McCurry gazes eastwards

       His best-known image is that haunting depiction of an Afghan girl staring out from the cover of the June,1985 issue of National Geographic ,but for Steve McCurry, the Philadelphia-born lensman who's been covering wars around the world for the past three decades, the initial motivation was not a thirst for the truth but simple wanderlust.
       "I have curiosity about life so I travel to see the world"is how he put it.
       McCurry got his first camera at the age of 18 from a photographer uncle and not long afterwards began having photos published in The Daily Collegian newspaper at Pennsylvania State University. It was while he was studying there that he first started travelling abroad, to various countries in Latin America and Africa. He initially dabbled with film history, cinematography and film-making, but ended up with a degree in theatre arts and graduating cum laude in 1974.He worked as a news photographer for two years before chucking it in to fly to India and try his hand at freelance photojournalism. It was "curiosity" which impelled him to cross the Pakistani border into Afghanistan just before the Russian invasion in late 1979.
       "For journalists, covering areas of conflict is important.We want to find out for ourselves what's going on. It's insane to do that, but it isimportant for the world to know."
       His coverage of the invasion of Afghanistan later won him the Robert Capa Gold Medal for Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad."It was a human drama," he noted with great understatement."Life and death."
       After two years getting a portfolio together, he approached National Geographic magazine."To get to that point [took]four and a half years ...24/7... of work. A big commitment ... it was intense."
       Style and approach
       McCurry has the uncommon ability to see beauty in common objects. After several years' experience, he said,a photographer begins to see things in a particular, individual way and starts to express himself.
       For him,"light is important. It's everything.My style comes out of a particular light that I like to work in ... I enjoy playing with light."
       He prefers to work with the minimum of colours - a couple in one photo is sufficient - in the early morning or at dusk. He finds the sky especially beautiful 10 minutes after sunset and said there's the added benefit of not having to use a filter or flash at this time.
       To obtain the most representative image he'll often return to the same location on numerous occasions. To get the perfect shot of Angkor Wat, for example, he visited the temple complex dozens of times to capture it in different moods - in full sunlight, on rainy days, when the place was crowded and when it was quiet. Eventually he got a tableau he considered satisfactory - that of a group of monks walking peacefully in the rain.
       McCurry also has a passion for doing portraiture."I like taking photos of people on the street. Mostly my portraits are of individuals I just bump into," he said.
       He likes to make direct eye contact and wait until the ambient light is dim enough to force the subject's eyes to open fully.
       To capture the mood of strangers to depict them while they're most natural, he must first break the ice and win their trust. He does this by using body language to demonstrate respect and let the person know that he finds them fascinating."You either work fast before people notice you. Or you hang around for so long that people get bored or forget that you're there."
       A sense of humour is also a big help, he said."I'm happy working with Asian people. I'm short so I don't always show up in their radar," he joked.
       Does he always ask permission before taking someone's
       photo? Not necessarily.
       "I have bunches of pictures of people sleeping," he said, adding:"It's fun trying to capture human behaviour, how [people] are in real life."
       He strives to avoid any conflict and disturbances from the environment so that he can work with a "clear and calm mind".
       In the field
       Before setting out on an assignment, he'll research his destination and recruit a fixer.
       "If I was assigned to take pictures of Bangkok I'll analyse what the story is to be about, what makes this city different from others. I'll look for particular situations, like the monsoon, for instance."
       He might take a helicopter ride to get a broad perspective on a metropolis then walk the streets to snap portraits of its residents.
       He'll take anything from five to 20 shots of one subject or location, changing the perspective - moving a little bit forward, backwards, a little to the left or right; going for both vertical and horizontal angles. Then he'll try out different exposures and change lenses for different results."You think you have something wonderful, but you don't know for sure ... something might turn out to be better [when you look at the pics later]."
       Going digital
       "The benefit of digital cameras is that you can review your work quickly and shoot in impossibly low light."
       But this technology also has its drawbacks."With a slide or negative that you keep in a drawer, you have a real thing to go back to 20 years from now. Going digital and storing your work on a hard-disk drive, on the other hand,can be problematic as data can get corrupted," he said,revealing that he spent US$40,000(about 1.3 million baht)last year on data recovery alone.
       He recommends that photographers keep at least three back-ups."Keeping only one copy is insane. Two is risky.Three is sensible."
       Advances in technology also mean that he can now do lab-quality prints himself at home.
       He has four large-format Epson printers in his studio in New York."I'm pleased with the quality in terms of realistic colours."
       "I generally don't crop [pictures]," he went on."And if I take 100 pictures [of one subject/location], I might choose only one because I've got to maintain high standards."
       On the road
       Now 59, McCurry is still on the move for an average of nine months of the year, but always travels light, making do with a single camera and a 28-70mm zoom lens.
       "It's enough for me. I like to keep things as light as possible."
       Anyone thinking of becoming a professional photojournalist needs both an insatiable sense of curiosity, he said, plus oodles of dedication."If you work hard, you'll have a certain degree of success."
       His current interest is Buddhism and his forthcoming book will cover the practice of that philosophy in several countries in this region including Tibet, Cambodia, Burma and Thailand.
       "My job is to tell a story in virtual terms. Life is so short,so we should do things that please us and are meaningful."
       "I love what I do, so it's great!"
       GIRLS HUDDLE TOGETHER FOR PROTECTION DURING A DUST STORM IN INDIA.