Simplicity of the composition mirrors Germany’s structured industry, illustrating a modern Germany as distinct from the Romantic landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich. It becomes a Platonic idea of a river rather than an actual place. It looks at man’s influence on the natural world by mirroring the large scale 19th Century landscape paintings with a contemporary though similarly imposing viewpoint.
How?He used one of the best digital medium-format cameras available (a Hasselblad) and stitched several photographs to make a high resolution photograph, which he then simplified further by removing distractions such as buildings in Photoshop. Because of his name, built upon his oeuvre, and that Rhein II was the largest of an edition of six, with four being in major museums, it was sold for $4.33 million to a private German collector, making it the most expensive photo ever at the time.
Green eyes, red face and veil, green wall; complementary colours interact well together. Eyes turned to show more of the whites which makes them stand out. Dominant eye on the central vertical line of the picture to make it look like she’s staring at you.
How?He took enormous personal risks in Pakistan and Afghanistan to document the conflict and its effects. The struggle of the Afghan people was best communicated by Sharbat Gula, a twelve year old refugee whose eyes show both fear and defiance. He photographed everyone in her class so that the social-proof would help her agree to the portrait. Photographed with Kodachrome and a now-cheap 105mm f2.5 lens for National Geographic magazine.
To find the best information available about this photograph without talking with Steve McCurry himself, check out the article about the Afghan Girl – Best Photography Portrait on Shot.Click