The Story Behind Steve McCurry’s Iconic ‘Afghan Girl’ Photo

afghangirlheader

Want to hear the story of how the iconic Afghan Girl photo was shot? NPR’s All Things Considered interviewed renowned photojournalist Steve McCurry to find out the background behind the famous National Geographic cover picture.

Here’s the 4-minute-long segment that aired this past weekend:

McCurry was in an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan in December 1984 when he came across the girl in a makeshift classroom. “I noticed this one little girl with these incredible eyes and I instantly knew that this was really the only picture I wanted to take,” he tells NPR.

The photo he took went on to become one of the most popular images ever to grace the front of National Geographic.


P.S. You can also read a text version of the story over on NPR’s website.


Image credits: Header photographs by Steve McCurry

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