"No matter how dire the situation, how dangerous the environment, children need to play." - Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry captures human mortality and also joy and happiness in his photos. He was born in Philadelphia his first dream to be a documentary film maker and show the world through his movies but he thought he could express his subjects better through his photographs and due to the change of profession, he is now best known for his evocative color photography he has now won numerous awards and has written 4 books. "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"

I couldn't choose one actual photo because they both standout to me because the picture emphasizes on hands. The hand is a very symbolic image, there are many denotations of the hand(s) but in all these photos what is he trying to emphasize, are those hand prints of soldiers?, dead family members? what could they represent?These hands don't represent dead soldiers it is actually folk art. But they all tell a story, don't you think each child is entitled to have a safe fun childhood and also be able to run with shoes have clean toys and not always have to see a rifle ?

"Whether it is splashing in puddles or climbing on abandoned tanks, their world of make believe is almost as important as food and shelter."

Photograph is proof and when proof is shown to humans, proof that poverty still exist, proof that wars are still going on, that's when we all realize, that this is ridiculous and that we need to change. What gives a photo it's essence? it tells a story and can be interpreted into many things not just one idea.To read a photo is to look at the background look at the use color and the use of space and then just annotate on the picture. Everyday must be an adventure for him because everyday he is risking his life probably to show everyone the shocking photos he's been capture and every time i look at a picture there's always one question Doesn't he value his life ? or he is just doing this for the world to realize how bad it's gotten.

Photo 1and 2:http://stevemccurry.wordpress.com/

Photo 3: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photographers/photographer-steve-mccurry.html