philip_pj wrote:
Steve McCurry in Tübingen, I think this is Germany:
I watched this to the end because I was astonished by how banal and cliche-ridden the interview and McCurry's answers were. I kept waiting for a meaningful question or response to be uttered, but there was nothing there.
There is something undeniably strong about McCurry's photographs, but they seem better the fewer of them you see. Many of them are very alike and repeat compositions and affects. Very few of them seem to crack the surface appearance of things.
If I had only ever seen 5 or 10 of his photographs, I would like them better.
Agree on all counts, it's a strange watch, the constant oddball bokeh and glib dialog. He always came across as rather corporate, but Germany being like India with fewer people and vice versa, my word. I feel you have to understand a culture to do more than superficial imagery (the 'look at that' approach), and we see that affection in all the great American shooters of yesteryear.
I could live in India, not many places though, granted. 200 days a year of travel is a lot, I manage 60-70. He's a bit wheezy too, I hope he is OK. The celeb life is a tough gig.
As is so often the case, Steve did well early because of timing and the elitism that attached to chosen photographers at the time (pre-web, magazines and publishers ran things). His style is pretty cookie cutter once one knows post-processing. But live and let live, good for him. His present gear is a big combo, that won't help with discreet work in well, anywhere. cheers.
My god so many of you are just ridiculous insecure snobs. Who really cares what you think of Leica. Don't use them, do use them, shoot jpegs if you want, spend hours editing raws .... what difference does it make? Photograph what you feel and leave everyone alone.
panos.v wrote:
They're not getting younger, there's no way they will make anything as impactful now Vs all the travel in their younger years. At least not in that style of photography they did back then.
Only saw this now. Of course, you’re right. They’re now really old. But that’s not what I’m talking about. Many of them became well-known because of one or two astounding images and then continued to make images that were popular and made them more successful, but that fruitful period often was only a relatively short period of their career.
They kept working and shooting, but were mostly celebrated for their early work, even when their new work was still very good.
lacanyonhiker wrote:
My god so many of you are just ridiculous insecure snobs. Who really cares what you think of Leica. Don't use them, do use them, shoot jpegs if you want, spend hours editing raws .... what difference does it make? Photograph what you feel and leave everyone alone.
Hello! Is that you, Steve?
Welcome to the Fred Miranda Forum!
🫢
lacanyonhiker wrote:
My god so many of you are just ridiculous insecure snobs. Who really cares what you think of Leica. Don't use them, do use them, shoot jpegs if you want, spend hours editing raws .... what difference does it make? Photograph what you feel and leave everyone alone.
Yep, there is so much pearl-clutching on this forum.
lacanyonhiker wrote:
My god so many of you are just ridiculous insecure snobs. Who really cares what you think of Leica. Don't use them, do use them, shoot jpegs if you want, spend hours editing raws .... what difference does it make? Photograph what you feel and leave everyone alone.
It's a forum, you know. Just like we don't have to discuss this, you don't have to read it or comment on what we do. Goes both ways.
philip_pj wrote:
Agree on all counts, it's a strange watch, the constant oddball bokeh and glib dialog. He always came across as rather corporate, but Germany being like India with fewer people and vice versa, my word. I feel you have to understand a culture to do more than superficial imagery (the 'look at that' approach), and we see that affection in all the great American shooters of yesteryear.
I could live in India, not many places though, granted. 200 days a year of travel is a lot, I manage 60-70. He's a bit wheezy too, I hope he is OK. The celeb life is a tough gig.
As is so often the case, Steve did well early because of timing and the elitism that attached to chosen photographers at the time (pre-web, magazines and publishers ran things). His style is pretty cookie cutter once one knows post-processing. But live and let live, good for him. His present gear is a big combo, that won't help with discreet work in well, anywhere. cheers....Show more →
I always regarded him as just another good National Geographic photographer, but not up there with the really great photographers. Much like David Alan Harvey, Frans Lanting and others, but not like Jay Maisel, Sebastião Salgoda etc. To me his main claim to fame was the Afghan girl pic and my complete loss of regard for him were the heavily redacted images.
Lol, this thread is kind of ridiculous. The guy took one of the most famous photographs ever, and this forum goes on to tear him apart.
I think it's cool what Leica is doing: putting artists front and center, bringing them back into the fold, and getting their names back out into the world. He's the second photographer they've done that with.
I don’t know who McCurry is (yet), I’m just glad Leica gave us a more contrasty and punchy look instead of the more washed out film inspired Leica Looks lately
People with entirely forgettable catalogs of work complain that one of the most well known late-20th-century photographers is working with Company, the thread.
Tarekith wrote:
I don’t know who McCurry is (yet), I’m just glad Leica gave us a more contrasty and punchy look instead of the more washed out film inspired Leica Looks lately
Personally, I like where Leica is going with their "Leica Looks" too. Just another very accessible, easy to use tool to add to the creative process IMO. So far, Leica seems to come up with a new "Look" every once in a while to keep things fresh and interesting–always optional to use or not. As I mentioned previously, I would appreciate official Leica Looks presets for Leica DNGs at some point too (request has been submitted to Leica officially).
You could make the case that had Sharbat's eyes been dark brown, Steve would have never found the notoriety he enjoyed. Just like so many other parts of photography, it's all about all the elements coming together to meet someone prepared enough to capture them.
If I made the type of money that allowed me to spend $1000 the way I spend $100 I probably would grab one of the phone handles tbh. When I'm forced to use my phone for photography because I can't bring a camera or I'm editing a jpg from my camera I do use the leica lux app. In the mean time I'll grab one of those telesin grips lol
ByChrisJones wrote:
If I made the type of money that allowed me to spend $1000 the way I spend $100 I probably would grab one of the phone handles tbh. When I'm forced to use my phone for photography because I can't bring a camera or I'm editing a jpg from my camera I do use the leica lux app. In the mean time I'll grab one of those telesin grips lol
I've experimented plenty of times with the Leica Lux app. For me it's interesting how much the app has evolved since first released. Just out of curiosity what are the Leica Lux app features that motivate you to use it instead of the standard camera service on your smartphone?
FWIW, I think Leica still offers a free lifetime subscription to the Lux app if you purchase their Leica LUX Grip bundle. Not sure if that deal is still on, but might be worth checking out.
Edit: Opps, looks like that offer may have ended already.
LBJ2 wrote:
I've experimented plenty of times with the Leica Lux app. For me it's interesting how much the app has evolved since first released. Just out of curiosity what are the Leica Lux app features that motivate you to use it instead of the standard camera service on your smartphone?
FWIW, I think Leica still offers a free lifetime subscription to the Lux app if you purchase their Leica LUX Grip bundle. Not sure if that deal is still on, but might be worth checking out.
Nope.
With the purchase and registration of a Leica LUX Grip, customers will receive a complimentary year of the Leica LUX Pro subscription.
With the purchase and registration of a Leica LUX Grip, customers will receive a complimentary year of the Leica LUX Pro subscription.
Yes, looks like this offer ended on July 31, 2026.
"Leica LUX App PRO Lifetime Activation: Register your Leica LUX Grip in your Leica Account and redeem the 12-month voucher sent to you in order to use PRO immediately. For PRO Lifetime, please send the invoice, Grip serial number, and Leica Account email address to xxxxx. After the return period has expired, Leica Customer Care will verify your entitlement and activate PRO Lifetime. After the activation confirmation, please cancel the 12-month subscription in the App Store in order to avoid a paid renewal. Your PRO Lifetime usage remains active."
