Steve McCurry is from Pennsylvania. He is best known for his work with color photography, and his goal of capturing the essence of the struggle and joy of human life. He has documented many international conflicts, beginning with his venture into Afghanistan where he dressed himself in robes with rolls of film sewed on the inside, and including photojournalism of the Iraq-Iran war, Beirut, Cambodia, the Philippines, and others. He has taken pictures for National Geographic, and is the recipient of many national and global awards.
The striking 1984 portrait of the Afghan Girl Sharbat Gula, found at Del Duende is probably his best known work, having appeared on the cover of National Geographic, and also having a story behind it, which Wikipedia tells. This is such an influential image to the viewer because the steadily intense gaze of the girl's uniquely colored eyes draw you in. They draw attention to her face. The bright colors of her eyes, the background, and her clothing make a frame her face. the emotions in the photo are very strong. While the lack of expression on her complexion and the muted shades of her face and hair seem calm, her eyes betray something is going on deeper: fear, curiousity, strength. That kind of thing.
Image Two: Richard Avedon: Marian Anderson
Wikipedia: Richard Avedon was an American photographer born in New York. He was mainly known for his fashion photography though later in his career he focused on taking pictures of art as well. Also, he is known for displaying his prints very largely, sometimes up to three feet tall. He was a pioneer in the trend of photographing models in action rather than posed. This image from Art Museum's: Richard Avedon shows just that. The expression is very unusual, but the subject looks like she is enjoying herself, in the middle of a laugh, or just making faces. Her face is off center with hair blowing off to the side which gives the image a whimsical feel and also makes the hair seem as an characteristic of the model, with a mind of its own, unruly, with bold lines and dark shades. Overall, I picked this image because of the up-and-up spirit of the image. It is fun, happy, and uplifting.
Image Three: Jean Chamoux - La Lecture (1955)
Jean Chamoux was a French photographer born in 1925 who settled in Paris later on. He took photographs of many celebrities at the time and was also one of the first to successfully print his colored photos in large sizes.
This image of two schoolchildren from the French INRP shows two kids crouched over work. Their faces are hidden over the paper, concentrating hard on the task at hand while their really glossy heads of hair show prominently. The zoomed close in composition makes the image cozy and personal. You can faintly see the expressions on their faces which seem to be enjoying the assignment thouroughly. Finally, the image is very balanced, with all the corners filled with this scene.
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