Project 2: Writing Analytically; Research and Analyse.

This photograph was taken in 1984 by Steve McCurry in a refugee camp in North West Pakistan at the time of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.  The subject is Sharbat Gula who was 12 years old at the time.  First impressions are that it is a very strong image with the subject sitting three quarters but with her head facing the camera and her eyes looking straight at it; and what eyes!  They challenge and bore into you. The picture was intended to illustrate an article by Debra Denker in National Geographic. This was the first time the girl had ever been photographed and the second was seventeen years later when photographed by McCurry again.  She had left Afghanistan with her grandmother, brother and three sisters to escape the fighting after her parents had been killed in an airstrike. Her brother reported that "The Russians were everywhere.  They were killing people.  We had no choice."  

(http://petapixel.com/2013/10/22/steve-mccurry-reveals-afghan-girl-portrait-almost-published/)

The most obvious genre for this photograph is portraiture but we also know that it was taken as part of a photo-journalistic feature for National Geographic.

Steve McCurry found Sharbat Gula in the classroom tent at the refugee camp when he asked the teacher if he could photograph her pupils.  He was captivated by the girl's haunting, piercing and challenging sea green eyes.  He realised that the girl was shy and concentrated on photographing her classmates to put her at her ease and arouse her interest.  Eventually she agreed to be photographed  but he nearly didn't get the picture.  He took only a few shots before she got up and walked away; he wasn't even sure they were in focus.  When he arrived home, the NG picture editor wanted an alternative image and this photograph nearly didn't see the light of day.  The magazine editor overrode this decision and the picture we know today  became a symbol of the Afghan conflict and the refugee situation worldwide.  It became known simply as 'Afghan Girl'. 

(http://petapixel.com/2013/10/22/steve-mccurry-reveals-afghan-girl-portrait-almost-published/ ,  http://www.famouspictures.org/afghan-eyes-girl/, http://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/photography/events/2011/september/07/revealed-the-true-story-behind-the-afghan-mona-lisa/ )

This photograph is planned in that McCurry was looking for female refugees to photograph as illustrations for the NG article, but he didn't plan to photograph this particular subject until he walked into her classroom.  He then had to quickly plan a strategy to overcome the girl's shyness.  It is more of a street photograph than a studio portrait, however, so unplanned from that point of view.

The image was made using a 35mm Nikon FM2 film camera (I still own one), using kodachrome transparency film.  He used a 105mm f2.5 lens which is perfect for portrait photography.  It is likely that it was handheld and, as it is very crisp and sharp a reasonably fast shutter speed must have been selected; more so, because he has little use of his right hand and, therefore, has to use his left to fire the shutter. The picture is not touched up in any way.  No strobes or extra lighting was used, just the soft ambient lighting in the classroom.  (http://petapixel.com/2013/10/22/steve-mccurry-reveals-afghan-girl-portrait-almost-published/ , http://www.famouspictures.org/afghan-eyes-girl/ )

Although a documentary photographer, this image very definitely sits in the genre of portraiture.  It is a head and shoulders shot of Sharbat Gula with a plain background, almost like a studio backcloth, although we know it was taken in situ in the girl's refugee camp classroom.  In the image she doesn't smile, it being forbidden to look at or smile at a man not your husband.  Nonetheless her eyes stare challengingly out of the photograph, seeming to bore right through the viewer.  She seems to challenge the viewer to do something about the situation she finds herself in.  McCurry's 'best known photographs are rich vibrant color prints that show small moments of daily life with its struggles and joy'.  Instead of the more normal short-term documentary projects, McCurry prefers in depth studies, where he works with a location for an extended period or makes repeated visits.

 (http://photowings.org/?page_id=1809)

McCurry and Debra Denker were in Pakistan (and also Afghanistan) to cover a story on the war against the Russians and the plight of the refugees.  Steve McCurry wanted to have an image as a visual representation of the refugee crisis from a female point of view. (http://www.famouspictures.org/afghan-eyes-girl/)

There is definitely sufficient information about this image if it is being considered as a portrait but it not so easy to say the same if it is considered as a  documentary photograph.  It must, however, be realised that as a documentary photograph, it would sit with a series of other images that would help tell the story of the plight of Afghan refugees and was also part of a National Geographic article. 

(http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/original-story-text)

This image is without doubt, successful.  It featured as a National Geographic cover photograph in 1985 as well as illustrating the artical by Debra Denker.  It became an iconic photograph and became symbolic of displaced peoples.  It is very definitely a 'good' photograph.  "Her sea-green eyes challenge ours.  Most of all they disturb.  We cannot turn away."  The picture succeeds in what McCurry set out to do, ie make an image that illustrated the plight of Afghan refugees, and he captured the image with skill and sensitivity.  (http://petapixel.com/2013/10/22/steve-mccurry-reveals-afghan-girl-portrait-almost-published/,  http://photowings.org/?page_id=1809)

Bibliography

National Geographic; http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/index-text,  http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/original-story-text,

Petapixel.com; http://petapixel.com/2013/10/22/steve-mccurry-reveals-afghan-girl-portrait-almost-published/

Arabnews.com; http://www.arabnews.com/news/469466

Famouspictures.org;  http://www.famouspictures.org/afghan-eyes-girl/

Phaidon;  http://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/photography/events/2011/september/07/revealed-the-true-story-behind-the-afghan-mona-lisa/

Photowings.org;  http://photowings.org/?page_id=1809

Image

National Geographic free wallpaper.  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wallpaper/photography/photos/milestones-photography/afghan-girl-portrait/

Personal Thoughts.
I think this is a stunning photograph, even though this is an overused word.  For an image that is virtually a snapshot and nearly missed, it appears to be a perfect studio portrait with a contrasting plain background and very pleasing composition and positioning of her body.  McCurry has also managed to create real contact with the girl through those amazing eyes.  I think it must be one of, if not the most famous National Geographic covers.