"Photography is not like painting. There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera" - Henri Cartier Bresson
Many photographers have gained knowledge and inspiration from Henri Cartier Bresson who is considered to be the father of photojournalism and the master of candid photography. Cartier Bresson was born in Seine-et-Marne in France and lived with his family in the Bourgeois neighbourhood in Paris.
As he developed as a young man he studied fine art and this was at the time of the photography revolution and when artistic form and composition were still being founded. During this time schools for photographic realism were popping up throughout Europe and Cartier Bresson started to socialize with the surrealists. The surrealists searched the streets for the usual and the unusual and art with unpredictable meaning. In 1928 he attended Cambridge University where he studied English, Art and Literature before he served in the French Army.
Still painting, it was not until 1930 that a photograph by Hungarian photojournalist Martin Munkacsi of three black boys running inspired him so much that he took his camera and went out on to the streets. This was when he decided to forget painting and take photography more seriously. He used a Leica with a 50mm lens and painted all of the shiny parts black so he was able to photograph intimate and candid moments without anyone knowing.
At first he did not photograph France he travelled to Berlin, Brussels, Warsaw, Prague, Budapest and Madrid and in 1932 his images were exhibited at the Julian Levy Gallery in New York. In 1937 he covered the coronation of King George VI but he did not photograph the King he photographed the people lining the streets of London. He has been known for a vast amount of photojournalism but gained international recognition for the coverage of Gandhi's funeral in 1948.
"To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. Its a way of Life" - Henri Cartier Bresson
This image was taken behind Saint Lazane Station in Paris, France in 1932. This is what Cartier Bresson means by making a decisive moment in an instant. He has captured this image with the mans feet off the ground just going about his everyday business. The composition element of reflection is captured really well in this image together with the rule of thirds and lines in the railing beyond. A really nice tonal range with equal amounts of low and high key tones.
I love this image captured at a high angle at the top of the steps. This image was taken in Hyeres in 1932 and has lots of composition elements. Lines dominate this image with the steps and the railings together with texture with is present throughout and guides your eye around the image. The rule of thirds are represented by the bike and the railing together with the shape of the road. Pattern and texture is all around this image which gives the image a nice tonal range in which most of the tone is high key.
This image was taken in Abruzzo, Aquila Italy in 1951 and has so much going on it is easy for the eye to be guided around the picture. This image has been shot at a really interesting angle which looks down on two streets with an interesting building on the corner. The composition aspects of the rule of thirds is present all around this image and the rule of thirds is used together with lines in the railings and the texture. There is a really nice tonal range with almost equal amounts of low and high key tones.
This image was taken in Romania of a couple on a train and captures the intimate moment of lovers. Taken in 1975 I am not sure if they were aware they were being photographed or not but I would like to think not. I think they are on a long and tiresome journey and are finding comfort in each other. Nice pattern and texture are found within this image and a nice tonal range with equal parts of low and high key.
I first came across this image in a book by Taschen, Paris Mon Amour which is a book of black and white photographs of great photographers captured across two centuries. The photograph taken in Paris in 1961 is Swiss painter and sculptor Alberto Giacometti and this is when I realised that great photographs can be achieved whilst raining. This is quite a low key image but a lot of pattern and texture can be captured in images when it is raining. The reflection of the trees can be seen on the wet ground together with splashes caused as the rain hits the ground.
Taken in Paris in 1969 this reportage photograph shows how juxtaposition was starting to develop. This young attractive lady is being watched by the elderly lady showing an aspect of contrast between two elements within a photograph. I really like this image as I loved the fashions in the 60s and I think this moment has been captured really well showing a good decisive moment instantly. This image has a good tonal range and nice pattern and texture throughout the image.
Capturing the candid look of peoples faces in street photography shows people the way they are and not what they want you to believe they are. Really nice tonal range with the subjects closely framed within the image.
Really nice image of children up a spiral staircase which allows you to look into the image and almost through it. There is a really nice contrast, shape and pattern within this image. The main focal point I would say is on the first child closest to you just peaking over the staircase. Another focal point is the swirl pattern created by the image.
This is a really nice image which shows the composition aspect of lines along the road which leads the eye up to the trees. A nice tonal range with a nice contrast of the trees against the sky. Pattern and texture is present in the grass either side of the road. The rule of thirds is present with the position of the trees.
Books Used
Henri Cartier Bresson - The Photographer
Henri Cartier Bresson - The Man, the Image and the World
Books Used
Henri Cartier Bresson - The Photographer
Henri Cartier Bresson - The Man, the Image and the World
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