson. El guion destaca la importancia de contar historias humanas y la dificultad de hacerse notar en un mundo saturado de imágenes. La fotografía es vista como un medio para revelar la vida en nuestro planeta, más allá de la belleza de la luz o la composición, y el fotógrafo se considera un narrador de esencias humanas y su legado, una visión honesta y optimista del mundo.
Takeaways
- 🎨 La pasión por la fotografía y el viaje es fundamental para explorar y capturar la diversidad cultural y paisajística del mundo.
- 🌏 La India es vista como un lugar con una profundidad cultural única, con una mezcla de religiones y un contraste entre lo antiguo y lo moderno.
- 📸 La influencia de fotógrafos y artistas como Vermier, Hre Cartier-Bresson, Andre Kertesz y Satyajit Ray ha dejado una huella en su trabajo.
- 👁️ La importancia de la observación y el aprendizaje de obras de granjeros, pintores y escultores para mejorar la técnica y la visión artística.
- 🌟 La captura del momento decisivo y la historia humana en las imágenes es la esencia de la fotografía para este narrador de historias.
- 🌍 La experiencia de viajar y documentar situaciones en diferentes lugares del mundo, como Afganistán, revela la complejidad y la belleza de la vida humana.
- 👥 La identidad y la conexión humana a través de las imágenes, que muestran tanto las similitudes como las diferencias entre las personas.
- 🏞️ La fotografía de calles busca ser lo más invisible posible para preservar la autenticidad del momento y capturar la vida en su estado natural.
- 🌈 Aunque el mundo es en color, la narrativa y la historia son las prioridades, y el color es un elemento secundario que puede complementar la imagen.
- 🔍 La objetividad en la fotografía es cuestionada, ya que siempre se trae la perspectiva del fotógrafo, pero es crucial mantener la honestidad y la integridad en la narrativa.
- 🕊️ La esperanza de dejar un legado que refleje la humanidad, las historias compartidas y la belleza del mundo, a pesar de los desafíos y la complejidad.
Q & A
¿Cómo comenzó su carrera en la fotografía?
-Comenzó su carrera en una pequeña periódico en Filadelfia, Pensilvania, con una pasión por la fotografía y el viaje.
¿Por qué eligió India para su viaje de descubrimiento?
-Eligió India por su profundidad cultural, diversidad de religiones, mezcla de lo antiguo y lo moderno, y su diversidad geográfica.
¿Cuáles son algunas de las influencias principales en su fotografía?
-Sus influencias incluyen a artistas como Vermier, Hre Carte, Pan, Andre Ctez, y fotógrafos como Robert Capa, Eve Arnold, y Walker Evans, entre otros.
¿Cómo describe la importancia de la historia humana en su trabajo fotográfico?
-La historia humana es el elemento más importante en su trabajo, buscando capturar la vida en este planeta más allá de la luz o el color.
¿Qué significa para él hacer una 'ensayo fotográfico'?
-Un ensayo fotográfico es una narración sobre un lugar, región, personas o tribu, buscando mostrar una visión completa de un tema.
¿Cómo impactó la fotografía de la niña afgana en su carrera?
-La fotografía de la niña afgana se convirtió en un ícono reconocido mundialmente, impactando la percepción de la situación en Afganistán.
¿Qué desafíos encontró al trabajar en Afganistán por primera vez?
-Se enfrentó a la falta de infraestructura, la guerra civil y la dificultad de comunicarse y moverse por el país.
¿Cómo describe la experiencia de volver a encontrar a la niña afgana después de 17 años?
-La experiencia fue como un milagro, emocionante y agradecido por encontrarla viva y tener la oportunidad de ayudarla.
¿Qué piensa sobre la naturaleza de las personas y cómo se relaciona con su trabajo?
-Cree que las personas tienen más similitudes que diferencias, y que el respeto, el amor y la búsqueda de la felicidad son universales.
¿Cómo aborda la fotografía de calle y por qué es importante para él?
