Collaborative Responses

 As a class we decided to re-create some famous tableaux vivants photographs and paintings.  We chose to use the three below to re-create: Eugene Delacroix ‘Leading the People’, Carravagio ‘Deposition’ and David La Chapelle ‘The Last Supper’.

Eugene Delacroix ‘Leading the People’

Carravagio ‘Deposition’

David La Chapelle ‘The Last Supper’

Our Responses:

These are our responses to the photos. In each different shoot we had a cameraman, director and a lighting person to organize each aspect and make sure it all went smoothly; as well as models, we also switched up the roles for each shoot.

Comparing Street Photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson and Bruce Gilden

“I’m known for taking pictures very close, and the older I get, the closer I get”- Bruce Gilden

Bruce Gilden – Mini Biography

 Gilden is well known for his unique portraiture style. Gilden was born in 1946 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, he went on to study at Pennsylvania State University but then later dropped out after finding it too boring. He then later went onto dabbling into being an actor and then settled on the idea of becoming a photographer after buying a camera. Bruce Gilden attended some lessons on Photography, however he is generally considered a self-taught Photographer.

Comparing Henri Cartier-Bresson and Bruce Gilden

Earlier Inclinations

Both Bruce Gilden’s and Cartier-Bresson’s earlier inclinations toward painting and acting influenced their later careers in Photography.  After seeing Three Boys at Lake Tanganiyka (c. 1929) by Hungarian Photographer Martin Munkacsi, Cartier-Bresson was inspired to pursue photography with a seriousness that had been absent in his previous dabbling with the medium. He remembered the experience, saying, “I suddenly understood that photography can fix eternity in a moment. ” Bruce Gilden began his photography career as a bored ‘college dropout’ who was lacking inspiration after leaving University. He was  fascinated with people on the street and the idea of visual spontaneity, Gilden turned to a career in photography.

Magnum Photos

Along with other influential Photographers, Henri Cartier-Bresson founded the Magnum Photo Cooperative in 1947. The agency helped protect the interests of the photographers, the rightful owners of their negatives and all reproduction rights. The founding members of Magnum divided and travelled the world with Cartier-Bresson documenting Asia. Bruce Gilden later became a member of Magnum Photos in 1998.

Examples of Bruce Gilden’s Photos

Examples of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Photos

Natural Lighting

Light Intensity, White Balance & Temperature

Light intensity refers to how harsh or soft the light is and can change quickly. Direct sunlight usually produces harsh light, especially during the middle of the day. This is not ideal for portraits because shadows are short and deep and contrast will be high. As I was next to a window here and inside: the light is soft and cool toned, there is no warmth from the sun or any artificial lighting. I’ve found that when taking photos in the day it is better to take them inside as there is no harsh lighting. If you are shooting outside in the sun, the subject will have warm tones and the lighting will be harsher. However you can still shoot outside and avoid harshness, for example, shooting in the “golden hour” produces a soft, diffused light and is more flattering than the harsh sun. Clouds covering direct sunlight can create a softer more diffused light as well making or a more flattering cooler toned portrait.

Examples of harsh direct sunlight and golden hour:

Light Direction

This is the direction that the light is coming from, the direction of light on your subject is one of the most important aspects of creating a strong portrait. The way light hits your subject will display the highlighted features, the emotional appeal and the viewer’s perception. Back lighting, front lighting, side lighting and top lighting are the four main types of directional lighting. Here I have used side lighting as it can easily be done by moving your subject into a doorway or next to a window. Side lighting gives more depth to a person and can help to create stronger emotions.

Reflectors

Reflectors are often used by photographers to redirect light towards a given subject or scene. Many reflectors have a black side that can be used to block out light instead of to reflect it. Reflectors are also great for bouncing a flash when there’s nothing around to bounce off of. There are white, silver, gold and black reflectors which all do different things. The white side casts a very soft, clean light and is useful in studio where flash is used, or when there is good light outside like during a sunny noon-time shoot. The metallic gold material casts a very strong warm light onto the subject.  The black side isn’t actually a reflector at all.  It’s an anti-reflector, black reflector to cast a shadow on certain areas of the image.  For example, if the lights are producing too even of a light on the model’s face, a the black side of the reflector can cut out the light on one side to create more artistic shadows. The silver side is great for shooting in low light or where a strong light is needed; however, the light is often too strong for mid-day shooting.

Gallery of my photos:

Best Outcomes

Street Photography Photo-shoot

To take these photos I went into the main street in St Helier with our Photography class and just photographed people in the street as they were walking, sitting down or just chatting with someone. At first I was finding it very awkward and quite humiliating as the general population will think it is weird if you’re just walking around taking pictures of people without their permission. I had some good opportunities which I took, some photos turned out pretty well and in focus with the right lighting and some the opposite. However, nearing the end of our time photographing I started finding it easier to just take photos in the street and became more confident around it.

