A lonely man facing Chinese tanks on Tiananmen Square is often described…
Contact, Ep. 6 - 9/11 by Steve McCurry
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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Photographer Steve McCurry recounts his memories of 9/11 as he watched through the lens of his camera, taking pictures from the roof of his home in Washington Square.
Series Description
Contact sheets are the first overview for the photographer of what he has captured on film. They give a unique and intimate view of the style, methods and thoughts of the artist.
Cartier-Bresson himself, founder of the Magnum Photo agency, was strongly opposing the disclosure of his contact sheets and yet the choice of that picture is the point of contact between the photographer's life, thoughts, philosophy and the subject he portrays.
Two very different stories that—due to decision or unexpected coincidences—bring to life a snapshot or a posed photo, which turns into an historical icon.
Photographers and subjects:
Muhammad Ali by Thomas Hoepker
The Beatles by David Hurn
Tiananmen Square by Stuart Franklin
Margaret Thatcher by Peter Marlow
Iranian Revolution by Abbas Attar
9/11 by Steve McCurry
Yakuza by Bruce Gilden
Kitchen Debate by Elliot Erwitt
Miles Davis by Guy Le Querrec
Citation
Main credits
Attorre, Gianluigi (film director)
Attorre, Gianluigi (film producer)
Paloschi, Mario (film director)
Paloschi, Mario (film producer)
McCurry, Steve (on-screen participant)
La Penna, Leslie (narrator)
Other credits
Cinematography, Giuseppe Malpasso, Pierluigi Siena, Matteo Minasi; editing, Micaela Castro, Daniele Costantino.
Distributor subjects
Photography; Visual Arts; History; American Studies; The 21st CenturyKeywords
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(shouting, alarm blaring)
00:00:29.999 --> 00:00:33.040
- [Voiceover] Oh my God,
oh my God! (screams)
00:00:34.999 --> 00:00:38.080
Oh my God, oh my God!
00:00:44.040 --> 00:00:44.840
(relaxed piano tones)
00:00:55.040 --> 00:00:56.360
- My pictures from Nine-11,
I think the images that
00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:04.160
tell the story and convey
what it was like is
00:01:04.320 --> 00:01:09.160
my views that really
show the entire site.
00:01:10.880 --> 00:01:14.040
This enormous field of
destruction and these tiny
00:01:15.999 --> 00:01:20.880
little humans, these
little men, these firemen
00:01:20.999 --> 00:01:24.975
and relief workers
trying to find survivors,
00:01:24.999 --> 00:01:28.520
trying to do what
they were doing.
00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:31.160
And it was futile, it was this
task which was impossible.
00:01:31.360 --> 00:01:36.160
Looking at the
coverage of Nine-11,
00:01:36.520 --> 00:01:38.999
the video and the photography,
the still photography.
00:01:39.080 --> 00:01:42.640
I always think that
still photography
00:01:42.800 --> 00:01:45.600
tells the story so much better.
00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:48.040
There's that moment
frozen in time.
00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:51.200
You can look at it,
you can stay with it.
00:01:51.360 --> 00:01:54.640
You can come back to it again.
00:01:54.800 --> 00:01:56.760
It burns into your memory,
00:01:56.920 --> 00:01:59.640
it's something that
you can't forget.
00:01:59.800 --> 00:02:03.160
I think my pictures
tell that story of this
00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:07.720
epic destruction in
a place which was
00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:14.400
sort of my home,
my neighborhood.
00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:17.920
My name is Steve McCurry,
I'm a photographer.
00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:23.120
(upbeat piano music)
00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:40.920
(anxious piano tones)
00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:50.120
- [Voiceover] Defining Steve
McCurry is no easy task.
00:02:53.999 --> 00:02:56.600
He has documented the
most dramatic conflicts
00:02:56.760 --> 00:02:58.640
of the past 30 years
without ever wanting
00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:00.960
to depict himself as
a war photographer.