-En la fotografía de calle busca ser invisible para no influir en la escena, capturando el comportamiento humano en su estado más natural.
¿Qué legado le gustaría dejar con su trabajo fotográfico?
-Desea dejar un legado de su trabajo que muestre la commonalidad humana y la honestidad y optimismo en su visión del mundo.
Outlines
🌏 Pasión por la fotografía y el viaje
El narrador comienza su carrera en un periódico de Philadelphia, con una pasión por la fotografía y el deseo de viajar y conocer el mundo. Se enfoca en la India por su riqueza cultural y diversidad religiosa, lo que representa una mezcla de antigüedades y modernidad, y una disparidad entre ricos y pobres. El narrador encuentra influencia en artistas y fotógrafos famosos, destacando a Vermier, Hre Carte, Pan y Andre Ctez, y reconoce la importancia de aprender de una variedad de artistas y fotógrafos para su desarrollo profesional.
📸 La importancia de contar historias a través de la fotografía
El narrador ve la fotografía como una mezcla de luz, composición y captura del momento decisivo, pero sobre todo como una forma de contar historias humanas. Se considera a sí mismo como un narrador y busca mostrar la vida en el planeta a través de sus imágenes. Cita el trabajo de Eugene Smith en Japón como un ejemplo de cómo la fotografía puede influir y provocar un cambio social. La narrador reflexiona sobre la dificultad de destacar en un mundo lleno de imágenes y la influencia de la tradición Magnum en su trabajo, especialmente la habilidad de contar historias a través de la imagen.
🌐 La unión más allá de las diferencias
El narrador destaca que, a pesar de las diferencias en religiones, lenguas y costumbres, todos los seres humanos comparten deseos básicos y responden al humor y la comunicación no verbal. Sin embargo, lamenta que la sociedad se obsesione con las diferencias superficiales y predice que, eventualmente, la humanidad superará estas divisiones. La narrador describe su experiencia en Afganistán, donde documentó la destrucción de aldeas y la creación de refugiados, y cómo una imagen particular de una niña refugiada se convirtió en un ícono mundial.
📷 El poder de una imagen icónica
El narrador reflexiona sobre las cualidades que hacen que una imagen sea inolvidable y cómo una foto tomada en Afganistán de una niña refugiada con una expresión intensa y misteriosa capturó la atención mundial. Describe el proceso de encontrar a la niña años después y el deseo de ayudarla a mejorar su vida. El narrador insiste en la importancia de la conexión emocional y la captura del momento decisivo en la creación de un retrato impactante.
🏺 La complejidad de Afganistán y la evolución humana
El narrador discute la historia de intentos fallidos de cambiar Afganistán y la naturaleza enigmática del país, comparándolo con la descripción de Churchill sobre la Unión Soviética. Reflexiona sobre la evolución lenta de la humanidad, citando avances en derechos civiles, la integración de la comunidad LGBTQ+ y la mejora de las condiciones de vida para grupos marginados. El narrador mantiene una perspectiva optimista y busca mostrar tanto la belleza como los desafíos del mundo.
🎨 La elección entre color y blanco y negro en la fotografía
El narrador expresa su preferencia por el blanco y negro en la fotografía, aunque reconoce que el mundo es en color y que拍摄彩色照片 es más natural. Se preocupa por el equilibrio de colores y cómo pueden arruinar una imagen si no están bien balanceados. El narrador enfatiza que su principal motivación es contar una historia o capturar un elemento humano que represente la realidad del mundo, más allá de los aspectos estéticos de la imagen.
🌱 La esperanza y el legado a través de la fotografía
El narrador desea dejar como legado su conjunto de obras, que muestre la humanidad y la belleza en el mundo, y que inspire a la gente a apreciar las similitudes y diferencias entre nosotros. Busca mostrar tanto los aspectos positivos como los desafíos de la humanidad, con la esperanza de que su trabajo contribuya a la mejora continua del mundo.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Fotografía
💡Viaje
💡India
💡Cultural Depth
💡Diversidad
💡Influencia
💡Momento Decisivo
💡Contraparte
💡Humanidad
💡Cambio Social
💡Objetividad
Highlights
The speaker began their photographic career at a small newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The speaker's passion for photography and travel led them to explore India, a country with deep cultural diversity and a mix of old and new.
