Henri Cartier- Bresson

HIS EARLY LIFE: Henri was a French humanist photographer, he created street photography and was known as the master of candid photography (taking pictures of people who are not in a posed position). In his early life he did a lot of painting and had a large photography influence and ended up recieving his first camera in 1929 by a man named Harry Crosby and they spend a lot of time taking images together until Henri fell into a sexual relationship with Crosby’s wife. Henri ended up running away from France to Africa in 1931, 2 years after Crosby committed  suicide and his affair with Crosby’s wide ended which left him broken hearted. While in Africa, he survived by shooting game and selling it to local villagers. During doing this he contracted black water fever in the Cote d’lovire which nearly killed him.

Returning to France in 1931  he started up his love for photography again after being inspired by the photojournalist Martin Munkacsi in 1930. After being inspired, Henri took part in his first photojournalist shoot in 1937 where he covered the ‘ Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth for the French weekly regards where he focused on the London streets and not taking pictures of the king himself. He married his wife Ratna Mohini in the same year and they lived in a large studio with a small bedroom, kitchen and bathroom in Paris. This studio is where Cariter- Bresson developed his first film. During 193701939, Cartier- Bresson worked as a photographer for the French Communists evening paper ‘ Ce Soir’.

After Cartier- Bresson started film making in  1936, World War II broke out 3 years later in 39 and he joined the French Army in the Film and Photo unit. In the early year of 1940 he was captured in the French mountains by German soldiers and spend 35 months in prison-of-war camps doing forced labour by the Nazis. On his third attempts of trying to escape he finally did and hid on a farm before getting false papers to get him back to France. Coming towards the end of the War, there were rumors that Cartier- Bresson has been killed due to no one knowing he was working under-ground aiding other escapees. While working under ground, his dug up his hidden Leica camera which had been buried in farmland near Vosges.

LATER LIFE: Cartier- Bresson’s photography took him to places all around the work and he became the first Western photographer to photograph ‘ freely’. After working for Vogue in 1962, he withdrew as a principle of Magnum in 1966 to concentrate on portraiture and landscapes. Cariter- Bresson ended up retiring from photography in the early 70s and by 1975 did not take any more images. He returned to mainly drawing while still keeping his camera safe at home. He helf his first exhibition of drawings in 1975- Carlton Gallery, New York.

He died on August 3rd, 2005 at age 95. There was no cause of death announced, he was buried by his wife and daughter in the local cemetery.

MOOD BOARD..( NOT MY IMAGES) 

Analysation 

Technical analysis 

While looking at this image technically, i quickly notices that this image was taken with a wide lens due to us being able to see a large surface of the image, i can also tell that this image is in full focus and therefore doesn’t include a depth of field, this allows us to make more of a contextual and conceptual decision on the picture. Even though this image has been edited, i can also tell that the image has been taken under natural daylight due to the background ( mountains and sky) which means the White balance was set to ‘Daylight’ mode. I think that there was a high ISO used to take this image due to the detail in the subject of the image, as well as being able to see contrast in the image.

Visual analysis 

The visual aspect of this image is very obvious and we can see that the image has been edited to a black and white effect. Using this black and white effect has also allowed for there to be more of a contrast in the image due to the dark colouring of certain object and the lightness of the sky and snow on mountains. The shape of this image is a 2D flat which is allowing us to see the background of the image.

Contextual analysis

While looking at this image, i cannot get a feel for around the year this image was taken. However, due to the subject of the picture not having his shirt on but there being snow on mountains in the background, i am guessing that that this image was taken in France at a reunion camp due to the father and daughter hugging and seeing the people in the background looking a little frantic, like they’re looking for the ones they love.

Conceptual analysis 

I think the reasoning for this photo being taken is because of the very touching situation that is happening. The way i interpret the image is that there is a father and daughter reuniting which is shown through the tight hugging where you can see the mans arms tensing. All though the man is making eye contact with the camera, i think that his eyes are showing relief.

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Comparison to Saul Leiter 

Saul Leiter was born December 3rd 1923 and was known as a color and black and white photographer from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Leiter was given his first camera at the age of twelve by his mother. However, Leither then went into art and was lucky enough to meet Eugene Smith who then encouraged Leither to become a photographer. He started taking color photographs in 1948 and began associating with other contemporary photographers

Leiter was then a fashion photographer from 1950- 1970 and photographed for Vogue, Elle and Nova.

Leiter’s photographers ranged in focus. He tended to experiment a lot with depth of fields which made his images very interesting as every image is different. I think that Leiters use of colour with the different depth of fields helps us to identify the surroundings more as some of the depth of fields used completely blur the picture which can sometimes make it hard to identify what the picture actually it. After analysing his images i have also noticed that he liked to take his images through windows which is shown by the mist on the windows, the rain or the reflection.

