WHO – when going out to do street photography, the subjects of the images are always random by passers on the street, people going about their daily business .
WHAT – the main objective of the photoshoot was to capture snap shots of people’s regular daily lives.
WHEN – the images would be taken during late afternoon, and as it is late autumn, this is the time of day when the sun hits from quite a low angle.
WHERE -the images would be taken all around st.helier.
WHY – to document the different types of people that we encounter in our everyday lives, from young to old, rich and poor, we would capture everyone.
HOW – I used my regular DSLR camera for this photoshoot, taking advantage of the natural, bright lighting during that day.
MOST SUCCESFUL IMAGE:
TECHNICAL –
As street photography means capturing images of people on the street going about their daily activities, I was forced to use quite a fast shutter speed. Many of the people I captured were moving quickly so the images were prone to motion blur. The lighting during that time of day was also quite direct p, often glaring into the lense and creating overexposed images, therefore to combat this I used a sun hood. In terms of aperature, I switched the f stop depending on the environment I was in. I used a higher f stop for when I was inside the market to increase the amount of light entering the camera and used a smaller f stop when in natural lighting was present.
VISUAL –
Firstly the colors in this image are very monotone, with the suit of the man and the surrounding environment being a cool grey. The bright yellow tie the man is wearing provides a very distinct focal point to which the eye is immediately drawn to. Furthermore, the central positioning of the man in the foreground means that he is the subject to stand out the most. Although I was attempting to capture people going about their everyday business, the subject in the image made direct eye contact with the camera. This instead of being a bystanders perspective, has become more personal, as the man is now making a direct connection with the viewer. The simple suit that the man is wearing works well to draw most, if not all the attention to the tie and the face of the man ,accentuating the eye contact he is making with the camera and the viewer. The repeating pattern on the ground is disturbed by the presence of the man. The horizontal lines going across the ground are opposed by the straight stature of the man. The light in this image is very well balanced, with the highlights and shadows working together to create a well lit image.
CONCEPTUAL/CONTEXTUAL-
Street photography is a way of walking through a space while being constantly aware of momentary changes in light. It is a discipline and constant awareness of how one can arrange and frame compositional elements in advance of a yet-to-be-seen sequence of events that may or may not happen: for example, when out seeking images, some photographers prefer the shady side of the street and will walk along a curb to utilize the vanishing perspective lines of the sidewalk merging with the adjacent buildings.
Street photography is about being open to the endless possibility of what might make an interesting photograph; arguing couples, balletic pedestrian movement, uncanny and witty juxtapositions of seemingly unrelated subject matter. Street photography is about spontaneity: the choreography of synchronizing an impulsive emotional or cerebral response that may transpire over the course of milliseconds with making a photographic exposure. And street photography is so often about not knowing what a good photograph will look like, yet trusting the desire and impulse to pick up the camera, frame the scene, and rely upon intuition to recognize the moment where form and content are at an apex.
RULE OF THIRDS:
This image also follows the rule of thirds. When the image is split into 3 separate segments, the man ends up being in the center segment. This is significant as this means that he becomes the focal point of the image is the man, even more notably, when the same segment is cut again into 3 parts, the bright and notable yellow tie of the man is central in the image.
Rankin (who’s full name is John Rankin Waddell) is a British fashion photographer and director. He has done photo shoots with numerous celebrities and other influential figures; including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Queen Elizabeth II and the spice girls.
This is a photo of Rankin.
In his portrait photos he tries to bring out and exaggerate the emotions or personality of the person he is photographing, he also encourages and tries to boost the confidence of the person. These two factors combined result in the photos looking very natural and genuine, instead of giving the effect of forced emotions. The exaggerated emotions also make the images more appealing as they stick out from the majority of photos which aren’t as expressive.
He is best known as the founder of the ‘Dazed and Confused’ magazine. His work has appeared in magazines such as GQ, Vogue and Marie Claire. In 2011 Rankin started the biannual fashion, culture and lifestyle magazine, Hunger and launched Rankin Film to produce and direct his own commercial and editorial film work.