00:03:00.999 --> 00:03:04.240
His portraits have won
renown for the front pages
00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:07.920
of the world's most
important publications.
00:03:07.999 --> 00:03:11.640
His reassuring, intelligible
aesthetics and rich colors
00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:15.400
have made him one of
the general public's
00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:17.600
most acclaimed photographers.
00:03:17.999 --> 00:03:20.640
He is an incessant traveler,
but above all he is
00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:25.999
a true narrator who
through the intense gaze of
00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:28.840
his every subject,
delves into existences.
00:03:28.999 --> 00:03:32.240
Gleaning stories,
tragedies and dilemmas that
00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:35.200
touch the deepest reaches
of the human soul.
00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:39.960
- The world's changing
so rapidly right now
00:03:43.999 --> 00:03:47.840
and there's this rush
towards globalization.
00:03:47.999 --> 00:03:50.640
I really feel that somebody
needs to document the way
00:03:50.999 --> 00:03:55.640
we were, have some
record of the past.
00:03:57.999 --> 00:03:59.720
I think that what fascinates
me about photography
00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.400
is being able to show the
similarity, the commonality
00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:09.999
between people and that
at the end of the day,
00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:14.200
whether you're Chinese
or Russian or European
00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:18.600
or from Africa, we're
basically the same.
00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:23.120
- [Voiceover] A member of
Magnum Photos since 1985,
00:04:24.200 --> 00:04:27.760
Steve McCurry first came
into contact with reporters
00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:31.120
of the prestigious agency
through photography books
00:04:31.280 --> 00:04:34.440
during his studies.
00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:37.520
His dedication, his continuous
search for a story and a
00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:40.920
human dimension took him in
the early years of his career
00:04:40.999 --> 00:04:44.400
to lands torn by conflict where
he, by way of his pictures,
00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:48.360
attained the esteem of
international publications.
00:04:48.520 --> 00:04:52.000
It was his talent which
led him to a second contact
00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:55.120
with one of the founders
of Magnum when he
00:04:55.280 --> 00:04:58.999
received the Robert
Capa Gold Medal in 1980,
00:04:59.080 --> 00:05:03.280
awarded to him for his
exceptional courage
and initiative.
00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:08.080
- I've covered a lot of
conflicts in my career.
00:05:10.520 --> 00:05:13.400
But for me the story was
always the civilians,
00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:17.800
the people who were driven
out of their country
00:05:17.960 --> 00:05:20.999
or out of their villages.
00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:23.120
I was never a
combat photographer.
00:05:23.280 --> 00:05:25.520
I've been in combat
many times and to me,
00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:30.320
that's not where the story is.
00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:32.480
The combatants are
generally there willingly,
00:05:32.640 --> 00:05:36.000
they're often protected,
they have a weapon.
00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:39.520
They're fighting out of
their own free will but what
00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:42.920
happens invariably is that
you know, the civilians
00:05:42.999 --> 00:05:46.999
get caught in the conflict
or homes get blown up.
00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:51.320
People are at home
in their living room
00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:53.520
and a rocket comes
in the window.
00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:57.960
So to me that was what
I've spent my time on.
00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:02.960
I think the conflict which
made the biggest impression
00:06:05.440 --> 00:06:07.680
on me, which this sort of
monumental catastrophic
00:06:07.840 --> 00:06:11.840
environmental damage
was the Gulf War.
00:06:11.999 --> 00:06:14.760
The first one in the
early 90s where there
00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:17.840
were more than 600
oil wells on fire.
00:06:17.999 --> 00:06:20.800
There was destruction as
far as the eye could see.
00:06:20.960 --> 00:06:23.999
The Iraqi, before they
had left Kuwait burned,
00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:28.999
put all the oil wells on
fire, destroyed this city.
00:06:29.320 --> 00:06:33.120
It was complete and
utter devastation.
00:06:33.280 --> 00:06:37.080
And I would go into these
oil fields in the middle
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of the day and you couldn't,
you couldn't see the sky.
