In 1984, Steve McCurry took a photo that captured the hearts of readers across the globe. Unfortunately, the truth of said photo is more sinister than many realized.
http://digg.com/video/true-story-afghan-girl-national-geographic A quote from the article: I remember my photography teacher talking about this photo back in high school. He said it was a perfect example of how a photographer should not conduct themselves and that National Geographic should have taken more care with researching an image they used as a cover. Edit: a quick summary for those that didn't watch. He used his and her teachers power and authority to take pictures of her and traumatizing her in the process. In her culture especially at the time women weren't supposed to be in the same room as a man that is not family or some other authority figure, they can't remove their burkas, they can't look someone directly in the eyes and he selfishly violated all of that without considering her feelings or respecting her beliefs. He then used her likeness to gain money and fame without ever informing her or sharing the wealth he made off her photo. He also lied about her in the article he wrote where she's only mentioned twice. It was traumatizing for her then National Geographic did it to her again using the same photographer. She also believes (and is probably right) that the photo he took is the reason she was taken from her safe home that she loved and was brought back to the war torn country she was born in and flaunted like a show pony. She's been very vocal about the whole thing and how much she hated him. She was 10 in the original photo. Edit 2: He did not ask for permission from her father or anyone else to take the photo. <iframe width="702" height="421" src=" https://www.youtube.com/embed/RuFKpaV_jjo"; frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> Dan Matyola http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