Street Photography: Street photography, also sometimes called candid photography, is photography conducted for art or inquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places.
Mood Board
Threshold Concept
Threshold Concept 7: The meanings of photographs are never fixed, are not contained solely within the photographs themselves and rely on a combination of the viewer's sensitivity, knowledge and understanding, and the specific context in which the image is seen.
When: Friday afternoon
Where: St Helier
How: Using a Canon camera with an 18-55mm lens
Who: Anybody on the streets of St Helier
Why: To capture pictures that are unique and are 'in the moment'
The Photoshoot:
Selected Images to Manipulate:
These are the photos that I believe are the most in focus, more technically accurate and interesting photos.
Manipulated images:
The Editing Process:
To maniplate these images I used adobe lightroom. I cropped many, adjusted the vignette, contrast, exposure, vibrancy, clarity and saturation. To some images I also applied the black and white preset called "punch".
Reflection and My Favourite Images:
These are my favourite images. While taking my photos, we were approached by a homeless man asking for money. While my teacher had a chat to him, I decided to take photos of him. I love both the concept and result of the photos. Later on I saw the man again outside a shop so I decided to talk to him about his life and outcome whilst once again taking photos of him. He was happy to have his photo taken and it seemed like he didn't even know I was taking them. I also love the vibrancy of his eclectic gold leggings he seemed to wear alongside his black fur coat and hat. I also like the photo of the florist because although she is surrounded by happy items such as vibrant flowers and happy statues, her facial expression is contrasting the mood as she looks concerned.
Overall I found at the start taking photos awkward, however I warmed to the oncept and ended up really enjoying the shoot. I feel with more practice I will be able to contruct and create better images. I need to focus on improving my technical skills and perfecting the focus of the camera.
There are many different types of lighting that create many different types of images and can cause different feelings towards an image. These include:
Intensity of the light
Direction of the light
Temperature of the light and white balance
Using reflectors (silver / gold)
Studio lighting
Natural lighting
Flat light:
Flat light is very different from soft and hard light, flat lighting causes the minimum contrasts in an image/scene.This means there is pretty much no significant contrast between the highlights and shadows of that particular image.
Split light:
Split lighting is simply the use of one light angled at 90 degrees from the subject you are photographing and placed a bit higher that their eye level. Leaving one half of the face exposed to the light and other in shadow.
Back light:
Back lighting is basically the main light shining in from behind the subject, pretty much so that the back light is some what facing onward towards the camera.
Natural lighting:
Natural lighting is the most basic type of lighting and refers to mainly light produced from the sun. In other words ambient light (meaning the available light in an environment) can be considered as natural light as it is photographer’s lighting equipment. This usually indicates natural lighting from outside that lights up a room through a window. There are three different types of natural lighting they include:
Intensity of light
Direction of light
Temperature of the light
Studio lighting:
Studio light is essential for most photographers and allows photographers to create natural lighting effects in a variety of situations that the photographer controls. This helps us change and alter things:
Filter lighting
Distance from subject to create hard / soft light
Angles and directions
reflectors and diffuses
By using studio lighting it allows a large range of equipment to be used, for example, soft-boxes, umbrella lights, spot lights and floodlights.
Why use this particular lighting?
Studio lighting allows the photographer to have full control of the image being created, and can help us imitate almost all types of lighting with the right equipment.
Flash:
Flash units offer a range of possibilities in both low and high lighting scenarios:
fill-in flash flash “bouncing”
TTL / speedlight flash
remote / infra-red flash (studio lighting)
fast + slow synch flash
light painting c/w slow shutter speeds
What is the difference between 1-2-3 point lighting and what does each technique provide?
Point lightning 1:
Point lighting is the most common and can sometimes be accidental for example when taking a photos outside with the sun shinning- this is a prime example of one point light this can be proven to mainly natural images/light. However one point lighting could lead to a rather dramatic image being produced, with the light being focused on one section/area/or the whole subject.
