I think these are my best images because they are all focused well and edited to truly enhance the best features of light in each. I think they are all interesting and cinematographic in their own ways and I like that they seem to tell a story.
“Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004), a French photographer who is considered to be one of the creators of photojournalism and masters of candid photography. He sought to capture the ‘everyday’ in his photographs and took great interest in recording human activity.
As a reporter and co-founder of the Magnum photography agency, Cartier-Bresson accepted his responsibility to supply information to a world in a hurry. He documented the liberation of Paris, the collapse of the Nationalist regime in China, Gandhi’s funeral and the partitioning of Berlin.
Cartier-Bresson helped develop the street photography style that has influenced generations of photographers that followed, his work has such a large impact and influence on street photographers because his work was influenced by Surrealism.
The Decisive Moment
The Decisive Moment, Henri Cartier-Bresson’s influential publication, is widely considered to be one of the most important photobooks of the twentieth century. Pioneering for its emphasis on the photograph itself as a unique narrative form, The Decisive Moment was described by Robert Capa as “a Bible for photographers.” Originally titled Images à la Sauvette (“images on the run”) in the French, the book was published in English with a new title, The Decisive Moment, which unintentionally imposed the motto which would define Cartier-Bresson’s work.
‘Photographs furnish evidence. Something we hear about, but doubt, seems proven when we’re shown a photograph of it’
– Susan Sontag from her book ‘On Photography- In Plato’s Cave’
In our world today, photography is accepted as an art, being a form of expression. However it was not always like this. After its invention as a new technology in the early 19th century, photography was immediately seen as a threat to the world of art, artists refusing to see it as another medium. Photography was an outcast, being seen as a danger to artists and it was even believed that ‘when the process of taking photographs in colours has been perfected and made common enough, the painter will have nothing more to do’, as said by the artist Henrietta Clopath in a1901 issue of Brush and Pencil. This fear caused the early form of photography to create a sense of distaste in the minds of these seemingly closed- minded artists. It was a fear of a photograph being able to capture the likeness of something perfectly, in a way no artist could ever do. If not fearful of the new invention, critics were very dismissive of the new medium, one even saying how photography could never recreate ‘that refined feeling and sentiment which animate the productions of a man of genius’ in a 1855 issue of The Crayon. Therefore, photography was simply seen as a mechanism that recorded visual facts of the world, which contrasts with the more modern idea of photography not always being truthful. Despite photography having a primary purpose of representing reality, it can easily create illusions. In the essay I will be exploring how photos can depict made up scenarios, creating staged photographs.
Nowadays, AI has the same effect on the world as photography once had, if not even more extreme. Artificial Intelligence has a massive impact on our world, whether it is used to create images or generate text. AI is quite a controversial topic, provoking many disputes since it can easily deceive people with its ability of obtaining realism. AI is based on a massive amount of data that has been inputted into the internet, helping it become more and more accurate through the years. Today, we are at a stage where prompts can be put into generative AIs such like Midjourney which creates images based off of existing images and any prompts the user inputs and ChatGPT, a chatbot that can even produce essays on any topic. Despite such applications showing the development of our technologies, such programs create many issues in our society, even simple things that helping students with their homework. Most people are aware that AI has many benefits as well as dangers, but the dangers of it were especially highlighted when Geoffrey Hinton, commonly referred to as the ‘Godfather of AI’, stopped working with Google as he wanted to ‘focus solely on his concerns about AI’. Hinton believes AI could find a way to be ‘very good at manipulation’ and even find a way to ‘manipulate people to do what it wants’. Coming from someone with so much knowledge about the matter, it is quite concerning to learn that Hinton believes that ‘it (AI) will figure out ways of getting round the restrictions we put on it’. Judging by how quickly AI is generating, I think there is truth in this statement, especially coming from such a powerful individual. It does seem very extreme however, like something that would happen in the sci-fi movies that people my age grew up watching.
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/02/tech/hinton-tapper-wozniak-ai-fears/index.html – Why the ‘Godfather of AI’ decided he had to ‘blow the whistle’ on the technology.
In this essay I will be analysing the work of two artists: Robert Capa who created the famous ‘Death of a Loyalist Soldier’ and Philip Toledano who creates AI generated images of Donald Trump. Capa’s photo was arguably ‘staged’ and Toledano’s photo isn’t real, and I think these two images have a bigger link that people would think. Both of them could be controversial in the world of photography, especially the top one which appears as though it is a documentary photo.
