Henri Cartier–Bresson (1908-2004), arguably the most significant photographer of the twentieth-century, was one of the co-founders of Magnum Photos in 1947 and champion of the “decisive moment”. He brought a new aesthetic and practice to photography, initiated modern photojournalism, and influenced countless followers.

He enjoyed street photography and viewed photography as capturing a “decisive moment”

Analysing one of his images-

Technical- It looks like this photo is taken in natural lighting as there would be no way of getting artificial lighting in at this scene. There’s a lot of contrast between the white and black sections of the photograph especially seen when there are 3 young boys wearing black suits and the rest are in normal white clothing. There’s no colour which creates quite a cold tone and the photo is taken from further away making the whole background visible. Its a sharp and focused photo which was most likely taken on a high shutter speed as it’s not blurry.

Visual – The photo is in black and white with many different tones of light and dark. There’s an oval like shape of the walls which creates a suttle frame for the photo and gives me the illusion of looking through into a different world. The boys standing on the edges makes it easier to look into the photograph.

Contextual- This photo was taken in 1933. This photograph has sometimes been misinterpreted as a document of the Spanish Civil War, but it was made three years before that war began.

Conceptual– Knowing that was this photo was taken 3 years before the Spanish Civil War makes the viewer think about what might have happened to all the young boys during the war- did some of them fight and be soldiers or did some not make it?

Henri Cartier- Bresson was one of the co-founders of Magnum photo agency in 1947. He was the first foreign professional photographer to be allowed into the USSR since the death of Stalin in 1953.

Comparing to Dougie Wallace-

Dougie walks around the British streets and photographs random individuals that he thinks stand out or have interesting characteristics. Once he spots the person he wants to photograph he simply gets up really close to the them and quicky takes a photo with the flash on. He uses the flash because it creates the idea of a busy atmosphere and anxiety as large cities tend to be packed with different individuals and are always very busy.

Differences- Dougie uses flash when he takes his photos whereas Henri doesnt. Dougies work is in colour and there’s more going/ movement in his photos compared to Henris photography which is all in black and white and has a powerful meaning behind each photo. Dougies work makes you think that you’re there in the city as the photos are so close to the different individuals , however Henri’s photographs his work from a lot further away and tries to capture the background as well as the people.

Similarities- Both Dougie and Henri focus on street photography and try to capture how different people live or lived. There’s not many similarities between the two because they have both very different styles of capturing various moments in the streets.

I think that both of Dougie and Henri have completely different intentions when trying to capture street photography. Dougies photos are very vivid with colour and the atmosphere of the photo is chaotic whereas Henri’s photos are dull and black and white which creates a sad atmosphere and as if there’s a meaning or story to tell behind each photo.