00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:43.920
It was like night and there
were these enormous lakes
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of oil everywhere, all
these poor animals were,
00:06:48.200 --> 00:06:51.520
you know horses and cows
were winding around, camels.
00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:55.320
It was like an
enormous movie set.
00:06:55.480 --> 00:07:00.160
It was like this surreal
world where everything
00:07:00.320 --> 00:07:04.040
was just destruction and chaos.
00:07:04.200 --> 00:07:07.760
It was dreadful, awful.
00:07:13.080 --> 00:07:13.720
(digital tones)
00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:24.480
(car horn honking)
00:07:29.400 --> 00:07:31.000
(siren blaring)
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- [Voiceover] The morning
of September 11th, 2001
00:07:37.880 --> 00:07:40.360
remains etched in the
memories of all those who
00:07:40.520 --> 00:07:42.720
turned on a TV that day
anywhere in the world.
00:07:42.880 --> 00:07:46.480
(radio chatter)
00:07:46.640 --> 00:07:50.999
The images flown by of
an attack which was at
00:07:51.080 --> 00:07:53.960
that time, unthinkable
and unfathomable.
00:07:53.999 --> 00:07:56.999
(siren blaring)
00:07:57.040 --> 00:07:58.880
That morning, Steve McCurry
was in New York looking
00:07:58.999 --> 00:08:02.000
out over the terrace of
his Washington Square home.
00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:06.800
With his camera, he unceasingly
documented the moments
00:08:06.960 --> 00:08:09.680
directly following the
attack on the Twin Towers.
00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:13.960
9:59 A.M. is the moment
the first tower crumbles
00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:19.520
before the incredulous
eyes of the entire city.
00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:24.240
10:28 A.M., the North
Tower also falls,
00:08:24.400 --> 00:08:28.840
sowing panic and terror.
00:08:29.999 --> 00:08:31.800
- I couldn't hear the
World Trade Center collapse
00:08:34.999 --> 00:08:38.120
but I could hear all these
screams from the park below
00:08:38.280 --> 00:08:42.120
and it was this surreal
kind of nightmarish
00:08:42.280 --> 00:08:46.840
memory I have of that morning.
00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:50.280
(somber piano tones)
00:08:57.760 --> 00:08:58.999
I got back on the night of
September the 10th from China.
00:09:02.920 --> 00:09:05.640
I'd been there for six weeks
doing a story on Buddhism.
00:09:05.800 --> 00:09:08.920
I was in a very sort of
mellow mood, I got back,
00:09:08.999 --> 00:09:12.999
woke up the next morning
on September the 11th.
00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:16.520
I got a call that the World
Trade Center was on fire.
00:09:16.680 --> 00:09:20.800
I looked out the window and I
saw both towers were on fire.
00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:25.440
So I raced up on the roof
to right where I'm standing
00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:29.760
right here and started
photographing it.
00:09:29.920 --> 00:09:33.520
I thought this can't be
happening, this is unreal.
00:09:36.760 --> 00:09:37.999
I kept photographing and
the second tower collapsed.
00:09:41.920 --> 00:09:45.600
And I remember right below
was Washington Square Park
00:09:45.760 --> 00:09:50.200
and as the tower was collapsing,
I couldn't hear anything
00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:54.975
from the World Trade Center
but I heard these screams.
00:09:54.999 --> 00:09:58.360
There must've been
about 200 people down at
00:09:58.520 --> 00:10:00.800
Washington Square Park
who were just screaming.
00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:04.560
And then I left
immediately for Ground Zero
00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:08.000
and I spent the
entire day there.
00:10:08.160 --> 00:10:10.680
In fact I went back again
the next morning but
00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:13.840
it was such a beautiful
morning that September 11th.
00:10:13.999 --> 00:10:16.680
The sun was shining, there
wasn't a cloud in the sky
00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:20.000
and suddenly
everything went dark
00:10:20.160 --> 00:10:24.480
and it was like our
worst nightmare.