Point lightning 2:
Although not as popular 2 point lighting can also be proved to be extremely beneficial as the lighting allows the main subject to stand out much more, creating a stronger 3D image as the two point lighting creates much stronger shadows leading to more dimensional angles throughout.
Point lightning 3:
The goal of three point lighting is to create the illusion of a three-dimensional subject in a two-dimensional image. whilst removing background shadow produced by the subject/ clashing lights. this is proven an extremely popular technique commonly used.
“Street photography, also sometimes called candid photography, is photography conducted for art or inquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. Although there is a difference between street and candid photography, it is usually subtle with most street photography being candid in nature and some candid photography being classifiable as street photography. Street photography does not necessitate the presence of a street or even the urban environment. Though people usually feature directly, street photography might be absent of people and can be of an object or environment where the image projects a decidedly human character in facsimile or aesthetic.” – Wikipedia
Mood Board:
Bill Owens:
“Bill Owens was born in San Jose, CA September 25, 1938. Bill with his cameras is known as the foremost chronicler of Suburbia, made famous with the publication of his book by that name in 1972.
In 1983 after working several years as a photojournalist, publishing a series of books and producing two children Bill began his brewing career. He established Buffalo Bill’s, one of the nation’s first Brew Pubs which he operated until he sold it in 1994.
From 1993 to 1995 Bill published BEER the magazine. Moved by the spirits Bill went on to found The American Distilling Institute (ADI), the oldest and largest organization of small batch, independently owned distillers in the United States which he continues to lead and cultivate.
Astonishingly, all the while Bill has continued to make, exhibit and sell his photographs.” From http://www.billowens.com/about
Examples of his photos:
Bill OwensBill OwensBill OwensBill Owens
Contact Sheets:
Red – No
Orange – Maybe
Green – Yes
Final Outcomes (Unedited):
I really liked how these photos came out, but they definitely needed editing as I thought it was bring the photo more to life, and I would also be able to crop my photos to get a closer view of the person.
Final Outcomes (Edited):
I really like how these edited photos came out. I prefer the photos when they are in black and white because the photo looks much better and I think it gives it more personality. Overall I really like street photography and will probably revisit this type of portrait photography.
Natural light is like which comes from the sun. In most cases natural light is used to take a range of photos. However, there are different types of natural light and in order to capture a good image you have to take into consideration..
The intensity of the light
The direction of the light
The temperature of the light and white balance
If u]you should use reflectors
High key/ low key lighting
Front/ side/ back lighting
Shadows/ silhouettes
Example of Natural lighting.. (NOT MY IMAGES)
Case study (not my image)
When first looking at this image, i was immediately drawn into the smiling girl who is directly looking into the camera lense. The blurred greenery around the model is implying that this little girl is in a park and could of just been playing. By putting both together, the reason that the girl is smiling could be that she is enjoying where she is. The photographer has used a narrow depth of field so that all the focus is on the girl which leaves the girls background story of her smiling open for debate. The image is perfectly focused which means a fast shutter speed has been used in order to take the image. The natural light source is found to be on the left hand side of the image which we can tell from the shadowing on the girls right hand side of the face which could have been fixed with a reflector to get an even amount of sunlight on the face. From this case study i have learnt that in using a reflector will be very helpful in order to decrease the chance of shadowing on the models face. I have also noticed that a good outdoor portrait should be in colour.
Natural Lighting photo shoot (contact sheets)
Best outcomes
These portrait photos were taken in ‘natural’ sunlight, either that being outside or directly in front of a window. I used a reflector when needed which decreased the shadowing on the models face.
Technical response
When taking this natural lighting portrait I used the manual focus setting so I was able to adjust the ISO setting to 300 and the shutter speed to 1/250 so my image didn’t turn out under or over exposed. I used the ‘daylight’ white balance due to being in an outdoor location, this setting also ensured the picture had the right colouring.
Technical response
When taking both of these portrait images I used the manual focus setting on my camera so that I could adjust the ISO setting to 400 and the shutter speed to 1/250 to ensure that the images weren’t too under or over exposed. I also used the ‘daylight’ white balance setting so that the colour balance was correct. This image was also taken inside however directly in front of a very large window which let in a lot of daylight.
