Matthew Stevens
Steven McCurry Research Paper
I believe that the visual manipulation taking place in McCurry’s photos is acceptable as long as he informs his viewers that he is doing so. Photos classify as art, and with art there should not be strict rules, so McCurry has every right to change his photos to express himself more effectively. Although, ethical issues arise when he is assigned the task of being a photojournalist.
In my limited view and experience, I think a photojournalist has the duty to produce realistic photos that tell a story. Part of the experience for an audience who views these photos is believing that whatever is depicted happened in the way it is being portrayed. By manipulating photos, McCurry removes the awe that is associated with viewing a photo from other parts of the world as you now do not know if what you are seeing is real. Even if the changes are minor, they help to create a photo that is more “perfect”, yet less accurate to the real world. These changed photos are fine for use outside of photojournalism, but when the requirement is to accurately depict a scene or conflict for the world to judge, they must be untouched. McCurry seems to now agree with my own point of view and has expressed that he sees why people would be upset with him. He does not classify himself as a photojournalist anymore.
Sarah Leen, National Geographic’s director of photography, was in an interview with TIME magazine. She was asked questions about the use of photoshop by National Geographic. Sarah tells TIME, “We do not condone photo manipulation for editorial photography…We receive all the raw files for every assignment, our photo editors look at every single frame and we do all of our own color production in-house.” With regulations like this, it places all the blame on McCurry himself. It is obvious from this statement that National Geographic does not allow any photo manipulation, so when McCurry does it he gives the impression that he is trying to hide things from the public. Maybe McCurry, as an artist, has a right to do this but it simply does not feel right to the people viewing his photographs. On a lighter note, Sarah was further asked about McCurry’s involvement in the magazine over the years to which she stated, “We are proud of that image (Afgan Girl) and other iconic photographs that Steve created while on assignment for us.”
Overall, I think it comes down to the fact that McCurry is changing with the times. Back when he shot on the “Crisp emulsion, beautifully saturated colors and archival stability” of Kodachrome, he did not have the ability to change his photographs like he does today. With changing technology and media, McCurry takes full advantage of the editing techniques today and changes his photos to be more attractive and appeal to a wider audience. As long as McCurry informs his audience of the new direction he is taking, I believe it is acceptable for him to alter his photographs. Although, I greatly value the truthfulness and perfect imperfections that come from a photograph that has not seen extensive reshaping from the digital processors of a computer.
A camel caravan, heading south to the Pakistan border, 1981. McCurry
Shot on Kodachrome Film
Works Cited
Gilbert, Sarah. “Steve McCurry's Afghanistan – in Pictures.” The Guardian, Guardian News and
Media, 4 May 2014, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2014/may/04/steve-
mccurrys-afghanistan-in-pictures.
Photography | January 22nd, 2013 Leave a Comment. “National Geographic Photographer
Steve McCurry Shoots the Very Last Roll of Kodachrome.” Open Culture,
urry_shoots_the_very_last_roll_of_kodachrome.html.
Laurent, Olivier. “Steve McCurry: I'm Not a Photojournalist.” Time, Time, 30 May 2016,
time.com/4351725/steve-mccurry-not-photojournalist/.
“More Photoshopped Photos Emerge in the Steve McCurry Scandal.” PetaPixel, 30 May 2016,
petapixel.com/2016/05/26/photoshopped-photos-emerge-steve-mccurry-scandal/.
O'Neill, Brad Horn and Claire. “Exposed: The Last Roll Of Kodachrome.” NPR, NPR, 24 July
2010, www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2010/07/23/128728114/kodachrome.
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