00:10:24.760 --> 00:10:27.800
- [Voiceover] Steve McCurry
learned straight off to handle
00:10:29.920 --> 00:10:31.999
danger by tackling head on
the risks of the profession.
00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:35.920
In 1979 he miraculously
brought home
00:10:35.999 --> 00:10:38.999
the reportage that would
make him world famous,
00:10:39.040 --> 00:10:42.400
and more importantly
would bond him permanently
00:10:42.560 --> 00:10:45.520
to the Afghan people who, even
before the Soviet invasion,
00:10:45.680 --> 00:10:49.000
had been left to
fight their own wars.
00:10:50.920 --> 00:10:52.480
- I was in this very cheap
two-dollar-a-night hotel
00:10:55.999 --> 00:11:00.320
in Chitral and the people
standing in the next room
00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:03.999
to me were some refugees,
some Afghan refugees.
00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:07.440
One night we were having
some kebabs and they said
00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:11.000
"You know, you're
a photographer.
00:11:11.160 --> 00:11:13.480
"Nobody knows this story,
nobody's paying attention
00:11:13.640 --> 00:11:17.999
"to the fact that our villages
in this part of Afghanistan
00:11:18.040 --> 00:11:20.999
"are being destroyed by
helicopter gunships."
00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:24.960
I agreed readily.
00:11:24.999 --> 00:11:28.160
I said "This is an important
story, I wanna go."
00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:31.480
So we decided two days
later I was gonna accompany
00:11:31.640 --> 00:11:35.080
some of these guerilla
fighters, these Mujahadeen.
00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:39.320
So the morning they came
to get me I was like
00:11:42.160 --> 00:11:45.600
you know, this is crazy.
00:11:45.760 --> 00:11:50.040
But I went.
00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:52.960
We walked for four days
but as we got closer
00:11:53.160 --> 00:11:57.960
and closer to the fighting,
00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:01.999
I got more and more involved,
00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:05.120
more personally
kind of connected to
00:12:05.280 --> 00:12:08.080
these people and to the story.
00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:11.480
I ended up spending a month.
00:12:11.640 --> 00:12:13.920
I ended up going right
to the front line
00:12:13.999 --> 00:12:17.120
and seeing the fighting,
people were dying.
00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:22.120
Relatives were grieving,
there were funerals.
00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:26.999
And suddenly this
really became the story
00:12:28.999 --> 00:12:32.840
I got very passionate about.
00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:38.200
(Arabic guitar tones)
00:12:42.760 --> 00:12:46.360
- [Voiceover] Just as the
Mona Lisa is a universal icon
00:12:46.520 --> 00:12:48.999
of the style of Leonardo Da
Vinci, so too will Steve McCurry
00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:52.999
be forever linked to the
photo of the Afghan girl
00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:56.760
who for years was held
to be the absolute
00:12:56.920 --> 00:12:58.999
symbol of her
people's suffering.
00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:02.680
A face, an icon and
once again a story
00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:05.960
that affects the world deeply.
00:13:05.999 --> 00:13:07.920
But especially one which pushes
him almost 20 years later
00:13:07.999 --> 00:13:11.400
to set off in search of
her to portray her as mired
00:13:11.560 --> 00:13:15.000
even more deeply by the
asperity of her life.
00:13:15.160 --> 00:13:19.280
- Somehow people connect
with that picture.
00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:23.960
Often without knowing she's
a refugee, without knowing
00:13:23.999 --> 00:13:26.280
she's an orphan, without
knowing she's an Afghan.
00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:31.280
There's just something
about that look
00:13:31.520 --> 00:13:33.720
and that expression
which captivates people.
00:13:34.160 --> 00:13:37.960
And I think part of the reason
is that there's a combination
00:13:40.760 --> 00:13:44.160
of ingredients here, the
different components.
00:13:45.920 --> 00:13:50.680
She's very pretty, a very
attractive little girl.
