Digital Photo I

  Steve McCurry is an American photographer who traveled to Pakistan where he met a group of refugees from Afghanistan that managed to sneak him across the border. McCurry wanted to focus on the lives of civilians that were experiencing the Russian invasion (“Bio”). His photo documented the brutality of the invasion and his most popular image is that of the Afghan Girl, Sharbat Gula. McCurry photographed Gula in 1984 near the Pakistani city of Peshawar (“Afghan Girl”). She seems to be about 12-13 years old during this time. For a long time, her identity had been unknown until early 2002. She has even been compared to Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the Mona Lisa (“Afghan Girl”) and became a reluctant symbol of her people during this conflict.      Gula has a soul-stirring expression that is jumbled with torment and tenacity. She has a haunting expression with a mixture of pain and resilience. Her green eyes captivated many Western viewers and sparked conversion aroun...

    I believed people use photography to capture a moment in time or attempt to relive certain memories. I also believe that photography is crucial and important in today’s history. It helps us capture exactly what is occurring and can evoke emotions for us to feel empathy toward other people and maybe even force us to act. Henry Luce said it perfectly, “to see life, to see the world, to eyewitness great events; to watch the face of the poor and the gesture of the proud… to see and be amazed; to see and be instructed” (Heiferman 11). However, as I read Marvin Heiferman’s essay, Photography Changes Everything I learned that photography is more than snapping a picture. Heiferman wants us to emphasize how what, and why people photograph the objects they do, but at the same time, the meaning behind the photos is subjective.      Even though photography is an art, the meaning behind why someone snaps a picture can be subjective. Heiferman discusses this in the ...