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) was a french photographer who was considered a master of candid photography. He was also a huge influencer of street photography, helping to make it a recognized form of photography. He photographically reported places through sensitive times, such as the soviet union after Stalin had died.
After World War 2, in which Cartier-Bresson spent most of his time as a prisoner of war- he founded the Magnum photo agency along with other people such as Robert Capa. The Magnum photo agency is a community that allowed photo journalists, who were interested in events happening around the world, to reach big audiences through magazines.
“Magnum is a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually”
– Henri Cartier-Bresson
The Magnum agency is committed to being authentic in its truthful,storytelling images. Magnum is responsible for documenting most of the world’s most important events like political affairs and disasters and conflict since the 1930s. All the photographers Magnum represent have a shared interest in photographing people,places,cultures and possible powerful and historical events.
Henri Cartier-Bresson mood board
Analysing
Context
This image was taken in London on Trafalgar square on May 12th 1937. Cartier-Bresson said that some people had waited all night, and some people even slept on benches in order not to miss the coronation of George VI.
Visual
Visually, I think the way Cartier-Bresson has chosen to frame this image is very interesting. I like the way the photo has almost been sectioned into layers with people standing on the top third, a line of people sitting on the second third, and finally someone lying down on the bottom third. I think this was a very interesting way to frame the image as it makes it really pleasing to look at, as it looks very organised. I also think there is a very interesting contrast with the person lying down on the newspaper, as the person is dressed darkly, and the newspaper appears really white on the photo. This is interesting because it means that the person stands out really vividly on the photograph.
Technical
On the technical side, the image is very successful also. The image seems to be taken during day as the sky appears white. The image is also not over or underexposed, meaning that the quality of the image is good and it is very sharp so that everyone in the image can be seen clearly.
Conceptual analysis
I think that there could be an underlying meaning of community and also the importance of politics and history. I think this because the image shows a lot of people all gathered closely together, which gives the sense of community. Cartier-Bresson also mentions how people had slept there all night so they wouldn’t miss the ceremony, I think this image shows that politics is important as people were very dedicated to seeing George VI being coronated as it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and would be an important part of their counties history. Because of this, the image also gives a strong sense of patriotism.
Comparison to Bruce Gilden
Bruce Gilden who was born in 1946, is an American street photographer who is known for his very close up portraits of people using a flash gun. He purchased his first camera after seeing Michelangelo’s film “Blowup” in 1968, and he later began taking photography night classes.
Gilden mood board
Similarities to Cartier-Bresson
Like Cartier-Bresson, Gilden is also represented by Magnum Photos, and has been since 1998. He also photographed interesting things and people around the world like homeless people, Yakuza mobsters in Japan, prostitutes and voodoo rituals in Haiti. They both also had black and white photo outcomes.
Differences to Cartier-Bresson
Unlike Cartier-Bresson, Gildren takes a more notifiable approach to his street photography. Instead of taking candid images of people passing by, Gilden is known for getting very up close into people’s personal space and using a flash gun in their faces. Their intentions were also quite different. Although they both had a very keen interest in different people and capturing interesting things on the street, they each took an individual approach.
Outcomes
As they both took their own approaches, their outcomes are very mostly very different.
USA. New York City. 1992. Women walking on Fifth Avenue by Gilden.
As you can see Gilden’s approach leads to portraits with different expressions, mostly of people looking quite shocked and surprised. Whereas Cartier-Bresson’s approach leads to more natural, candid images, where people aren’t looking at the camera therefore not realizing that images of them are being taken like the one pictured below:
Natural Light: Using natural light means to use the light that is naturally available to us or already there without the use of artificially placed lighting. But we must be aware of different kinds of natural light and learn how to exploit:
Intensity of light
Direction of light
Temperature of the light
Studio Light: Using studio lighing or artificl lighting can offer different possibilites as we can change things and alter them:
Size and shape of light
Distance it is from the subject
The angles and direction
Filtered lights
It also gives the opportunity to work with Soft-Boxes, Umbrella lights and Spot Lights.