When we think of manipulating/ editing images, we immediately think of Photoshop, or some other form of online editing program. However, photographic manipulation has been around since photography itself became a technology. It was done both in a darkroom and the camera itself. Developing pictures in a darkroom is a skill in itself, having to cut up the film, assure the temperature if the mixture is correct and there being a constant risk of ruining your images (a more in depth explanation in the video featured below).
Manipulating photos was a difficult process that took many hours in the darkroom to master. Some of the common techniques for darkroom manipulation are dodging, burning, and collage creating. Dodging decreases the exposure for areas of the print that the photographer wishes to be lighter, a commonly used editing technique to improve the overall look of an image. To do this you hold back or shade the problem area with a dodge tool (a piece of dark cardboard or plastic on the end of a thin metal wand). The dodge tool should be in motion during the exposure, as this helps feather/ smooth the effect and makes it blend into the rest of the photograph. It can also be used on shadows to bring texture into the print. On the other hand, burning is the opposite, when the majority of the image is well lit, so additional exposure would make it too dark. For burning, you add additional light only to the bright area. To do this you cut a hole in cardboard or use your hand in a cup shape to project a beam of light back onto the paper after the main exposure. Overexposure happens a lot in skies or if a heavy flash has been used. Burning is also used to add a vignette to an image.
Collages or combining photos was also a popular technique used in photo manipulation. In the 1850s, French photographer Gustave Le Gray composited segments from several negatives to produce images (mostly seascapes) that had richer and more balanced tones than a single negative could produce. His technique gained popularity and became a good way of correcting photos by using different areas from a range of shots.
Pictorialism was a twentieth century movement that highly valued artistic expression in photography and intended to create photographs that were viewed as esteemed works of fine art. It was very different to the original dislike of photography, finally considering it as a medium of art. Pictorialist photographers used complicated techniques to manipulate their photographs and demonstrate proof of their hard work, such as the use of soft focus, special filters and lens coatings. For example, using a special diffusing lenses produced a softer, dreamier look. Straight photography is more concerned with realistic, straightforward depictions of photography, which opposes the manipulation used by pictorialist photographers.
‘Death of a Loyalist Soldier’ is a famous photograph claimed to have been taken on Saturday, September 5, 1936. It depicts the death of a Republican Iberian Federation of Libertarian Youth soldier, during the Battle of Cerro Muriano in the Spanish Civil War. This image is a simple one, with a bad composition, the sky undefined, however it is one of the most discussed photographs in the world. So what makes it so special? This photograph was taken by Robert Capa, a Hungarian–American war photographer and photojournalist, who look many action shots throughout his life. He took it while being in a battle field with a group of soldiers. Capa began to become inpatient and asked the soldiers to act out a war scene, jumping out of the trenches and pretending to shoot. After some time, Capa was photographing one of the soldier’s when suddenly he was shot (truly this time) by a sniper. When presented to the public, many disputes arose, questioning the photograph’s authenticity. Despite obviously being a real photo, if Capa hadn’t encouraged the men to jump out from the trenches, the man would’ve most likely have survived. So could this photo count as a documentary one, or was it staged?
Even after so many years, there are still many discussions about this photo. The main doubts began in 1975, but many were still being considered in the 2000s. In his 2009 book, ‘Sombras de la Fotografía’ (“Shadows of Photography”), José Manuel Susperregui of the University of País Vasco noticed that landscape was from Espejo and not Cerro Muriano, where Capa claimed it was taken. Furthermore, the 2007 documentary ‘La sombra del iceberg‘ claimed that the picture was staged and that Borrell (the man who reportedly died that day) is not the individual in the picture. Considering this, the credibility of the photo being ‘real’ without any distortion of the truth is disrupted, however I do believe this photo still counts as a documentary photo. I understand the way the picture could be viewed as staged, since the acting Capa encouraged did contribute or even result in the man’s death, many of the ‘facts’ supplied by Capa proven to be inaccurate. Despite this, the precise moment this photograph captured was real, the man’s death one of many that occurred due to the civil war, by a sniper who most likely had no idea about the photographing taking place. The photo still captures the essence of war, the suffering and insignificance of lives that war portrays. War photography is an attempt at capturing moments that represent the true horror of it, as this photo does.
