Steve McCurry: The Magnum photographer
The world-renowned photographer gained notoriety with a portrait of an Afghan girl in the 1980s. But since then, he's made waves across the field with his work which features in magazines, exhibitions and several books.
The iconic 'Afghan Girl'
While traveling in Pakistan, Steve McCurry captured a photograph of the young Afghan girl. She was identified in 2002 as Sharbat Gula, when she was once again photographed by McCurry. According to him, the image was almost passed over by the editors of National Geographic magazine. It was used in the publication's June 1985 cover.
The coal miner
In 2002, McCurry went back to Afghanistan, where he had previously documented rebels before the Soviet invasion in 1979. "The first thing this man did when he came out from under the ground, after breathing all this coal dust, is light up a cigarette. And I found it so amazing," said McCurry in a statement published on Magnum Photos' website.
Gun to the head
This image was taken by the Magnum photographer during a trip to Peru in 2004. While the gun the boy is holding looks real, it is in fact a toy. The photograph was displayed during an exhibition titled "The world of Steve McCurry" in 2016 at the Palace of Venaria in Turin, Italy.
Beyond photojournalism
While McCurry is widely known for his works as a photojournalist, he also takes photographs for companies. In this image, Brazilian model Adriana Lima poses during her pregnancy in Rio de Janeiro. The Magnum photographer was commissioned to shoot the Italian motorsports company Pirelli's 2013 calendar.
'Powerful image wouldn't be rejected'
This image of a man during India's monsoon season was chosen for National Geographic's December 1984 issue. In 2016, the Magnum photographer admitted that using "Photoshop ensured that a powerful image wouldn’t be rejected because it was a horizontal orientation," McCurry told Time magazine.