Kshitij Nagar’s blog makes it clear to me that the recent criticism of the photographer Steve McCurry is not undeserved; but also it became apparent to me that he has been unfairly singled out due to his platform. Previously people criticised McCurry for displaying his manipulated photographs in the context of photo journalism as many of his photographs were published in The National Geographic magazine. However, further research has made me realise that he is not the only photographer who claims to document the truth and have their images featured on the cover of National Geographic, which have been manipulated. Another example is the cover image from the 1982s where the Pyramids of Giza are edited to appear closer together to fit the portrait orientation of the publication. It is believed that the editors of the magazine are often the ones who conduct most of the editing to the images that feature on the cover, as many photos provided by photojournalists do not conform to the exact composition of the cover. This raises questions with the authenticity of the images and perhaps even stories featured in the National Geographic, if the editors and producers are only concerned with providing the public with beautiful images and stories of the world today.

I think the line between documentary photography and photojournalism is often blurred, Steve McCurry was often considered a photojournalist as his work was featured in non-fiction publications. I believe this is why there was so much controversy when his unedited photos were presented to the public online. In an interview with Time, McCurry claimed that he is a “visual story teller, not a photojournalist” which would make more sense if what he is doing is making beautiful images that tell a story of foreign lands rather than accurately documenting life in other countries, which is what he previously stated to do. In a Ted Talks interview, McCurry talks in detail about the context and rawness of each photo and claims to document things as they are. A direct quote being ” I believe that the picture should reflect exactly what you saw and experienced when you took the picture.” It is hard to form a for or against opinion on McCurry’s work and the man as a photographer, despite his seemingly contradicting public statements; because there is no right or wrong way to be a photojournalist or a photographic story teller and there is no one who decides who is and who isn’t either of these things.