The photographer that I chose is Henri
Cartier Bresson. He was born on August 22, 1908 in France and died on August 3,
2004 (at age 95). Not only was he known to be the father of modern
photojournalism, he was also known as the master of candid photography. Before
his camera shooting career, his interest was focused on painting. During his
time in Marseille in 1931, he received a Leica (35mm camera). He decided to
take a few pictures and with that experience, it opened his view towards his
surroundings (one that is spontaneous and unpredictable). It gave Henri Cartier
Bresson the opportunity to capture the world going through its motions and
transformations. Thus, the history of his ways of photography took flight. Henri
Cartier Bresson’s career was interrupted by World War II, resulted in him
joining the French Army. As a soldier, he was captured and held prisoner. After
two attempts, he finally managed to escaped and worked underground until the
war came to a stop. He resumed back to his photojournalist career in 1947 by
contributing to the creation of the Magnum picture agency.
The photos that I have selected which
reminds me of the work of Henri Cartier Bresson are the following:
(Three on seat in the monochrome)
( Sydney Harbour in fog)
Not only do
these photos have similarities between one another, they also resemble the works
of Henri Cartier Bresson. The similarities are all connected through Henri
Cartier Bresson’s impact and style of photography. In his days, he was one of
the photographers who developed the “street photography” which is also known as
“real life reportage.” Street photography is a type of photography that
portrays subjects in their situations within public areas such as the park,
streets, malls, and other settings. This type of photography features the pure
image of our society; reality of the society seen by the photographer through
the lens of the camera. Through the use of street photography, you can capture
things as to how they naturally look without any unnatural or situated
movements. Therefore this type of style has made a great impact and influence
on the current and future generations of photographers. You can see it from the
pictures that I have selected. They are photos that are captured in the public,
featuring our society in motion.
(Old man asleep on seat)
Another similarity is that there are no
adjustments to the photos. What is meant by this is that there are no
artificial lighting and changes made through the use of programs such as photo
shop, etc. Everything is naturally taken. Because of this, the photos taken captures
the true moment as to what is happening along with telling its own story.
(Busker)
Cartier-Bresson
worked exclusively in black and white, other than a few unsuccessful attempts
in color. He disliked developing or making his own prints. He said: "I've
never been interested in the process of photography, never, never. Right from
the beginning. For me, photography with a small camera like the Leica is an
instant drawing."
(Little boy with bridge backdrop)
He started the
tradition of testing new camera lenses by taking photographs of ducks in urban
parks. He never published the images but referred to them as 'my only
superstition' as he considered it a 'baptism' of the lens.
Henri Cartier
Bresson’s most important aspect as a photographer is to capture his
surroundings along with its movement and transformation without being noticed. This
can also be considered to be taking snap shots. By taking pictures this way,
you are capturing the natural movements happening at that time. As you can see
in the pictures that I have chose, the photos were taken in a way where the
subjects were unaware of their picture being taken (in a way, they are getting
their picture taken without permission).
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Cartier-Bresson
http://www.henricartierbresson.org/publi/home_en.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_photography
http://www.photo-seminars.com/Fame/bresson.htm
http://www.pbase.com/sheila/streets_of_sydney
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