Since 1980, around when the digital age began, photography has been much more successful in altering reality, since the manipulation process has gradually much simpler and more effective. Digital cameras have many functions nowadays, whether it is controlling the exposure or shutter speed, or even immediately applying colour filters. I believe that staged photographs are much more common these days, and that truthful documentary photos are quite rare- due to the amount of editing and staging that occurs in the photography industry.
There are also many types of software that help with image manipulation, the most famous being Photoshop, which makes it extremely simple to adjust photos and change their look. Photoshop and other similar software can even add, erase and stitch together areas of photos, allowing photographers to choose what story their photograph portrays. Despite it creating many controversies and misshaping reality, I think photographers mainly utilise such tools to make their work more interesting, beautiful and artistic. It can create issues however, as undeniably manipulation of photos in the past was mostly only used to enhance the quality/ effectiveness of a photo, whereas now it can be single subjects that are changed (mostly people) and made to look ‘better’ or more interesting. This is mostly seen in fashion magazines, that change the looks of celebrities and models to fit into society’s harsh stereotypes even more. However, it can also be found in seemingly trustworthy places like documentary magazines, making images look more dramatic to attract more attention, rather than showing people the reality.
Many, if not all photos of celebrities that are seen in magazines like Vogue, are edited and changed to look more appealing. The example above clearly indicates this.
This is a AI generated image prompted by Philip Toledano of Donald Trump working at a fast food restaurant, a complete opposite of his real life. He uses MidJourney to create his work and gains some interesting results. Despite the background of the image being slightly obscured, some of the people having distorted faces, at first glace this image is still very realistic- provoking a reaction. This example is clearly generated, Trump would never have a picture taken in such a place due to his high social status, however, Toledano still receives a lot of comments and responses to these images. He wrote how these pictures are an ‘exploration of what might be his (Trump’s) deepest fear- to become what he despises the most’ and I think this is a very interesting use of AI. This image is very enticing as it shows an entirely different side of Trump, and almost mocking him in the process, showing how he is still in fact a human and isn’t ‘better’ than others. It has a strong message of equality within it, with is why I think Toledano’s work is so powerful.
Generative AI such as DreamStudio, Midjourney or DALL E 2 is becoming better and better each day, using either specific photos you put into it or data from the internet. It creates such images from taking information from real pictures similar to the prompts we give it, however, managing to make them completely unique and original, or in different words, making them entirely fake.
Toledano mentioned how ‘AI has its own voice’ and I think this is a very interesting observation. AI creates photos in a way no human ever could, despite it’s outcomes being purely based on images that were taken by humans. Moreover, despite being given prompts, AI doesn’t always apply them all, sometimes even adding things, seemingly making it’s own decisions. I do however think that AI is much more limited than people, lacking imagination and I don’t think that is something it will ever have.
So, can a photograph lie? I think any photograph can lie, however it is mainly due to it’s manipulation and the photographer. Both of these pictures have some aspect of a lie within them, despite one being real and the other fake. Robert Capa’s photo is a lie since a lot of the information about it is questioned or has even been proven wrong, the moment itself (although real) heavily influenced by staged photography. Philip Toledano’s image is AI generated, having no truth in it whatsoever. Both the photo and AI generated images have a great affect on society, however are images slowly becoming more and more untrue? Manipulation of photos is given much less though and effort than it used to, being made simpler by software and AI. Nowadays, photos can completely change or even make up scenarios, whereas in the past they could simply slightly distort it. I don’t believe this is a negative but it is something humans should be wary of, and should learn to not trust everything we see. I think we are much more aware of such manipulation than past generations were however, as Capa’s legendary photo provoked so many reactions and debates due to its lack in reliability. In contrast, editing these days doesn’t create such confusion, except possibly merely giving us something to think about. I think AI is a next big step in the manipulation of images, provoking many different reactions (especially when very realistic). With a click of a few buttons, anyone can create beautiful art or horrific rumours, things we have not learnt to be prepared for. I think photography will always play such an important role in our daily lives as it does today, perhaps even more in the future since it provides us with so much knowledge and leads to many new technologies and findings. On the other hand, I believe AI will slowly be more and more normalised, but will also cause people to be much more hesitant and make anything and everything on the internet untrustworthy, which is a disturbing thought. Our world will never stop developing, which has its positives as well as negatives, and I just hope we will develop with it and learn to control it.