India is described as a place with incredible cultural depth, religious diversity, and a vast variety of landscapes.
The speaker's photography is heavily influenced by renowned artists and photographers such as Vermeer, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and André Kertész.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of drawing inspiration from various sources, including painting, sculpture, and photography.
For the speaker, the most crucial element of a photograph is the human story it conveys, rather than just light or composition.
The speaker identifies as a storyteller, aiming to present comprehensive photographic essays about regions, people, or cultures.
The speaker references the impact of Eugene Smith's essay on a Japanese village affected by mercury poisoning, highlighting photography's power to drive social change.
The speaker reflects on the challenges of standing out in today's media-saturated world, where many voices and images compete for attention.
The speaker discusses the iconic image of the Afghan girl, noting how her expression and background created a universally recognized photograph.
After years of searching, the speaker was able to find the Afghan girl again and help improve her life.
When photographing portraits, the speaker seeks to capture an honest and natural expression that reveals something of the subject's personality.
The speaker expresses skepticism about foreign interventions in Afghanistan, believing that the Afghans will ultimately need to resolve their issues on their own.
The speaker believes that humanity is slowly evolving and making progress in areas such as civil rights, gender equality, and acceptance of different communities.
In street photography, the speaker aims to remain invisible and unobtrusive to capture natural, unposed moments of human behavior.
The speaker strives to maintain credibility and integrity as a documentary photographer by telling honest stories.
The speaker views their work as a legacy that highlights the commonalities and differences among people, promoting an optimistic view of humanity.
Transcripts
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I started my photographic career on a
very small newspaper in Philadelphia
Pennsylvania um my real I I I was I
always had a passion for photography but
I also had a passion for travel I wanted
to see the world I wanted to go to new
places I wanted to see the the whole
world um I went to India because I
thought there was no better place and a
place that had so much uh depth cultural
depth um a mix of religions and and the
old and the new and the rich and the
poor I I just thought this would be a
wonderful place to start this journey
and this sort of Voyage of
Discovery I think there's no place in
the world that has the cultural depth of
India you have this
incredible mix of religions Hindus
Buddhist Muslims Christians this par
parses the siks it's a it's an
incredible variety of different faiths
and you also have an incredible uh
variety of landscape and geography the
deserts and the jungles and the
rainforests and um there's also an
ancient quality to the placees very old
civilization you have people living in
villages probably the same way they did
a thousand years ago uh but you also
have a very kind of
ultramodern society living almost side
by side you have a disparity of rich and
poor it's it's a place that um you could
spend several lifetimes and not really
see all of it and experience all of of
the of
India
I think the main influences on my
photography have been people like uh
vermier the artist vermier um hre carte
Pan the great uh Magnum photographer
Andre ctez a Hungarian photographer
um there's a whole range of American and
European and Japanese and uh even Indian
I think the Great filmmakers said Jet
Ray was a influence uh as well so I I
think um looking at art looking at
painting uh looking at um other
pictures has have been a real impact and
a real kind would say influence on on my
work I I when I think of people who have
left an impression on me professionally
or photographically people like hre C
pan dartha Lang Robert Kaa uh Andre
ctez uh um Eve Arnold uh there's a long
list of Walker Evans Eugene Smith um
there's a range of photographers whose
work I've studied and looked at uh I
think of August Sanders a great German
portrait
photographer uh you know there's an old
news photographer named Ouija who was a
great at capturing moments of uh news
events um there's there's I think you
have to find inspiration and learn from
kind of an array of filmmakers and
artists I think of uh we talked about
vermier and rembrand and
Goya again there's a long list of pic
there's a long list of artists who you
can draw inspiration from and learn how
they worked with light composition uh
form and shapes and all this you can
learn as much from uh
about making pictures from Picasso or or
an
impressionist uh painter um so I think
you you you draw on all these
sources and learn this is part of your
learning process which uh I'm always
amazed at Young photographers who don't
know the work of these uh great Masters