00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:54.999
She has these attractive,
very striking eyes.
00:13:58.040 --> 00:13:59.999
But there's this ambiguity
to her expression.
00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:06.320
She's not smiling,
she's not frowning,
00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:09.240
she has this sort
of neutral thing.
00:14:09.400 --> 00:14:11.999
Despite she's very
pretty, she also clearly,
00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:16.160
her face is a bit dirty,
her shawl is ripped.
00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:20.840
But she has this penetrating,
this unyielding gaze.
00:14:20.999 --> 00:14:25.840
This sense of kind of
fortitude and perseverance
00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:30.600
and this self respect and
the reason we went back
00:14:30.760 --> 00:14:35.240
to try and find her after
17 years was because
00:14:35.400 --> 00:14:39.240
we had gotten
thousands of letters.
00:14:39.400 --> 00:14:41.999
Everybody was curious,
I was curious.
00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:45.720
Where is she, who was
she, is she still alive?
00:14:45.880 --> 00:14:50.040
So we wanted to go back.
00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:51.680
After some days we had
a big break in the story
00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:56.000
because we found the
teacher who had been in
00:14:56.160 --> 00:15:00.800
the classroom that morning
when I photographed her,
00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:04.680
and through her were
able to eventually find
00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:09.600
Sharbat Gula's brother
and of course through him
00:15:09.760 --> 00:15:14.080
we were able to find
her and it was amazing.
00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:18.840
We were so thrilled
that she was alive,
00:15:18.999 --> 00:15:21.520
she had a family,
she was married.
00:15:21.680 --> 00:15:23.560
She lived in the village,
her kids were healthy.
00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:27.999
So we were completely
thrilled that
00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:32.960
we were able to locate her.
00:15:39.999 --> 00:15:40.440
(chattering)
00:15:45.080 --> 00:15:47.880
(upbeat piano tones, drumbeat)
00:15:50.800 --> 00:15:55.080
The World Trade Center
for several decades
00:15:55.960 --> 00:16:00.760
was one of the iconic
symbols of New York,
00:16:00.920 --> 00:16:03.760
it was one of the landmarks.
00:16:03.920 --> 00:16:05.360
When you came into the city
almost from any direction,
00:16:05.520 --> 00:16:08.000
that was one of the
first things you saw.
00:16:08.160 --> 00:16:10.560
Suddenly this iconic
piece of architecture
00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:13.600
was ruined and it collapsed.
00:16:18.640 --> 00:16:19.999
After Nine-11, some months
after Nine-11 I actually
00:16:23.999 --> 00:16:28.640
moved my studio very close
to the World Trade Center.
00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:33.999
Just about two blocks and
every day that I walked
00:16:34.760 --> 00:16:38.999
to work, it was a reminder
of that terrible day.
00:16:41.999 --> 00:16:43.999
I packed up and moved to
another area of the city.
00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:50.640
(anxious tone)
00:16:59.160 --> 00:16:59.920
(electronic tones)
00:17:13.880 --> 00:17:15.000
I have maybe 800,000 slides
of Kodachrome here in my
00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:23.880
archive and it was the film I
used for 25 years, 30 years.
00:17:29.600 --> 00:17:30.960
And it was a way of life
and when I heard they were
00:17:34.760 --> 00:17:37.000
gonna discontinue and
Kodachrome was coming to
00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:39.999
an end I was like this
can't be happening.
00:17:40.080 --> 00:17:42.600
But I thought it'd be great
fun to get the last roll
00:17:42.760 --> 00:17:47.120
of film and to do some
really interesting project.
00:17:47.280 --> 00:17:51.560
So I talked to Kodak, they
agreed, got the last roll.
00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:56.120
And I thought well now
what am I gonna do?
00:17:56.600 --> 00:17:59.560
So I thought I need to
photograph something iconic.
00:18:01.760 --> 00:18:05.999
You know Kodachrome was probably
the best film ever made.