Flat Light: When you have your light source facing directly at the front of your subject, meaning your subject is well lit and you are unable to see any shadow along their face.
Split light: A type of side lighting as it hits your subject from the side, leaving half of the subject being lit and the other half in shadow.
Back light: Light that comes from the back and behind your subject and there are ways to use it:
Semi-Silhouette: To let the light just barely creep into the frame, creates a glow and welcomes a contrast.
Reflector: If you want the strong light filling the frame from the back but it loses clarity on the subjects face so there is the use of the reflector to push some of the light back onto the subjects face.
Flash: Flash units offer a range of possibilities in both low and high lighting scenarios…we will explore
flash “bouncing”
fill-in flash
TTL / speedlight flash
remote / infra-red flash (studio lighting)
fast + slow synch flash
light painting c/w slow shutter speeds
Why do we use studio lighting?
Using studio lighting gives us control over the lighting more than you would have with natural lighting and this thus gives more full control over the final outcome of the photograph.
What is the difference between 1-2-3 point lighting and what does each technique provide / solve.
1 Point:
Most of us experience one-point lighting in nature every day, talking about sunshine. In many occasions, a single source of light creates a very natural, sometimes dramatic look that will draw people’s attention to the single lighted person or surface. A single source looks two dimensional or flat, and rarely hits people straight on, so it creates shadows.
2 Point:
When you want the subtleness of a single light source but want your people to stand out in 3D, two-point lighting can be a great way to add dimensionality without going overboard on your lighting. here is still quite a potential for shadowing if a person turns their head either direction, but where a little shadowing is okay, this can be an effective way to bring focus.
3 Point:
The goal of three point lighting is to create the illusion of a three-dimensional subject in a two-dimensional image. Three point lighting also helps to eliminate shadows.
What are the three points of light we’re talking about?
The Key Light – This is the main light used on your subject.
The Fill Light – The purpose of this light is to fill in the shadows created by the key light, preventing them from getting too dark.
The Back Light – This is used to separate the subject from the background.
What is fill lighting?
Fill light is form of supplementary light mainly used to lighten shadows in an image. Fill light is often used in portrait photography to create a contrast between the image subject and image background giving the scene a sense of depth despite the final product being 2 dimensional. In this situation the use of fill light also reduces the overall dynamic range of the scene allowing for easier selection of the exposure settings required to capture an image. When fill light is correctly applied it does not significantly impact the main light source of an image.
For the street photography shoot we went out into town to try and capture some photographs and portraits.
Below is the contact sheet of the photographs I was able to capture. Not all of the images came out successful as there was some issues with motion blur and the camera taking too long to focus and not being able to capture someone as they were moving however there were some successful photographs where motion blur became a happy accident and some images worked well.
Contact Sheet from shoot
Outcomes of the Shoot
Below I have my most successful outcomes of the shoot, not all are completely in focus but I feel they work with the images that they are and I can relate them to some other professional photographers that also use motion blur to their advantage in their photographs.
Own Photograph | DSC-0003
DSC-0003: For this photograph I feel it works well due to one man being in focus and still at the back of the image but having the man that is towards the front of the image out of focus due to motion I feel it creates a different perspective and depth as usually the background is slightly out of focus and the foreground is sharp, however it is swapped for this photograph and I feel that it is that which helps to make it a successful photograph. I have experimented and placed the photograph into black and white to see how the photograph plays out without the colour which I also feels works with this image.
DSC-0003 | Black and White VersionOwn Photograph | DSC-0004Own Photograph | DSC-0033Own Photography | DSC-0012
DSC-0012: For this photograph my initial intention was to have the woman in focus however due to the act of her moving and the background being more still she become slightly out of focus and the background very clear, however I still feel that this image works well as we can pick up on some visual connections between what the lady is wearing and the coloured stripes that can be seen in the background and this is a visual connection that can work well. I feel I could relate this photograph to ones like Bruce Gilden’s as some of his photographs also contain motion blurs.
