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The Iconic Photographs

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American photographer Steve McCurry (b. 1950) is universally recognized as one of today's finest image-makers and has won many of photography's top awards. This special limited-edition monograph brings together the most memorable and beautiful of his images, taken around the world over the last 30 years. McCurry's ability to cross boundaries of language and culture to capture fleeting moments of human experience is unique. With his discerning eye for form and colour, shape and symmetry, he offers us windows into other worlds.

Seen at the large scale of this new book, McCurry's images are particularly powerful: reproduced at slightly larger than life size, his portraits have an extraordinary immediacy and impact, while even the smallest details of his spectacular landscapes are clearly visible on the page. In this title, portraits of children, pilgrims and farmers are presented alongside views of ancient temples, busy city streets, dramatic mountain landscapes and quiet scenes of daily life - people are seen fishing, playing, working and praying. The images are presented in an uninterrupted sequence for maximum impact, and all the photographs are shown at either full-page size or as double-page spreads. The extended picture captions are at the back of the book, accompanied by colour thumbnail images for quick identification.

264 pages, Hardcover

First published August 18, 2010

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Anthony Bannon

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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Mir.
4,979 reviews5,331 followers
January 22, 2017
These photos are indeed iconic, which meant I had seen most of them already. Good reproductions, but it would have been nice if they has some text, if only a place and date.
Profile Image for Wendy.
1,333 reviews15 followers
October 8, 2013
Stunning. The book is MASSIVE. Photos are often spread across both pages (I don't love this), and the printing seems a little oversaturated...but who cares; the images are amazing. No text whatsoever; photos are identified and contextualized at the very end, so it's all about the visuals, and each of them is incredible. I will likely buy a second copy to cannibalize and frame.
Profile Image for Carla.
806 reviews2 followers
March 21, 2021
Many of McCurry’s iconic photographs are well known. Other are not, but should be. In this collection the large scale photographs tell their own story but are identified by geographic region and context at the end of the book. Most people spend hours just admiring the photos without checking out the text at the end of the book then go back later to get more info on the context of the individual photos. As a documentary photographer, Steve McCurry is a genius and each photograph tells a compelling story.
Profile Image for Joseph.
18 reviews3 followers
January 25, 2018
This book is the perfect retrospective of Steve McCurrys work. The paper has minimal shine yet captures the aesthetic beauty of the old Kodachrome film really well. I really love this book and the size of it, seeing the detailed images in a larger scale book, it just shows how remarkable McCurrys eye for composition and story telling actually is. If you have a passion for photography then this is most definitely the book for you!
Profile Image for Vinayak Hegde.
758 reviews97 followers
July 30, 2023
I got his recently at a bargain at a local bookshop second hand serendipitiously. Steve McCurry has been an inspiration because of his amazing portraits of people going about their lives. He has extremely gifted to elevate the mundane to a sublime level due to his sense of time and place, connect with the photographed and excellent use of color and composition. This edition had all his iconic photographs that I remember - some of them gracing the covers of some of my favourite books such as Mark Tully's India in slow motion.

The book is very well produced with thick papers and glossy prints which do justice to the subject matter. I also liked the way the book was structured with the photo in one continuous stream with an index at the end which had a short description at the end that gave context to the photograph. Each of the photographs has a story and context and this presented well. A joy to hold in your hand and slowly enjoy the photographs.
105 reviews5 followers
October 29, 2020
the guy who took the afghan girl photo, you know the one im talking about
Profile Image for Erik B.K.K..
820 reviews54 followers
June 11, 2024
Contains McCurry's best photographs. As usual I'm partial to the ones of Afghanistan and Kashmir. I never really like his portraits though, I love street scenes.
Profile Image for Manish.
16 reviews
July 6, 2015
Inspiring photographs.
Good for collection and leisure time go through.
Most of the photographs are available in his website or elsewhere...

For any query mail at manish.ray03@gmail.com / write at https://www.facebook.com/raysclicks
Profile Image for CURTIS NUGENT.
99 reviews
November 7, 2016
Disclaimer: Steve McCurry is absolutely my favorite photographer!

That being said this book is a wonderful display of his work. All of his defining, iconic images are included in a very large format. These photos are not to be looked at, but studied. Very inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

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