Artists in Lockdown: Steve McCurry on Creativity and Routine

SOL: WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP?
SM: Usually around 6 – 6:30AM.

SOL: WHAT DO YOU EAT FOR BREAKFAST?
SM: Fruit and cereal, sometimes scrambled eggs, and vegetables.

SOL: DESCRIBE WHERE YOU PRODUCE YOUR WORK, AND WHY YOU CHOSE THAT SPACE.
SM: I’m usually travelling the world, photographing, and exploring different cultures. When I’m not travelling, I’m in my studio in New York. My studio is surrounded by photo labs, my agency, and a great community of other photographers.

SOL: DO YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR DAILY ROUTINE THAT HELPS YOU WORK?
SM: When I’m travelling, I tend to have a strict routine. First, I decide where I want to start to work or think of a place that I want to explore. Then I’ll go out and work from 7:30AM – 10:30/11 AM, go back and take a break, get some other work done and switch gears. After lunch I get back out on the street around 2:30 / 3:00 PM, depending on when sunset is. I’ll work until about a half hour after dark, head back, download some images, have a wash, eat dinner, relax for an hour or two, watch the news, and read a book before bed.

SOL: WHERE DO YOU GO FOR YOUR CREATIVE SPARKS?
SM: I like to explore places and situations that fascinate me, that I want to learn more about, am curious about and will enrich my life. It is always interesting to travel to places that are evolving, places where I can see changes happening and document them.

SOL: WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
SM: II’ve been working on two new book projects – one on new and unpublished images, the other on spirituality.

SOL: WHO WAS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT MENTOR OR INSPIRATION?
SM: Henri Cartier-Bresson. He was an important documentary photographer with great humanity and the eye of a great artist. His ability to find the right moment in time and tell the story in any particular photograph is something that still inspires me to keep improving. He was a pivotal force in the world of photography who once said, “to take photographs means to recognize — simultaneously and within a fraction of a second — both the fact itself and the rigorous organisation of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one’s head, one’s eye, and one’s heart on the same axis”, a quote that has always inspired me. When I was in Paris, I would always go over to his apartment and show him one of my new books; we would always talk and compare stories on traveling in India, China and other parts of Asia.

SOL: WHO DO YOU SPEAK TO WHEN YOU NEED A SECOND OPINION OR WHO GIVES THE BEST FEEDBACK?
SM: My sister, my agent, one of my gallerists, my current book designer or a trusted friend.

SOL: WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER BEEN GIVEN?
SM: Follow your passion and be true to yourself.

SOL: IF YOU WEREN’T AN ARTIST WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
SM: I studied cinematography in college, and would have been a Filmmaker.

SOL: HOW DO YOU SWITCH OFF FROM WORK IN THE EVENING?
SM: To unwind, I usually read a good book or watch a movie.

SOL: WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?
SM: Paul Theroux’s On the Plain of Snakes.

SOL: WHO IS THE OTHER ARTIST WORKING TODAY THAT YOU MOST ADMIRE?
SM: TI really admire my longtime friends and colleagues, Paul Theroux, James Nachtwey, Pico Iyer and Paul Nicklen.

SOL: IF YOU COULD HAVE LUNCH WITH ANY ARTIST FROM ACROSS TIME, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
SM: Leonardo DiVinci, he was a great artist, a genius, an innovator, and an original thinker.

SOL: WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR CAREER?
SM: I have been able to sustain energy, drive, and fortitude for 45 years. I have met many incredible people and have had countless amazing experiences as history unfolded in front of me.