00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:09.600
I wanna, it was an iconic
film, I wanna do something
00:18:09.760 --> 00:18:12.720
to honor the memory
of Kodak so I thought
00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:15.720
I wanna shoot something
in New York, I wanna go
00:18:15.880 --> 00:18:18.640
to someplace in the world
that I'm familiar with.
00:18:18.800 --> 00:18:21.320
So I actually started with,
I thought who's iconic
00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:24.080
in New York, who is a
quintessential New Yorker?
00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:28.120
And I thought Robert De
Niro, he's an obvious choice.
00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:33.040
And then I thought
you know I've worked
00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:39.680
so much of my career on India.
00:18:39.840 --> 00:18:41.960
Let me go back and do a little
bit of the roll in India.
00:18:44.999 --> 00:18:46.960
(loudspeaker chatter)
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:52.999
So I found a tribe
which was disappearing
00:18:53.080 --> 00:18:54.999
and I thought this
would be a perfect,
00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:57.400
you know a disappearing
film, a disappearing tribe,
00:18:57.560 --> 00:19:00.640
this way of life is
coming to an end.
00:19:00.800 --> 00:19:03.440
(electronic tones)
00:19:09.520 --> 00:19:10.600
My preparation before
I go out and shoot
00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:17.960
is very minimal, very simple.
00:19:18.320 --> 00:19:21.320
(high-pitched electronic tones)
00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:28.320
It's unscripted, it's
unplanned to some extent.
00:19:30.999 --> 00:19:33.975
Often I will just walk
out of my hotel room,
00:19:33.999 --> 00:19:37.960
out of the place I'm staying
at and just start looking,
00:19:37.999 --> 00:19:41.320
start to get into a
particular frame of mind.
00:19:44.760 --> 00:19:45.999
Start enjoying the day,
start engaging with people
00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:53.240
that I meet and let it slowly
get into a particular zone.
00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:58.240
(high pitched electronic tones)
00:20:01.840 --> 00:20:06.200
Almost a meditation I would say.
00:20:06.999 --> 00:20:09.240
But my preparation is, I
have one camera, one lens.
00:20:09.520 --> 00:20:14.240
I don't have any extra
equipment with me, I don't have,
00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:19.360
usually as I said
just that one lens.
00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:23.999
It's a very simple approach.
00:20:28.320 --> 00:20:32.160
I do everything with
that one camera.
00:20:42.520 --> 00:20:43.960
I think one of the abilities
that we need as photographers
00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:51.000
is to be able to engage
people, to meet people.
00:20:56.360 --> 00:20:57.400
You have to go up
and talk to people.
00:21:01.520 --> 00:21:04.160
Explain who you are,
then have them want to
00:21:04.320 --> 00:21:07.000
actually partake and to
participate in this thing.
00:21:07.999 --> 00:21:11.400
I think Nine-11 changed New York
00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:16.480
in the months following, perhaps
for the next year or two.
00:21:19.360 --> 00:21:23.680
I think at this point it's
not something that we think
00:21:23.840 --> 00:21:25.999
about, I mean life is
uncertain and there's an
00:21:26.080 --> 00:21:29.960
impermanence to life
anyway and at any moment,
00:21:29.999 --> 00:21:32.760
anywhere we could be
snuffed out so I think
00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:35.800
people just go along their
business at this point.
00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:44.999
(deep violin tones)
00:21:49.400 --> 00:21:52.880
- [Voiceover] Steve's
journey through the world
00:21:52.999 --> 00:21:54.400
follows rules and ideals
but it has no borders.
00:21:54.560 --> 00:21:57.280
And yet there is one land
which more than all others
00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:00.200
has influenced his work
and especially his style.
00:22:01.280 --> 00:22:04.280
The vibrant colors
of Asia taught him to
capture the deepest
00:22:06.440 --> 00:22:09.320
light, to find the balance
between ethics and aesthetics,
00:22:09.480 --> 00:22:13.680
and to touch a lyricism
which enthralls at
00:22:13.840 --> 00:22:16.440
the sight of his every photo.