Street photography, also sometimes called Candid photography is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. Although there is a difference between street and candid photography, it is usually subtle with most street photography being candid in nature and some candid photography being classifiable as street photography. Street photography does not necessitate the presence of a street or even the urban environment.
Acandid photograph is a photograph captured without creating a posed appearance. This is achieved in many ways, for example:
when the subject is in motion,
by avoiding prior preparation of the subject,
by surprising the subject,
by not distracting the subject during the process of taking photos.
Eren Sarigul | Street Photography
Henri Cartier–Bresson
“To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It’s a way of life.”
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as capturing a decisive moment. Cartier-Bresson was one of the founding members of Magnum Photos in 1947.
Magnum Photos
In early 1947, Cartier-Bresson, with Robert Capa, David Seymour, William Vandivert and George Rodger founded Magnum Photos. Capa’s brainchild, Magnum was a cooperative picture agency owned by its members. The team split photo assignments among the members. Rodger, who had quit Life in London after covering World War II, would cover Africa and the Middle East. Chim, who spoke a variety of European languages, would work in Europe. Cartier-Bresson would be assigned to India and China.
Cartier-Bresson achieved international recognition for his coverage of Gandhi’s funeral in India in 1948 and the last stage of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. He covered the last six months of the Kuomintang administration and the first six months of the Maoist People’s Republics. He also photographed the last surviving Imperial eunuchs in Beijing, as the city was falling to the communists. In Shanghai, he often worked in the company of photojournalist Sam Tata, whom Cartier-Bresson had previously befriended in Bombay. From China, he went on to Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), where he documented the gaining of independence from the Dutch. In 1950, Cartier-Bresson had traveled to the South India. He had visited Tiruvannamalai, a town in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu and photographed the last moments of Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramana Ashram and it’s surroundings. A few days later he also visited and photographed Sri Aurobindo, Mother and Sri Aurobindo Ashram.
Magnum’s mission was to “feel the pulse” of the times and some of its first projects were People Live Everywhere, Youth of the World, Women of the World and The Child Generation. Magnum aimed to use photography in the service of humanity, and provided arresting, widely viewed images.
Henri Cartier-Bresson | Magnum Photos | Ramana Maharshi
The Decisive Moment
In 1952, Cartier-Bresson published his book Images à lasauvette, whose English-language edition was titled The DecisiveMoment, although the French language title actually translates as “images on the sly” or “hastily taken images”. Images à la sauvette included a portfolio of 126 of his photos from the East and the West.
Cartier-Bresson took his keynote text from the 17th century Cardinal de Retz, “Il n’y a rien dans ce monde qui n’ait un moment decisif” (“There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment”). Cartier-Bresson applied this to his photographic style. He said: “To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression.”
Henri Cartier-Bresson | The Decisive Moment
Analysis
Henri Cartier-Bresson | Gandhi | 1948
Technical: There seems to be the use of natural lighting in this photograph there is no harsh lights which gives off the impression that it is the natural lighting in the room which is giving the photograph the light. There is a strong focus in the foreground of the photograph where Gandhi himself is seated and then towards the background of the photograph it becomes a little less focused but there is also a strong sense of depth and you can see the layers in the image as there is a clear foreground, mid ground and background creating perspective and a sense of depth.
Visual Elements: Visually there is a lot of tone throughout the image it is lighter and brighter towards the front of the image and in the background there is a lot more dark tones created by the shadows and gives a contrast in the photograph, as it is lighter in the front of the photograph compared to the back it also helps us understand that the light source would be coming front behind the camera and looking on at the scene. Our eyes are easily lead through this photograph as they move from one person easily to the next and this creates a leading line as it leads us towards the back end point of the photograph.
