Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Steve McCurry is one of the very few western photographers who's famous in India, deservedly so as he goes there a lot and even used to live there, although only a couple of years, I think. Unfortunately he's famous for taking nice snaps but not liking Indians! (Everyone I've met who knows him says this, of course they could be mistaken, and I don't know him personally - nonetheless that's his rep). Of course, photographing there is largely a matter of crowd control and you miss so many great pictures while trying to organise kids and adults out of the way. It can be trying. Seems a shame though. His Monsoon book, for me at least, didn't really give a feeling for what the monsoon is - the capricious over-powered motor of an entire agricultural economy. But then so much western coverage of asian events is underpinned by the ideas of disaster and poverty. Funny how some subjects click with some photogs and others don't. Salgado, again on the India track - you can see he doesn't really get it, whereas his South American stuff is sublime. The empathy is there. Rob. Robert Appleby V. Bellentani 36 41100 MO Italy tel. (+39) 059 303436 mob. (+39) 0348 336 7990