Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French humanist photographer considered the master of candid photography, and an early user of 35 mm film. He helped develop street photography, and approvingly cited a notion of the inevitability of a decisive moment, a term adopted as the title for his first major book. His work has influenced many photographers. From the very beginning he disguised his camera with black paint to cover all of the shiny metallic parts. This helped him to be able to hide in a crowd and capture the world in natural, uninhibited moments. He liked taking photographs that happen when the photographer is unnoticed. He found that when people see someone with a camera, their expression changes, the moment is gone. He wanted an unaltered view of the world, a place that existed exactly as he saw it. He wanted to capture things just as they were for that split second. He didn’t believe in cropping or in any type of manipulation, he believed that the eye crops the compositiom and should be done in the camera. If the framing was slightly off, he would discard the image. He applied geometry to his images very effectively. If you look at the composition of his images he integrated vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines, curves, shadows, triangles, circles, and squares to his advantage. He also paid particular attention to frames as well.

Why I chose this photographed

I chose to research this photographer due to his style of photography which intrigues me greatly. I feel that his approach is very unique and effective, specifically in storytelling and making connections with the subjects without knowing them.

Shanghai, December 1948

As his career as a photojournalist evolved, Cartier-Bresson took assignments from the top magazines of the day, like Life and Paris-Match, publications that built their reputations on the kind of photojournalism that Cartier-Bresson was practicing. Together with two legendary war photographers, Robert Capa and David "Chim" Seymour, he founded the photo agency Magnum, which would set the gold standard of photojournalism for many decades to come. After World War II, he found himself in China, where he documented the collapse of post-war Chinese society. The Shanghai residents in this photo are trying to get gold from a bank in the days before Communist forces arrived in the city. Culture is so dominant in this photograph and the audience are given an insight to their desperation, as the pure chaos illustartes the sheer amount of people and seems as if they're all squeezing into the frame. The standard and quality of living seems to be poor which provides and idea and motivation behind the chaos. The desperation is furthered through the people's facial and bodily expressions in hope to receive some gold.

Juvisny, France, 1938

In 1937, Cartier-Bresson took his first (and last) salaried job, with the leftwing Paris daily, Ce Soir. During this period, he took an assignment to illustrate a campaign to win more vacation time for workers. The shoot included this frame, now considered one of the his classic images and works very effectively to its purpose. The identity of the subjects are seen to be workers which is conveyed through their obviously have a poor living due to the amount of holiday they're allowed. Here they're are seen to be on holiday through the recognition of a picnic and a boat, therefore showing the main message aforementioned. I like the way that it features both men and women which implies equality and that they both deserve more vacation time. The boat is placed near the centre of the composition and it seems that the majority of the models are looking towards it. Therefore implying that this is something they want or need. Due to the boat resembling the vacation time, the subjects want or need time off work. The distance between them and the boat can be interpreted to mean that vacation time is there but they cannot yet have it, being something they want but cannot have.

New York, 1947

Cartier-Bresson came to America many times during his career. On one early visit, he captured this extraordinary moment, as a mother and son, separated by the war, are reunited in New York. One of the things that make this so moment so extraordinary is the way the other people in the frame — and there are many of them — remain absorbed in their own concerns, oblivious to the drama of the reunited family. I think that the blurs of the people in the composition allow the two people in the centre to stand out through the contrast of sharpness. This piece contains great emotion, depicting the strong compassionate relationship of a mother and son. Despite that it seems that they're crying, this piece is much more about celebration and joy due to the safe home coming of a soldier. The closeness of their relationship is illustrated through them being tactile and physically affectionate. War is the main focus here, and despite the many negatives and sadness there is still some for of happiness within.

 “Children Playing in Ruins” 1933

 Cartier-Bresson was always lacking in descriptions and it was not entirely clear where exactly in the city he took the photo, or how the ruins come to be. His contact sheets reveal that he chose the photos which were among the first he made on that occasion. There is not much to write about this photo. His usual journalistic eye was at work, depicting a youthful community sprouting out of decayed setting. However, soon afterwards, the Spanish Civil War broke out, affecting many cities Cartier-Bresson passed through. Seville was where the first shots were fired, and the photo — with its ruined buildings and crippled children — became associated with the horrors of that war, even though it was made three years earlier. This picture optimises class, status and standard of living as there are a large group of children playing in an area which is their home but not in the state that it should be. The juxtaposition between the youth and the destruction works very effectively in highlighting how poor their lives are. Their facial expressions and clothing also contribute to the devastation and sadness of the destroyed location as well as the state of their lives.

Influence

All of my work from shoot 3 onwards shows a great influence of Henri Cartier-Bresson due to me undertaking and exploring the topic of candid photography, taking photos of people on the streets without them noticing my presence. Similarly to him I also explore culture through travelling when looking at a variety of social demographics. 

Conclusion

Overall, Henri has been very influential for me as he introduced the style of photography which I have explore throughout the majority of my project. I love the spontaneousness of his work through being in the decisive moment and also being able to capture such natural and realistic photos.