whether they be artists or painters or
sculptors even uh or photographers or U
you know so I think that's essential to
one's
education the beauty of uh the work of
hre kaper son was that he was able to
blend great stories uh great composition
and form and uh and and and capture the
the right moment the peak moment the
decisive moment as he referred to it um
so I mean picture making photography is
is a blend of use of light uh
composition but for me the the most
important element of a picture the thing
that I really look for
first is is a human story is is a
picture that shows what life is like on
this planet that we live on that's
really my first objective not the color
not the light but really the subject of
matter I see myself essentially as as a
Storyteller um I see myself uh in a way
an essay a photographic essay is a story
about a a place region a people a tribe
or whatever um I'd love to show a
complete look uh at at a region or a
subject take for instance the nomads of
India uh to me how they live what they
look like where they travel to their
Customs their culture uh to me the whole
story is is is interesting to me not
just one picture but it's also great to
be able to tell a complete story in one
image that that's sort of the ultimate
goal I
think there's a very famous uh essay by
the American photographer Eugene Smith
where he went to a village in Japan
which had been this company in poisoning
the water with Mercury and and and toxic
chemicals um it had a huge impact on I
would say
uh the the thinking in Japan and and and
how one photographer one body of work
could really affect change and move
people to action uh I I think the point
about uh we we have so many images now
in the world television the internet and
all sorts of that it's really now
there's so many voices and so much noise
that it's hard to to break through all
that and occasionally uh somebody will
have such a a Clarity of of of of vision
that we do stand up and take notice but
it's becoming increasingly more
difficult because of the the kind of the
den the this the noise of all of the
forces with with the you know internet
and and and blogs and websites and you
know reality
TV well I think I think the main
influences on my photography I would go
back to some of the Magnum tradition uh
hre carart personic course being uh the
foremost uh uh I would say Image Maker
uh who was able to kind of blend a
wonderful uh storytelling with great
image uh making uh design and content
and and light and and uh every um there
was also other photographers uh Andre
ctez a great Hungarian
photographer um I I think um darthia
Lang an American photographer who had a
great compassion for people and was able
to capture the the plight of people who
were having to leave their homes and uh
go to another area because they there
was no work and whatnot um um I think uh
I you I think Don McCullen is a great
photographer showed the futility of war
and how how uh you know what a Folly it
is to to basically you know kill one
another and in this kind of really
feudal
actions you know one thing I've noticed
uh traveling around the world for 35
years
is really that as as a race uh humans we
have far more Inc commmon than than
differences if you you know on the
surface we have different religions and
different languages and different
Customs but down deep we all want the
same things we want to be loved we want
to be respected we we want the best for
our family and our friends and and so we
all respect respond to humor and and
nonverbal communication is universal so
I I think um you know there's far more
things we have in common than
differences but somehow we obsess and
somehow we we get too preoccupied with
our differences religion and and and
color of the skin and these kind of
things uh and it's just uh I think
eventually in another
100 years Thousand Years we'll sort
ourselves out but right now we're in
kind of a dark age in that
respect I think a great photograph a
great picture is one that you can't
forget one that in some ways stays with
you and perhaps you learn from it it's
something that you go back to it's a
picture that becomes
iconic in your mind and a picture which
which represents a place or a feeling or
some event
um that that's what a great picture some
one that you can't get out of your
mind going to Afghanistan for the first
time was a bit of a frightening
experience um
I was invited to go in by the Afghan
people to document what was happening
which was their Villages were being
destroyed uh and bombed and and it was
uh refugees were Fling by the literally
by the
millions
um but you know to go into another
country without a passport without any
security there were no police there were
no telones there was no way to
communicate there were no roads uh no
hotels no restaurants I mean and and the
place was under uh basically Civil War
it was it was very kind of I would say
uh frightening for somebody who had
never experienced that before so but
once I crossed over into
Afghanistan I quickly kind of
acclimatized and became very uh I got
very interested in the story and it