Gallery of All The Photos Taken:

One significant character we encountered whilst taking these photos was this homeless man. He approached our group as we were finishing off by just talking about our experiences, etc. He photographed very well and had very unique clothes on, also the fact he was smoking a cigarette made the photos even more interesting. Unfortunately when we all had a great opportunity to take an interesting photo (with the person looking directly into the camera and not moving), my camera wasn’t in the right setting so my photos of him didn’t turn out as well as they could have.

Thankfully after finishing, my friend and I saw him again on the street, this time I wanted to take more photos. We both asked him for photos and he agreed, I started up a conversation with the man to learn more about him and he told us about his homelessness, that he is a Jersey man but moved to Southampton, then returned to Jersey in the 70s. He also said he wants to leave Jersey but cannot, I asked why and he told me “he has a bad name”, I found this interesting but didn’t want to dig any further as he came across very bizarre and quite intimidating/dodgy at times.

My Favourite Photos

Edited into black and white as I prefer it to colour, as I think it looks better, some have also been cropped.

This is one of my favourites as he seems to be very disconnected to the world around him and just drawing/noting things down in his notebook.This one really reminds me of Dougie Wallace’s Work, as the women look wealthy especially due to their handbags and fur coats. Also their facial expressions seem to be disapproving and snobby in a way.I found this woman’s facial expression’s and clothing interesting. She was also singing to herself as she walking down the street. I had to follow her for a couple minutes to get a good shot as she walked quite fast and didn’t look at the camera at all. To me this an accurate representation of a grumpy/disapproving Jersey man, he embodies this well in his body language.This woman’s expression can also be regarded as being disapproving or maybe a bit sad in some ways.To me this woman looking up to the sky seems quite hopeful, she looks as if she could be waiting for something.This trio all seem to be in the same slumped body posture, all looking a bit depressed over something which we will never know about.This is one of the photos where I had the perfect opportunity but I had my camera was out of focus, however I still like this one. This was taking whilst we began talking to him again, I like this stare directly into the camera.

This one was very much a ‘Decisive Moment’ photo for me. I saw what may be a couple or perhaps even a mother and son and just took the photo without thinking much about it, they seemed to be having a proud moment where she just touched his face in admiration. I like this one as it juxtaposes the others which are quite dark and dismal.

Henri Cartier-Bresson and “The Decisive Moment”

“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 was a French Photographer. Born in Cantaloupe-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne in 1904. From the beginning Cartier-Bresson had a fascination with painting, particularly with Surrealism. In 1932, after spending a year in the Ivory Coast, he discovered the Leica and began a life-long passion for photography. 

In 1933, he had his first exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York. Cartier-Bresson was taken as a prisoner of war in 1940, he escaped on his third attempt in 1943 and therefore joined an underground organization to help prisoners and escapees. In 1945, he photographed the liberation of Paris with a group of professional journalists, and then filmed the documentary Le Retour (The Return).

Key Images from Henri Cartier-Bresson:

 Henri Cartier-Bresson. Gestapo informer recognized by a woman she had denounced, Transit Camp, Dessau, Germany. 1945. Self Portrait of Henri Cartier-Bresson

WEST GERMANY. 1962. West Berlin. The Berlin wall.

Key Image Analysis:

Seville, Andalusia, Spain 1933.

This image was taken in Seville at the beginning of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s career as a photographer. It has a strong form with a large amount of perspective. A small group play in a very un-childlike environment; some address the camera, others continue their activities unconsciously. The audience sees a large gang of boys through a large hole in a wall which frames the scene. Without knowing the date, one might guess that it was taken during the Spanish Civil War (1936–9) or afterwards. The fact that it was taken in 1933 gives it a strange sense of foreshadowing. The boys seem to be playing at war in the ruins of a war that has not yet happened. It almost seems as if the boys who are closest to the camera have broken or ventured out of the world that the rest are in, due to the fact that the borders of the wall resemble paper and they have torn out of the print.

‘The Decisive Moment’

‘The Decisive Moment’ is a term devised by the pioneer of street photography, Henri Cartier-Bresson. Cartier-Bresson believed that The Decisive Moment’was that split second of genius and inspiration that a photographer had to capture a certain moment. For example, that half of a second that you have when a man is jumping over a puddle or when a couple embraces for a kiss .This moment is fleeting, meaning that once you miss that half of a second to capture that moment, it is gone forever. You can never recreate the same circumstances in terms of location and people.

The Decisive Moment—originally called Images à la Sauvette—is one of the most famous books in the history of photography.

“The Decisive Moment” teaches that the best photo opportunities often flash before our eyes and we must always be ready to capture these moments. That means bringing around your camera everywhere you go. Street photography is built on the average and ordinary moments, so any moment is a potential for a great photograph.

