Customer Reviews

Steve Mccurry: In the Shadow of Mountains

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Steve McCurry manages to capture beauty and mystery in even his simplest shots of women in Afghanistan browsing through a street sneaker shop to a bejeweled young Indian bride. "The Afghan Girl" with her peircing eyes and strange, shattered beauty is a beloved classic that will always be remembered and preserved. But it is just one of Steve McCurry's enchanting works. Every photograph in this profound collection of his travels in Afghanistan and South Asia has a deep story to tell, and spending time to observe and uncover the mystery of each photograph is inevitable.

This book has deeply affected my appreciation of the Afghan people and the landscape they inhabit. What immediately drew me to this book was the cover photo, the girl's beauty and youth are unpleasantly balanced by the look in her eyes that shows she has already seen to much cruelty in life. The other pictures are no less extraordinary showing people who lead rich lives though experiencing great suffering. The women, children and men who are photographed seem to have been chosen by McCurry to show the value and nobility of each human life. The simplicity of these people's lives is mirrored by a harsh landscape; both in the magnificent rough terrain and in the cities where devastated structures fill the streets. The book is printed on beautiful paper with the most clarity and vibrance of color that I have seen in any photography book.

This book is a collection of lyrical images taken over the past 25 years. Nobody is as good as McCurry as he captures the spirit of the resilient Afghan people.

His work shows the dignity, nobility, and perseverance of the Afghan people during decades of war.

Great job, Steve!

I never tire of Steve's work. He is a master of portrait photography who has given us timeless work. Because of him thousands of students have discovered the people of Tibet and Afghanistan ... I know my students have.

Terry Hatch, Lancaster, Pa.

Steve Mccurry's newer images are as timeless as his previously famous works (the most famous of which is of course "Afghan girl"). He certainly has a distinct style which in my opinion never gets old (contrary to some of the other comments by previous reviewers on this page). He offers a window to a part of the world that is little known to the rest of us. The images he creates are breathtaking. I have never seen images as beautiful and expressive as his are by any other photographer shooting portraits in South-East Asia. I can stare at his portraits for hours it seems only to come back to them at a future date and do the same. As I said, they never get old.

Though he is sometimes accused of using subjects that are "laden with make up and blood and mud"... this claim is contrary to the reality: his photos are candid and natural. Best of all, he has also helped create the nonprofit organization, ImagineAsia, to help fund education and health care in rural Afghanistan.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do.

Obviously, one needs some sensitivity toward poor third world people in order to like this book. It is a beautiful photography book. The selection of pictures is spotless. McCurry is one of the best street photographers in the world, he is famous so he probably has the best equipment and logistics. However, this is never enough to produce beauty and he does. Some of the pictures are unreal in the sense that they are just so beautiful in all respects--the subject, the circumstance, light control, balance of colors, contrast, and so on.
It makes a great coffee table book and I will send it as a Christmas present this year.

Yet another book from McCurry where he tries to regain the glory days of the iconic Afghani girl he photographed for National Geographics over twenty years ago. Steve McCurry has become lazy in his photography -- even almost desparate. Any close up exotic picture of an Afghani girl will do as far as he is concerned. When he has enough to fill a book, it is published. Okay Steve, we get the idea...we all acknowledge that it is your "schtick".

Not surprisingly the original Afghani girl is illustrated, again, to remind everyone how good he WAS as a photographer.

Steve...please move on.

Some people have commented how dedicated Mr. McCurry is in covering the plight of the Afghan and Asian peoples. I just hope that the money he receives from selling the image rights to Soli Deo Gloria - Monteverdi Productions Ltd - a UK recording company to sell classical cds are being donated to the Afghan peoples. Not sure what Bach, compact discs or cantatas have to do with Afghanistan...except that they are pretty pictures to adorn the cd cases of the merchandise for sale.