Korn. J (2023), Why the ‘Godfather of AI’ decided he had to ‘blow the whistle’ on the technology. CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/02/tech/hinton-tapper-wozniak-ai-fears/index.html
Rod. S (2021), The Contrasting Ideals of Pictorialism and Straight Photography. Scalar: https://scalar.chapman.edu/scalar/ah-331-history-of-photography-spring-2021-compendium/shanya-rod-essay 3#:~:text=Pictorialist%20photographers%20used%20extensive%20techniques,Pictorial%20Photography%2C%E2%80%9D%20Peter%20C.
Sontag. S (1971), On Photography. London: Penguin Books
Teicher. J (2016), When Photography Wasn’t Art. JstorDaily: https://daily.jstor.org/when-photography-was-not-art/
(2016), Dodging and Burning. Panopticonmaging: www.panopticonimaging.com/wordpress/post_id-4
(2021), The Falling Soldier: The story behind this iconic photograph, 1936. RareHistoricalPhotos: https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/falling-soldier-1936/#:~:text=The%20Falling%20Soldier%20became%20famous,practice%20at%20the%20time)%20staged.
After visiting Will Lakeman’s art exhibition ‘Playtime’, he came into school to give us a workshop on how to use the AI feature in photoshop and some other cool features that we can use to develop our work further. We used an old image of what looked like an abandoned building and were allowed to added to it/ refine it however we liked. For mine I chose to make it look as if it was a late evening in the summer with the sun setting from behind the person taking the image leaving orange tones in the image. As you can see in the second print screen I tried to add a train that looked like it had been left there with the building as if it was an amusement park for children or some sort of activity centre. As we were using AI it didn’t quite come out as I was hoping. I am glad that Will was able to help and show us these tools as it means that I may be able to try an incorporate AI into other parts of my work in the future.
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Faced with the question; ‘can a photograph lie?’, one may be inclined to think immediately of photography as an art form, without considering the importance of the medium as a documentary tool. In the media that we consume every day of our lives, photography has always – since its first press use in the beginning of the 20th century – and will always be used as a tool of conveying news and information. We are programmed to take every image that we see at face value, disregarding a need to obtain proof of what is before us – because, after all, isn’t a photograph proof in itself? This is evidenced in courts of law across the world, where imagery of crime scenes and suspects are used as firm corroboration of what took place during the alleged crime. Furthermore, it reinforces the importance of visualisation to the human brain – we process images 60,000 times faster than text – and this is perhaps why we, as a human race, are susceptible to the possibility of fake imagery and its negative consequences. Bright asks the question ‘what does a ‘real photograph’ even look like; is it something you can hold? Is it something you can see on a screen and alter?’ (Bright, 2019), and this may draw one to consider the validity of what we, as a society, view as indisputable proof.
To aid this investigation, I will be looking at two case studies, one historical and one contemporary. I plan to study Robert Capa’s 1936 Death of a Loyalist Soldier, as I believe that the weight it holds in an investigation into truth in photography is substantial, and the story behind it is truly interesting. Furthermore, I will look at Steve McCurry’s 1983 Taj Mahal and Train in Agra, on account of its controversial staging method and question of stereotypical portrayal.
Even prior to the invention of digital image manipulation, there were methods of concealing or altering elements of images in a darkroom, and hence this is not a new or modern phenomenon. My historical case study does not concern manipulation specifically within the image, although its circumstances are certainly hard to untangle. Allegedly taken in 1936 on the battlefields of the Spanish Civil War, the photograph originally appears to be of a man dying dramatically, presumably of a gunshot wound that is not visible to the viewer. For years, research was done into the casualty records from September 5th, at the Battle of Cerro Muriano, in hopes of obtaining details about the man in the image. However, it later transpired that Capa’s image was staged and did not in fact capture the moment of death.
Capa and fellow photographer Gerda Taro had travelled away from the brutality of the village of Córdoba and instead, dissatisfied with the images they had collated, toward the farming village of Espejo. Just outside of Espejo, they came across a group of Nationalist milicianos who were happy to pose for photographs, putting on a show of battle, death, and bravado. The final image was created when the subject fell to the ground dramatically, his rifle slipping from his fingers. Hence, it is clear that even in the most serious of circumstances and assignments, it is still possible that imagery can be staged for the benefit of the photographer and the image’s commercial value.
