The Sartorialist Sits Down with Legendary Photographer Steve McCurry

Scott Schuman, known better as street fashion photographer “The Sartorialist,” conducts this fascinating interview with legendary Magnum photographer Steve McCurry.


(c) Steve McCurry

Photographer Profile ~ Eliza R. Scidmore

Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore (1856–1928) was an American writer, photographer and geographer, who became the first female board member of the National Geographic Society. She visited Japan many times between 1885 and 1928.

Scidmore was born October 14, 1856 in Clinton, Iowa. She attended Oberlin College. Her interest in travel was aided by her brother, George Hawthorne Scidmore, a career diplomat who served in the Far East from 1884 to 1922. Eliza was often able to accompany her brother on assignments and his diplomatic position gave her entree into regions inaccessible to ordinary travelers.

It was on their return to Washington, D.C. in 1885 that Eliza had her famous idea of planting Japanese cherry trees in the capital. Scidmore found little interest in her cherry tree idea, but more in her impressions of Alaska, the subject of her first book, Alaska, Its Southern Coast and the Sitkan Archipelago (1885). She joined the National Geographic Society in 1890, soon after its founding, and became a regular correspondent and later the Society's first female trustee.

Scidmore's cherry blossom scheme began to bear fruit when incoming first lady Helen Taft took an interest in the idea in 1909. With the first lady's active support, plans moved quickly, but the first effort had to be aborted due to concerns about infestation. Subsequent efforts proved successful, however, and today many visitors enjoy the sakura of West Potomac Park and other areas of the capital, particularly during the National Cherry Blossom Festival. [via Wiki]

Eliza R. Scidmore

Japanese girls in a tea ceremony, a hand-colored photo by Eliza Scidmore from early

1900s, ~ Eliza R. Scidmore

Eliza R. Scidmore


Flowering cherries along the Sumida River in Tokyo, known as Mukojima, circa 1897.

When Eliza visited Japan, she was overwhelmed by the lovely blossoming cherry trees.  She learned that the Japanese people called them sakura,and that they were revered as a national symbol.  For centuries, people had been gathering in the spring to view and appreciate the clouds of flowers while picnicking under the trees.  This celebration is called hanami.  The different varieties of trees bloom in many shades of whites and pinks.  After their brief burst of color, the flowers are gone.  Artists and poets have often honored them for their beauty and as symbols of the brevity of life. Eliza’s dream was for the people of Washington, D.C. to be able to enjoy these trees.  Finally, in 1912, over three thousand trees were planted as a gift of the city of Tokyo.

Eliza R. Scidmore

Eliza R. Scidmore

Eliza R. Scidmore

Eliza R. Scidmore

Eliza R. Scidmore

A Japanese woman sings and plays a shamisen by Eliza R. Scidmore

A Chinese mother and child in Manchurian region attire by Eliza R. Scidmore

A woman feeds a pair of storks at Okayama Castle. Okayama, Honshu Island, Japan. ~ Eliza R. Scidmore

Portrait of Eliza R. Scidmore (Probably in her late 30s or early 40s.)

Interview with National Geographic Photographer Steve McCurry

See my post on Steve McCurry HERE

Behind the scenes with National Geographic Photographer Michael 'Nick' Nichols

Photographer Michael "Nick" Nichols photographs a silverback mountain gorilla while on assignment for National Geographic

National Geographic Photographer Dewitt Jones Speaks About Creativity

The Life of a Photograph ~ Insights from a National Geographic Photographer

Veteran National Geographic photographer Sam Abell offers a look inside the heart and mind of a master photographer.

National Geographic Photographer Steve Winter Searches for the Elusive Snow Leopard

Photographer Profile ~ Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry was born in Philadelphia, and graduated from Pennsylvania State University. After working at a newspaper for two years, he left to freelance in India.

His career was launched when, wearing native clothing, he crossed the Pakistan border into rebel-controlled Afghanistan just before the Russian invasion. When he emerged, he had rolls of film sewn into his clothes that contained some of the world's first images of the conflict. His coverage won the Robert Capa Gold Medal for Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad Showing Courage and Enterprise. He has won numerous awards including the National Press Photographers' Association award for Magazine Photographer of the Year and an unprecedented four first prizes in the World Press Photo contest.

McCurry has covered many areas of international and civil conflict, including the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, Beirut, Cambodia, the Philippines, the Gulf War and continuing coverage of Afghanistan. His work has been featured in magazines around the globe. His reportage for National Geographic has included Tibet, Afghanistan, Burma, India, Iraq, Yemen, Buddhism, and the temples of Angkor Wat.

A high point in his career was finding Sharbat Gula, the previously unidentified Afghan refugee girl, whose picture has been described as one of the most recognizable photographs in the world.

via Magnum Photos

Most of my photos are grounded in people, I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face. ~Steve McCurry

My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport. ~ Steve McCurry 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 "What is important to my work is the individual picture. I photograph stories on assignment, and of course they have to be put together coherently. But what matters most is that each picture stands on its own, with its own place and feeling."  ~ Steve McCurry

 

 

 

Most of my images are grounded in people. I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face. ~ Steve McCurry