Context/ Concept: The photograph shows Gandhi dictating a message at Birla House, the residence where he spent his last days and in which he was assassinated, just before breaking his fast. Delhi, India. 1948. Cartier-Bresson initially set out to create a photographic essay that would capture the essence of the country, its past and present at a time of rapid social change. India’s recent independence from Britain had quickly deteriorated into unrest with the dividing of the country into Hindu India and Muslim East and West Pakistan. At the centre of these upheavals was Mahatma Gandhi, who, after campaigning for India’s independence, was now protesting for the end of the violence between Hindus and Muslims. Cartier-Bresson had exclusive access to Gandhi, recording the activist’s hunger strike in protest of riots in which millions died. However, with the assassination of Gandhi on January 30, 1948, the day after he had taken his portrait, he unexpectedly found himself witness to a major historical event.
Emotional Response: My initial emotional response to this photograph is that it is quite a light photograph creating it to seem almost uplifting in a way.
Comparison to other Photographers
Bruce Gilden
“I love the people I photograph. I mean, they’re my friends. I’ve never met most of them or I don’t know them at all, yet through my images I live with them.”
-Bruce Gilden
Bruce Gilden (born 1946) is an American street photographer. He is best known for his candid close-up photographs of people on the streets of New York City, using a flashgun. He has had numerous books of his work published, has received the European Publishers Award for Photography and is a Guggenheim Fellow. Gilden has been a member of Magnum Photos since 1998.
Bruce Gilden was fascinated with people on the street and the idea of visual-spontaneity. His work is characterized by his use of flash photography and he has mostly worked in black and white, but began shooting in digital and colour when he was introduced to the Leica S camera as part of Magnums’s Postcard’s from America Project.
Henri Cartier Bresson (below) | Bruce Gilden (above) | Comparison
Both Henri Cartier-Bresson and Bruce Gilden produce documentary photography, however in two different styles and ways. Bruce Gilden is very extreme in the way he takes his photographs by using a flashgun and creates very up-close portraits of the general public and people on the streets in busy urban areas such as Brooklyn, New York. Neither of the photographers went into a lot of effort to alter the moment that they were capturing they wanted to document it raw and as it was however Bruce Gilden was a lot more intense and extreme with the way he took his photographs getting up close to the people very quickly and for a short span of time. Henri Cartier-Bresson, however, played a more subtle approach and captured the moments either from the side of the scene or mixed in the crowds that were on-looking. Technically, Gilden’s work seem to contain more contrast due to him using the flashgun as he works, Gilden’s photographs seem to be more busy and have more noise compared to some of Cartier-Bresson’s work.
Robert Frank
“When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice.” ― Robert Frank
Robert Frank(born 1924) is a Swiss-American photographer and documentary film maker. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled The Americans, earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and nuanced outsider’s view of American society. The Americansreveal Frank’s mature style, which is characterized by bold composition and ironic, sometimes bitter, social commentary.
Frank became associated with the so-called ‘Beat Circle’, a group of poets, writers and artists – beatniks – who exemplified the apolitical, free-form spirit of post-war American existentialism. Having made his living as a commissioned commercial photographer, but left feeling frustrated artistically in that role, Frank took his 35mm camera onto the streets and highways of America where he honed his highly influential style of wandering, observational photography. Frank shunned the principle of balanced compositions in favor of crooked, grainy high contrasts in black and white and his revolutionary approach to his subjects was to prove decisive in the development of a more authentic reportage photography.
Henri Cartier-Bresson (below) | Robert Frank – Parade Hoboken New Jersey 1955 (above) | Comparison
Both Frank and Cartier-Bresson use their photography to document moments and people lives. Frank wanted to be both intuitive and ‘somehow engaged’ and his goal was to capture through his lens the way in which the environment had effected him on a personal level. Rather than capturing the environment effecting him on a personal level Cartier-Bresson felt his camera was and extension of his eye and wanted to capture visually stimulating material and he could linger for hours observing waiting for the perfect moment. In this aspect both Frank and Cartier-Bresson are similar in what they might look for but their work is also similar in the way it presents itself, both of their works hold a lot of tone, some of Franks tend to be on the darker toned side compared to Cartier-Bresson.