There is a multitude of hypotheses regarding the truth behind this image and its authenticity, with various photographers, historians, and journalists often speculating on the subject and backstory. Alex Kershaw’s book Blood and Champions discusses footage taken at the time of creating the photograph, taking the stance that the image was in fact staged. Another argument suggests that Capa’s general silence on the circumstances of the image could imply a feeling of guilt; perhaps, whilst the subject was posing for the staged image, he was shot and killed. Capa will have felt a sense of responsibility for the man’s death for the rest of his life, acting as an explanation for his speaking very minimally and reluctantly regarding the image’s context.
Overall, the inconsistencies in differing views on Capa’s image demonstrate the lengths that photographers may go to in order to conceal the reality of their work, and perhaps the importance of context in the value of an image. It is clear that whichever stance a viewer takes on the circumstances of the subject and his subsequent death, it will affect how the image is viewed and used and hence it reinforces the idea that photographs are not always as they first appear.
Steve McCurry’s 1983 image, Taj Mahal and Train in Agra, illustrates, in my opinion, the importance of considering the manner of presentation of one’s subject. Teju Cole, in an article for The New York Times Magazine, states his opinion on McCurry’s work, describing it as ‘astonishingly boring’ on account of ‘The pictures are staged or shot to look as if they were.’ (Cole, 2016). This, Cole argues, is McCurry’s means of perpetuating Western stereotypes of India and maintaining the age-old view that India and its South Asian counterparts are serially outdated and in need of modernisation. Cole’s antithesis suggests that McCurry could innocently be choosing to only present the romantically timeless India that is most aesthetically pleasing to the Western eye. However, it is not without consciousness that one chooses to portray a subject in one consistent manner, with the same stereotypes recurring in almost every piece, and so McCurry’s work could be harmful to any progression of Western views toward India.
In my case study, the foreground contains an old-fashioned steam train with two men, one crouching, in typically Indian dress (who Cole describes as having been ‘chosen for how well they work as types’ (Cole, 2016)). The background portrays that most famous of symbols; the Taj Mahal, slightly obscured by the clouds of smoke that bloom around the base of the train. Therefore, it is fair to say that the stereotypical nature of McCurry’s portrayal certainly extends to the image I have looked at, and this artist demonstrates the importance of reviewing one’s portrayals. By taking time to establish that we are not creating imagery that is harmful to a people, place or culture’s image, we are able to not only maintain a professional and modern outlook, but the standard and variety of our work will also flourish beyond what some may consider a repetitive and unadventurous lack of experimentation.
In conclusion, I think that these images both portray the importance of context and external factors in the viewing of photography, yet they also differ in their methods of concealment of the truth. The two case studies have allowed me to consider the importance of representation and portrayal, as well as considering what may be outside of the frame – we as viewers are only ever given the opportunity to see what the photographer chooses to let us see, and this is important because it can bring us to draw conclusions that may not be fully informed. Therefore, the idea that a photograph can ‘lie’ is just as justified by the existence of manipulation methods as it is by a lie of omission – what we don’t see may just be the key to an image’s reality.
Bright, S., 2019. Photography Decoded. 1st ed. Lewes: Ilex Press.
Cole, T., 2016. A Too-Perfect Picture. The New York Times Magazine, 30 March.
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I chose this image to be one of my favourites because I like the smooth contrast between black and whites, but that it also captures life in St.Malo because of the people who just minding their own business enjoying themselves without the knowledge of the camera being there. This image is good because it shows the setting of a local business but also captures a good angle, and shows the variety of people, not just an image of one person.
This image was chosen to be one of my favourites because I like the use of the lines and shapes in the image for example the buildings and the restaurant in the middle right of the image. I also like how it shows people practically in the middle of the street which is apart of the restaurant, showing how local these streets are. Even just the fact that there isn’t many people in the shot creates a good effect, it shows casualness.
This was chosen to be a favourite because it was in the main entrance of St.Malo and the black and white contrast is especially good, along with the use of positioning of the people eating at a restaurant, and the use of lines I like.
This one was an adaption of the image taken above but using a different angle and a different exposure time. I done this to capture the people walking by to be blurry but the people eating in the restaurant to look pretty much normal, I liked the effect these settings gave the image.
