[Photographers] Steve McCurry

[karohemd]

A friend recently pointed me at his blog and I've been backreading it ever since. I had been aware of his work but not his name.
His work is absolutely stunning, not just from an artistic point of view but also his ability to pick the right image at the right moment. For example, for this image, did he wait until someone came along that just fit in or was he randomly there at the right time?

This one is another favourite, just because of the mastery of exposure:

and this is just plain funny:


So, if you like stunning photography or even if not, have a look at his blog or website.

Comments

[thedinster.livejournal.com]

Wow... that is amazing!! some of these images are just... WOW.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

[martinhesselius.livejournal.com]

*like*

[djonma.livejournal.com]

I find the most interesting thing about good photography is that each person takes something totally different away from a good photo.

You say the last one you've shown here is funny... I find it very sad.
It's what, a homeless guy sleeping on steps? He doesn't look old.

Steve has an amazing eye though, and his photos are really, really great!

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

*nods* Absolutely. As with any form of art, really.

Yes, it's also a sad image, just like a biting satire about some sad situation would be.
We don't know the story, it could just as well be someone who didn't make it home after a night of drinking.

[djonma.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and I find that is a huge part of the magic of photography for me.
We don't know the story, we take different things from it.

Having just watched the whole Human Planet series, I immediately assumed it was a homeless kid, where of course it might not be (plus I find aging people very difficult).

But the fact that we get different things out of a single photo is, to me, what makes photography so much more special than video.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Human Planet has been fantastic. That series is worth the license fee alone this year.

[djonma.livejournal.com]

If I could afford the licence fee I'd agree, however you don't need a licence to watch on IPlayer if not watching live :-)

The iplayer version has the behind the lens bit after each program - don't know if that was put on live or not.
I found the whole series really amazing, and very humbling.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Theoretically, if you read the T&C for iplayer you still need to have paid the licence fee to watch it.

The broadcast version has the behind the scenes bit, too (as has Attenborough's Madagascar series) which makes it even more astounding when you realise what amount of work and time has gone into them. I remember Attenborough saying in an interview that there's an average ratio of one day of filming for 3 minutes of usable footage or something along those lines.

It's Grasslands tonight.

[djonma.livejournal.com]

Nope, there's a section on the bbc licensing website about it and you don't have to have the licence for non-live tv, iplayer included.
Also, a bbc licence checker who checked my friend who also has no licence but watched iplayer on their laptop, told them that was fine as long as they didn't watch the live stuff.

I found the behind the scenes stuff so amazing. I watched the making of Attenborough's Life, and wow... the scene where he's on the sand dunes with the sea coming in, they were so close to not being able to make the shot because the sea was coming in so fast.

It makes it so much more interesting.
Like that Saharan camel train, where they were showing the little hot air balloon thingie (can't remember the name), and how difficult it was to get the shots because the camels all wandered off at night hehe.

And the actic one with the Narwhal hunting! Wow!

So very cool, it really adds a lot to the series.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Ah, they might have changed that. Good. I definitely remember thinking that it was a bit harsh...

[djonma.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm really lucky because I simply can't afford a tv licence. Iplayer, 4oD, and the ITV version are brilliant for me as I can pick and choose what I WANT to watch, rather than sitting with the tv on because there might be something on, which is a huge danger when stuck at home all day.

I feel somewhat guilty because I LOVE so much BBC-made things, and really appreciate their push for science programming... but I don't pay to support it.
I'd quite happily pay a very much reduced licence for just using iplayer, but people would take advantage of it and watch EVERYTHING on iplayer, which I wouldn't ever want to do anyway.

The licence though is just way out of my reach, especially with the govt push to remove people from disability benefits, I need to make sure I'm not spending much in case I suddenly lose my income.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

*nods* I hope they're going to make a u-turn on that as well. I know quite a number of people who'd be seriously screwed. Good luck!

[djonma.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's quite worrying, I try not to think about it mostly; safer on my mental health!

Human Planet

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Also, I like to think it's narrated by the dragon from Merlin, sitting in front of a fire in a smoking jacket. I'm half expecting him to break character and say something like "Mmmm, cows, tasty tasty cows." ;o)

Re: Human Planet

[djonma.livejournal.com]

Hehehe yes!!
I thought I'd recognised the voice and it sounded suitably epic, and then noticed it was John Hurt whilst watching the Jungle one.
Very amusing :-)

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

:o)