MOOD BOARD.. (NOT MY IMAGES)

Similarities to Cariter- Bresson

The technical similarities in their way of taking photos include using natural/daylight when taking their images as most pictures have been shown to be taken outside. Both photographers also have all of the image in focus majority of the time therefore the audience can see what the model is doing which can add a story to the image. While analyzing their images, I think that both photographers used a high shutter speed in order to capture the images the way they did on the mood boards due to them all being very clear with no blurring.

After visually looking at the image i can tell that the photographers both tended to take pictures of the public who are not engaged with the camera, as well as their images being edited into black and white. Using the black and white edit has also added tone and contrast to the image due to the darker parts in the original picture standing out more. Most of their images are in 2D which allows us to see the surroundings that the models are in.

Both photographers also have a large history of being very well known and have both worked for the large fashion company Vogue.

Differences to Cariter- Bresson

After analyzing both of their works, i found it very difficult to detect any differences between the two and i have come to a conclusion that they are very similar and work in the same way.

ARNOLD NEWMAN 

The image below was taken by Arnold Newman in 1963 and is a very well known image because of the message the image conveys.

Context 

The image was taken in 1963  due to industrialist Alfred Krupp contacted Newman for a portrait image on him. Newman planned to take the images of Krupp and while doing so discovered that Krupp transported materials to assist the Nazi’s during the second world war, and after finding out Newman was Jewish, Krupp refused to see Newman again. However, Krupp was persuaded through Newman’s very impressive portfolio to allow Newman to take the images. Because of the situation where Krupp didn’t want to see Newman anymore because of his religion, Newman used this to his advantage and made Krupp look sinister in the most weird way as revenge for Krupp’s influence in the prosecution of Jews.

Emotional response 

When first looking at this image i quickly saw the ‘ old white man’ placed in the center of the photograph which  drew me in due to the shadowing on the mans face due to the light above him. I feel as if the eye contact he gives the camera shows a dark personality and add a sinister feel to the image. I also noticed the lack of bright lights in the image which helped to contrast with the little colour in the image adding a cold and again sinister feel to the time.

I also found that the way the man presented himself with his hands together and sat in a suit suggests that he is a business man and he is of high class.

Visual 

The image is very interesting to the eye due to the very busy background of the image in  contrast to the dark lighting and the subject of the image which is the man. At first i though that the background of the image was just a random set scene. However, after researching about the image and finding out that Krupp helped transport materials for the Nazi’s in WW2 i realized the the place he is in is his underground transportation station. This instantly made me feel unconformable as i questioned why he would want to be photographed in this place and why he was proud of it. This again dded to the sinister feel of the image.

Technical

The first technical aspect of this image i noticed was the use of the texture shown through different objects found within the location of the train station. The texture is shown due to the rust on the objects which also signal that the objects are old and have been used for a long time. The background is also very busy which and there is a lot of movement shown which shows that it is a fully operating station. The depth of field of the image is large and the man being close to the camera instead of within the scenery adds a long depth of field due to us being able to see the whole background. The man also being in sharp focus suggests that he is the subject of the image.

Conceptual Response 

The facial expressions that the man is making suggests that he is up to not good and has something evil planned, the location he is in also suggests that the image is very old however him being in a suit suggests he could be an owner of the location. This image is very up to debate..

Environmental portraits 

“An environmental portrait is a portrait executed in the subject’s usual environment, such as in their home or workplace, and typically illuminates the subject’s life and surroundings. The term is most frequently used of a genre of photography.” (Wikipedia)

Mood Board

Arnold Newman

Arnold Newman was an American photographer, noted for his environmental portraits.  He was born 3 March 1918, and started to make 48 cent portraits in 1938 which led onto him purchasing and creating his own business in Miami Beach during 1945. Due to his careers taking a massive turn in this year he then decided to re locate to New York in 1946 due to there being more opportunities. He was very successful in New York and ended up being well known for his work of portraits and abstract still life pictures.

Newman’s environmental images were black and white based and all have different stories which are portrayed through the models facial expressions during the time the image was taken.

His images tended to be taken from lots of different angles and focused a lot of the coloring of the background in contrast to the subject matter of the model. In all his images the models are always facing forward to the camera which gives the audience a clear understanding of whats happening in the image.

Example- 

Analyzing 

In this image there is a clear showing of how the man is feeling due to him facing directly forward with his face fully shown. The background of the image helps us to understand that this man in the photograph is a conductor due to the instruments and the prop he has in his left hand which is known as a baton and makes his role more convincing.  The conductors facial expressions and the environment he is in  suggests to the audience that the conductor is tired/ stressed/ drained and bored which helps the audience to relate to the situation .

This image has been taken at  a higher level rather than a even face level which helps to capture the full background while the black and white effect helps to add more tone to the background in contrast to the subject matter.

Planning my Photo shoot 

In these photographs  will be using multiple models in their natural environment. I will be capturing them doing normal tasks they would carry out. Most of the images will be taken midday under artificial lighting. I will be using manual focus in all my images to ensure i can change the ISO, shutter speed, the focus and the white balance.

Contact sheets 

Best outcomes