steve mccurry

Becoming a Photographer

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Steve McCurry

"When people ask me how they can become a photographer, I almost never mention cameras, lenses, or technique.

I say, ‘If you want to be a photographer, first leave home.’ As Paul Theroux, a great writer and friend, further advises, “Go as far as you can. Become a stranger in a strange land. Acquire humility.

Leaving home really means that the photographer (or writer) has to wander, observe, and to paraphrase Theroux, concentrate on people in their landscape. That is what I try to achieve in my pictures."