became something which I in fact
followed and have followed follow for 30
years uh I was doing a story in
1984 and 85 on Afghan refugees on the
Pakistan Afghan border um it was a
powerful experience and I photographed
one young Refugee girl who as soon as I
saw her I knew she had an incredible
look an incredible beautiful haunted
expression um and I knew it was a
powerful image but I never dreamed that
it would end up being a picture which
was uh would become an icon and a
picture which would be recognized around
the world Ian there's no way of really
anticipating that uh but I did know that
this was an
incredible uh
portrait this Afghan girl I photographed
in 19 actually was
1984 was uh an orphan her parents had
been killed in aerial bombardment by the
Afghan Russian army um and immediately
after that she became a refugee so at a
very young age uh you know she's a
orphan and then a refugee she's had to
flee her Village and then she going from
a kind of a beautiful home to living in
a tent so this had a dramatic I would
say negative effect on her as it would
anybody and to have to grow up under
those circumstances must have been
extremely difficult I think the that
story in indeed was written in her face
I think some of the hardship of her life
was actually you could see it in in in
in in that
expression it's fascinating to speculate
what it is about that image
which has really struck a cord in in
people all over the world
um I think that there's a combination in
that photograph of uh there there
there's a a beauty I mean she's an
extremely attractive little girl uh but
there's a real
genuine authentic quality to the picture
um she
uh there's
um the the the expression is a bit
ambiguous uh but she's not posed she's
looking very honestly at the camera
there's a bit of
curiosity uh she's looking into a camera
which she had never done in her life
this was the first time she was ever
photographed and the first time she met
a foreigner so there must have been a
tremendous amount of curiosity and
bewilderment of you know what is
basically going on here but you have
that also with this whole her life and
her background and the fact that she was
um a refugee and an orphan and and
living in a very awful
situation I had been looking for her in
fact for
probably 10 years uh I was always
inquiring friends uh you know what
happened to her we need to find her but
but after after after September the 11th
we made a very serious there was a lot
of interest in you know who was she you
know we were wondering if she was still
alive people had told us that she had
been you know killed uh so we got very
curious and we wanted to go and make a
very serious search to try and find her
uh so we went back to the same refugee
camp and and we got very lucky uh it was
like a miracle that we were able to
actually find her
and when we actually met her again after
17 years we were so thrilled and so
happy and and grateful that she was
still alive and that we were now uh in a
position to actually do something good
for her to make her life better to um uh
you know to give back to her so this was
a great opportunity for us to um find
her meet her and and actually attempt to
set about uh you know educating her
children and helping her in every
possible
way when I'm making a portrait when I'm
photographing somebody you're looking
for uh an insight you're looking for
them to
reveal something some of something of
their
personality uh you want to show this
person an honest
true uh natural something very natural
something very you know um I think um
it's a question of uh looking for a
particular moment there may be a lot of
moments you may have to take a lot of
pictures to arrive at
one you never quite
know Andre Cardon talked about the
decisive moment that there may be
several decisive moments there may be
more than one but you never know exactly
when you're going to find that Peak
action when the right moment is so you
have to keep uh working keep several
attempts you don't know that the right
picture is happened already or is about
to happen
so uh you also I think uh need to
work I think I think actually the most
important part of making a good portrait
is having a a connection some kind of an
emotional connection being inspired
by that person's face their
personality you have to feel something
inside yourself that kind of motivates
you to try and find that it's it's not
an easy thing always to to to do that
though Afghanistan is a very
particular case
and the the the question question and
the is why have we meaning foreigners
always thought we could go in there and
change the Afghans our way of living our
way of
thinking uh and it's always turned out
bad and it will turn out bad as it's
happening today um this will not end
well the Afghans in the end will sort
themselves out um it's U it's a whole
you know Church Hill talked about the
Soviet Union being um a mystery wrapped
in a riddle inside an enigma and in a
way you can almost think of Afghanistan
as a it's a problem which is can't be
solved by money and by killing people
and by sending in troops from NATO and
