Steve McCurry – India
Phaidon Press Ltd – 2015
Primera edicion en espanol
phaidon.com
stevemccurry.com – pro.magnumphotos.com
“Intoxicating India: breathtaking pictures of the colour and chaos of the world’s most vibrant continent. Incredible… A photographic love letter to the mesmerising nation… Printed in stunning resolution in a giant coffee table format, Steve McCurry is the perfect way to escape to the enchanting nation.” – Mail online
“McCurry gives a genuine panorama of the country… The book’s large format and excellent reproduction means McCurry’s distinctive, vivid colour style is celebrated here in all its glory.” – Outdoor Photography
“Nobody captures better the dynamism and dysfunction of India today than the celebrated Magnum photographer Steve McCurry… Mesmerizing pictures… McCurry embraces all strata of society in his panoramic sweep […] but is never overtly judgmental, just an observer of everyday life… He turns the mundane into the extraordinary.” – Tatler
“India is a lavish large format book, beautifully printed… And handsomely bound.” – New York Journal of Books
“Words cannot do justice to the India that he has captured.” – The Citizen
AP was given the rare opportunity to interview Steve in front of a live audience in association with Nikon School Live. Here’s what he had to say about his life, career and, of course, the country that is so close to his heart.
What percentage of your time has been on assignment compared with being free to do your own thing?
In my career, I’d say that probably 80% of the time I was on assignment. But the most fun is to be there on my own, so I can get up when I want, shoot what I want and have no particular agenda. When you’re on assignment you have a deadline; there’s an expectation of what you’re going to do – a certain amount of pressure. There’s more planning, more research.
Reader questions
Do you post-process your own images?
I don’t personally do the mechanics on the images, but I work closely with a wonderful printer, and together we look at a picture and decide how to manage it, just as I used to do with darkroom printers. I’m a big fan of printing my pictures, getting them on paper. We print every day.
How do you prevent your images from being published online without your permission?
People use my pictures all over the world, all the time, without my permission. I get Google alerts telling me every day. If I found my image was being used in an ad, or on a billboard, I would of course pursue them. But if it’s just some random person using my picture on their blog, I really don’t care – life’s too short to worry about that. I’m actually kind of flattered.