MAGNUM PHOTO AGENCY

Magnum Photos is an international photographic ‘cooperative’ owned by its photographer-members, with offices in New York City, Paris, London and Tokyo. According to co-founder Henri Cartier-Bresson, “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.

In 1947, with Robert Capa, George Rodger, David ‘Chim’ Seymour and William Vandivert, he founded Magnum Photos. The Magnum cooperative has included photojournalists from across the world, who have covered many historical events of the 20th century. The cooperative’s archive includes photographs depicting family life, drugs, religion, war, poverty, famine, crime, goverment and celebrities.

Street Photography

Street Photography, known also by the name candid photography are genres of photography which involves random incidents and chance encounters on public places/streets. Street Photographers can be seen as Flâneur (an observer of the streets).

‘Flâneur, from the French noun flâneur, means “stroller”, “lounger”, “saunterer”, or “loafer”. Flânerie is the act of strolling, with all of its accompanying associations.’

Framing and timing are some of the key aspects of this craft, with the aim of some street photography being to create images at a decisive or moving moment. Street Photography mainly focuses on people’s behavior which in turn also records people’s character and history. This genre of photography can be seen as relating to social documentary photographers and journalists who also work in public places and mean to capture newsworthy events.

Here are some examples of Street Photography:

Youtube videos on tips for beginners and what Street Photography is:

August Sander – Case Study

August Sander was a German photographer born (born November 17, 1876, Herdorf, near Cologne, Germany—died April 20, 1964, Cologne.) Sander acquired his first camera in 1892, where he took up photography as a hobby. After his service in the military, Sander began to look into Photography as a profession. He started by working in photography firms and studios in Germany. In the year of 1904 August had opened his own studio, after this he settled permanently in Cologne.

After photographing local farmers in Cologne, Sander had become inspired to produce portraits of German people from all social classes and different backgrounds. Sander’s portraits were usually very stark and distinct. The person would be standing straight on in natural light. The class and profession were evident to see by looking at their clothes, gestures and the background of the portrait.

Key portraits from Sander:

Key Image Analysis:

This influential portrait of a bricklayer was taken in 1928 by Sander, it is still one of his most celebrated portraits. This photo depicts a bricklayer (whose profession is clearly very hard-wearing and strenuous) maintaining a proud/strong pose despite of what he is going through. It seems that the bricklayer is emerging from the darkness and there is some light shining directly onto his face, his head is almost framed by the bricks around his neck which creates a dramatic noticeable effect. The bricklayer’s tough stare and strong pose with the hand on the waist also creates the idea he is powerful.

This photograph belongs to Sander’s project ‘People of the 20th Century’ which is centered on a social analysis of the German people at the time. Sander divided his portraits into seven main groups:

‘The Farmer’, ‘The Skilled Tradesman’, ‘The Woman’, ‘Classes and Professions’, ‘The Artists, The City’ and ‘The Last People’.

This photograph is from the group ‘The Skilled Tradesman’.

Environmental Portraits

An environmental portrait is a portrait taken of a person or people in a situation that they live in and a place that says something about who they are. It is often a place of work, rest or play.

Here are some examples of environmental portraits:

This is a small gallery of photos I took whilst going around the school to find some people in their environments. Some were harder than others to photograph as there was no natural lighting or it was too exposed but overall I think a few photos turned out quite well after adjusting camera settings or how the people in the pictures were posing e.g if they made eye contact or not and their positioning.

A Few Successful Photos:

   I edited a few of them to be darker because the photo was too exposed and edited others to be cooler toned rather than yellow toned.

Alfried Krupp – Arnold Newman

Saturday, July 6, 1963: Portrait of Alfried Krupp, Essen, Germany.

“By exaggerating or minimizing his subjects’ surroundings, [Arnold Newman] crafted impressionistic gems… that suggested his sitters’ personalities” wrote TIME magazine.

Above is an iconic environmental portrait  taken by Arnold Newman, (a Jewish photographer) in 1963. Alfried Krupp was a Nazi war criminal notorious for allegedly using slave labor in his factories (which can be seen in the background of this image.) Krupp contacted the famous Newman for a portrait in 1963. After finding out that Newman was a Jew, Krupp refused to let him make the photograph.

Newman insisted to have Krupp look at his portfolio before making a final decision and after seeing Newman’s portfolio Krupp accepted. So on July 6, 1963, the industrialist and the auteur went into a derelict factory in Essen which belonged to Krupp, where Newman decided to make Krupp look as evil as possible under the eerie demonic lighting of the factory.

This portrait was taken using a wide angle lens, there is a strong sense of perspective, the lighting is almost demonic with green tinge which make the subject appear very sinister. Krupp is presented as being very smug and almost proud of his actions, this is seen through his posing: his hands being placed together and his smile, his position of being above and in front of the factory also suggests this.