00:22:16.760 --> 00:22:19.040
(fast guitar tones)
00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:25.040
- I think the most ancient
part of this world that we
00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:28.160
live in when it comes
to culture and religion,
00:22:28.320 --> 00:22:31.960
architecture is definitely Asia.
00:22:31.999 --> 00:22:34.560
I mean they were, had
incredible civilizations when
00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:37.880
Europe was still, we were
living in caves and tents.
00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:42.880
So there's this real sense
of the past in color.
00:22:45.520 --> 00:22:48.480
For me it's much more logical
to photograph in color
00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:53.160
than black and white,
the world's in color.
00:22:56.920 --> 00:22:58.080
In color photography I think
muted, soft, low contrast
00:23:02.040 --> 00:23:06.920
light works best for
color photography.
00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:10.040
Even light, a cloudy
day, for me and my work
00:23:10.760 --> 00:23:15.040
is the best result,
low contrast.
00:23:18.999 --> 00:23:20.760
I think photographing people
certainly in these sort of
00:23:24.040 --> 00:23:27.880
dark, moody situations has
much more emotion to it.
00:23:29.999 --> 00:23:32.880
I never use flash when
I'm walking around,
00:23:34.999 --> 00:23:39.320
I rarely use a tripod.
00:23:39.480 --> 00:23:42.560
I like these dark, muted
situations so I kinda
00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:46.400
gravitate towards
cloudy days or times.
00:23:46.560 --> 00:23:51.400
I love Asia during the
months for instance when
00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:54.200
everything's this kind of
even, soft, muted light.
00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:03.480
And I want that either
the picture lives or dies
00:24:07.320 --> 00:24:11.520
on the story, on the
emotional component.
00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:14.200
I don't want it to be about some
00:24:14.360 --> 00:24:17.120
filter or lens or technique.
00:24:19.800 --> 00:24:20.880
(relaxed piano tones)
00:24:28.999 --> 00:24:30.320
One of my pictures which I
think tells an important story
00:24:34.080 --> 00:24:37.975
was made in Bombay of a
mother and child who came up
00:24:37.999 --> 00:24:41.999
to my car window, I
was at a stoplight.
00:24:42.120 --> 00:24:45.200
They came up, she was
begging and it was raining,
00:24:45.360 --> 00:24:49.999
there was rain on the windows.
00:24:50.080 --> 00:24:53.080
She came up to my window
looking for some money
00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:55.975
and it was just two figures
and I just instinctively
00:24:55.999 --> 00:24:59.560
raised my camera and
just made two exposures.
00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:04.560
And it's this very soulful
picture of this mother and child
00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:10.360
peering into this
air-conditioned car, they're out
00:25:11.160 --> 00:25:14.080
in the heavy rain and I'm in
my air-conditioned bubble.
00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:18.400
And it's just this sort
of meeting of two worlds
00:25:18.560 --> 00:25:22.120
and I've always thought it was
very poignant, that moment.
00:25:24.999 --> 00:25:26.160
- [Voiceover] The photograph
taken on September 11th
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:32.400
which emerged on the cover
of the Times has crystallized
00:25:32.560 --> 00:25:35.520
an instant of terror for the
entire world over the years.
00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:39.520
New York will continue to be
a refuge for Steve McCurry,
00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:43.080
a place to concentrate his
unceasing work in pauses
00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:46.680
between his aesthetic
and extensional journeys
00:25:46.840 --> 00:25:49.360
in search of the lands
and gazes which in his
00:25:49.520 --> 00:25:52.280
photos compose the
human universe.
00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:03.999
(relaxed piano, guitar music)
00:26:38.320 --> 00:26:39.440
(relaxed piano, guitar
music, steady drumbeat)
Distributor: First Hand Films
Length: 26 minutes
Date: 2014
Genre: Expository
Language: English; Italian; French / English subtitles
Grade: College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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