Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Sharbat Gula by Steve McCurry

I am a bit laid-back in the office. Laid-back makes me lazy! And i hate it when i'm doing nothing in the office. It makes me look so unworthy! But anyway, tried to read some articles online.. a photo hopping i might say.. I just love gazing at pictures that i can make an emotion connection, until i came across this picture again. It never fails to mesmerize me everytime i look at this portrait of an Afghan Girl named "Sharbat Gula". I'm pretty much sure that you've came across this dramatic portrait in a National Geographic magazine sometime ago. Let me just briefly share with you guys, this Afghan Girl was found and captured on the National Geographic cover in 1985, yet at that time no one knows who she was.. She's no AMerican's next top model or the winner of a Playboy Cover Magazine..But her mysterious expression brings an impact to an esteemed journalist and an avid photographer all around the world and that makes her the most famous faces. Later, after 17 years, National Geographic marked down its success in meeting again this haunting green eyed woman. She was 30 with 3 daughters when they met her after years of searching this so-called Afghan Girl. Click this link for her stories.

To me her captivating eyes are much much.. way way..... more beautiful than the so-called divine Mona Lisa smile. (sorry to say about the fake-fagot smile-alike! Still wonder why it took da vinci 10 damn years to complete the painting.. hey i've been to louvre and saw it live.. maybe i'm just plain unartistic. but it's just a mediocre painting. I hope i don't offend anyone by my statement.. who knows if Da Vinci's great great great grand daughter is reading this!)

I'm not going to talk about Mona Lisa's life exeperience nor Sharbat Gula's here.. but her eyes show what she has gone through her life. Steve, you were spot on and managed to capture the right expression at the right moment. Very authentic and very original.. Kudos Steve McCurry..The look of mixed feeling that can only expressed by this photo of Sharbat Gula's..

1 comment:

Amiruddin Karim said...

Ahhh.. the green-eyes Afghan girl. Never knew her name till you mentioned it. Sharbat Gula by Steve McCurry eh?.. I almost thought it's one of your wordplay title coz Trebor used to have sherbet sweets and I'll go "hmm... gula on curry.."

Biasa la, pagi-pagi yg mamai..