Those years I lived in Brussels had events, concerts, Art Nouveau buildings, conversations and exhibitions attended I don’t want to forget.
The photo exhibition the World of Steve McCurry at the Bourse de Bruxelles was in 2017, but I remember it so well, because it combined two of my passions, photography and travel, plus it had storytelling.
Steve McCurry is an American award-winning photojournalist, that had an inspiring career, with many achievements. There is so much diversity and color in his photographs, as he traveled the world searching for stories. He photographed the colorful India, the contrasts in Afghanistan or Ethiopia, the covered women from Yemen, children during the war, and finally he made extraordinary portraits.
Without a doubt his world famous portrait is The Afghan Girl (from 1984), shot in a refugee camp, for National Geographic. The cover became emblematic. Was also the featured photo of the exhibition at the Bourse, an iconic building of Brussels that hosted this showing. The portrait was redone in 2002, after a 17 years reunion.
The Brussels expo contained over 200 photos. Plus the powerful stories behind 50 incredible pictures. This was definitely one of the most moving photo exhibition that I have seen in this city. I’m glad I wrote about it my raw thoughts immediately back then.
© Steve McCurry
After listening to the stories behind some of the pictures and reading about his inspiring career, I must say his biggest “asset” was his patience. For some shots he could wait for hours in order to take the perfect pictures, would return to a place day after day, in the morning, afternoon, and sunset, or even staying in water for hours, until he had the perfect light for his setting. Instead, for portraits for example, the encounter was rather brief. In an interview for the Guardian, he confessed that “you can spend a lifetime shooting thousands of rolls, but the good pictures are few and far between.”
McCurry is a New Yorker, so he was present at the 9/11 attacks and captured two powerful shots. He wanted to capture the New York spirit in a different way, so he made a portrait of Robert de Niro in a New York café. Also, he was in Berlin in November 1989 before the fall of the wall and the beginning of ending communism in Europe, and took incredible photographs.
The photograph is an undeniably powerful medium. Free from the constraints of language, and harnessing the unique qualities of a single moment frozen in time.
Steve McCurry
Moreover, McCurry went to South America in a coffee trial (a personal travel goal of mine) and photographed the people of Columbia, Peru, Ecuador. He was part of the Lavazza ¡Tierra! independent CSR and cultural initiative for sustainability and local support, that started in 2002, and Steve McCurry was behind the photo book that documented the project.
Some of the great pictures happen along the journey and not necessarily at your destination.
Steve McCurry
Some of the pictures from the photobook that can be seen in Brussels are from Tanzania, Brazil, India. Bravo for this extraordinary and long career. Thank you the Bourse Stock Exchange and visit.Brussels, congratulations to the organizers and the curator behind this exhibition.
Related – Bruxelles ~ Art Nouveau & Art Deco Marathon
Feature picture credit: stevemccurry.com
Travel Journal 