America all is it's just not going to
happen I think it's complete folly and
in the end the the Afghans will have to
sort themselves out and will'll look
back on this Venture as as a as a waste
and and a
tragedy civilization and humanity and
our time on this planet I mean I I think
we're evolving slowly I think we've made
progress uh even in the last 50 years
years I think of the Civil Rights
Movement I think of the the the the
Untouchable the dullet in India and how
they're slowly getting their rights I
think of women and how they're slowly
you know they weren't even able to vote
in the United States uh you know 100
years ago and now they become part we
are Secretary of State as a female um I
think of um you know uh the gay
community H uh and and how they're
becoming integrated and becoming
accepted whereas in the past uh wasn't
the case so I think we're making
progress but it's very slow maybe we
can't see it day today but another 100
years another 500 years I think we'll be
at a better place than we are
today when I'm photographing on the
street uh I mean in the in the genre of
street photography you want to be
invisible you want to be unnoticed you
want to be
unobtrusive uh that's so that life can
happen and not you don't you're not
influencing it if there's a couple on a
park bench you want to
photograph that
relationship without disturbing it if
there's somebody playing with a dog on
the street uh you want to photograph it
without disturbing so I think that's you
want to you human behavior or animal
behavior is IS F fascinating and it's
best left in its natural state without
without interjecting
yourself I think there's no such thing
as being totally uh objective you always
bring your own biases and your own
passions but I think that it's important
to be as as a kind of a reporter as a
photojournalist as a documentary
photographer you're obliged you're bound
to to tell honest stories and to present
the facts I think if people feel that
you're not
fair and you're you're uh then it spoils
your integrity and spoils your
credibility as a as a kind of a reporter
you have to have credibility uh you may
feel a certain way but you really have
to
report the event or the situation in a
very honest way
I don't really look at places that I
want to forget let me start over again
so that you can um uh when I think of
places in the world that I want to go
back to or places that I prefer that I
don't have any interest I I'm I really
you know life is too short to go to
places that you're not
absolutely sort of interested and
passionate to go to so there's a lot of
places I've been to that were
interesting and and perhaps uh you know
had but I I don't really feel like I
need to return to those places there are
other places on the other hand that I I
long to go back to and I always look
forward to going back to such as you
know Burma or Tibet or India um most of
the places in the world that I kind of
uh have
really spent a lot of time and and have
really touched me have been in in
Asia you regarding color uh photography
I've
never thought of myself as a color
photographer I've never been that
interested in in
color in in my pictures I've always
tried to avoid the wrong color
palette uh
color can spoil a picture if it's in the
wrong balance and the wrong you know the
wrong ju Theos or so um so I've always
tried to avoid bad color but I've never
there are obviously times when you're
struck by a color scene something in the
but it's not my first objective my the
first thing I'm looking for is really
the story some human element some some
action that really again says something
about uh the world we live in humanity
and uh that's really what I'm after and
that's my first motivation and color is
I mean the world is in color we see the
world in color so
naturally it's more natural to shoot in
color than it would be say in black and
white in in my view I love uh black and
white photographs
but color is more more natural because
the world the world is in color so uh
but uh to me the first mission the first
objective is is really uh a story about
a place a
person I'd like to leave as a legacy my
body of work and
hopefully people would look at it and
see uh you know the commonality we have
and how although at times we're
different we look different on the
surface I think we can
appreciate and and and kind of um uh you
know we can appreciate those
differences uh and and Delight in those
differences and enjoy those differences
but yet have a kind of a human bond that
underneath our different languages and
religions and skin color were were
basically the same so I think uh I I I
think I my view of the world is um is an
honest one but I think it's also uh an
optimistic one in some ways in some way
tried to uh show uh some of the positive
as aspects and some of the beauty in the
world not shying away from the the the
kind of the dark side of humanity but um
is saying you know that that's something
we have to work towards
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
improving
[Music]
Lu
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