Famous photojournalist McCurry became the third inductee into SanDisk's program at National Geographic's 125th anniversary

Image: The famous ‘Afghan Girl cover from National Geographic, 1985

SanDisk
has announced that Steve McCurry, photographer of the iconic ‘Afghan
Girl’ and scores of other famous images, has been inducted into its
Extreme Team Legends Program.

The
program was created to honour photographers who have made major
contributions to the art of photography throughout their careers.
McCurry joins two previous inductees, sports photographers Walter Iooss
and Akito Mizutani.

McCurry
was presented with the honour at the National Geographic 125th
Anniversary event in Øksnehallen, Copenhagen. Adorning the walls were
more than 110 National Geographic covers from years gone by including,
of course, the Afghan Girl cover from 1985 (top).

Taken
in Peshwan, Afghanistan, the photograph turned into one of the most
recognisable magazine covers ever put to print, eventually inspiring
McCurry to track the girl down some 17 years later.

The
announcement also kicked off a social media competition hosted by
SanDisk to find the next inductee into the Extreme Legends program, for
which McCurry will be one of the judges. The winner will be announced at
the PhotoPlus International Conference and Expo in New York October 24,
2013. In the meantime you can head to SanDisk’s Facebook page to find out more about it.