I like this image and chose it because of the high black and white contrast, and how it shows a lot of features, but also creates almost a sad but normal effect to the image of a dog, and what seems to be a homeless persons things, but without the homeless person being there, it creates mystery but also a solid feeling.
This image was nice because of the use of lines and shapes in the centre of the image, which also shows a restaurant. This image also shows an event of people eating with passing people, showing how busy the areas is, as you can even see another restaurant in the background packed with people.
This image was also an adaption to the image above this one, which zoomed into specifically 2 old people dining. This stands out to me because of how close the image was taken and what it shows, for example the horizon and the sea in the background along with others eating. I just like the contrast of things going on, like its part landscape, part event image. The facial expressions show relaxation and calm creates the feeling of the image of calm.
This one was definitely my favourite one. I really like the black and white contrast in this image, and just the fact that this tourist looks like an absolute boss with a cigarette in his mouth, what seems to be a bag going across his body, and I like how the shade of his hat covers his face, giving him a slightly mysterious look, he just looks like a character.
This one I thought was nice it captured a good landscape and also a couple enjoying the view with the woman’s hands around either her husband or boyfriend, capturing a moment. I also like the scenery that it captures.
This image I chose because it shows people sitting on the side of a shop, who look like tourists with their bags chilling, the person on the right also fills the image but also drags your eye into the image.
This last one I chose was because it was similar to the image with just the dog but instead it also had the owner with him, it creates a sympathetic effect but also a fulfilling effect in some ways. This image also uses good lines and shapes, it has good depth of field as well.
We went to St Malo for a day trip for our street photography project. The setting was perfect for street photography as we were in the walls of st malo, lots of little side street and people around.
My images and final out comes:
I decided to make this image black and white after editing it a bit, this is because the light in the sky was a bit too bright against the light colored buildings, black and white works better.
I like this image both ways as the colors in the coloured image really stand out, like the red on the mans shirt, and give the image some character. However, I made the choice to put it in black and white as it makes the image more authentic. It also emphasizes the focal point of the couple.
This image isn’t my strongest one as it is quite blurry, but as I’ve edited it and tempered with different settings, I’ve seen it from a different point of view. It kind of works as an action shot as it is only a bit blurry, also, the lady in the image ( the focal point), she isn’t looking at the camera at all as it wasn’t a staged photo. I like this about the image. I decided to put this in black and white because it distracts from the clutter in the image.
I like the composition of this image. It sort of appears staged as the man on the right is stood in a good position, however, its not. We began photographing in St Malo in the morning through to the afternoon so we were able to make images in the prime sun time. This photo was taken in the morning when the lighting was good.
This is one of my favourite images i took out of them all. I captured this old couple walking and it’s almost like they are foreshadowing the couple in the background of the image. This mage works well in colour as there’s lots of bright, vibrant colours in it; he yellow cap and pink shirt of the man on the left draws attention to the viewers.
This image juxtaposes itself. The foreground and background are highly contrasting. I placed a yellow line in the image to show the two different parts of the image. In the background (top of the yellow line) the buildings appear old and auethentic, the architecture of them is from a long time ago. This is because that building is really old, same with all the buildings and walls around St Malo, this is also why that particular part of St Malo worked really well for street photography.
On the other hand, the foreground of the image (below the yellow line) is very modern. You can see clothing shops and cafes, even the people in the image contrast with the background as their fashion is modern day.
After editing this image, i found it resembles Robert Franks’ work.He captures images of people, however, some of his images are staged. The images that aren’t staged captured the moment of people in their everyday life.
I captured this image of 3 women walking in the streets of St Malo. Although the image is a bit blurry, i think it works really well and adds context to the image. The blurriness shows that i was mobile when i took this image and therefore captured these women in the moment clearly having a nice time.
I decided to put this image in black and white to distract from the clutter and over stimulating colours, the blur was enough.
I like this image of a little vintage shop I took. The colours accentuate the image. The spacing and layout of the image naturally works really well. I edited the saturation of the colours in the image and that is why the colours appear exaggerated.
I took this image from above. I thought id experiment with a different angle and composition.
Carter was renounced for his street photography and his ability to capture a “decisive moment”, this was his ability to create a good photograph which also captured a meaningful event occurring, which varied. He was also a photo journalist where he documented some very famous events, such as Gandhi’s funeral, china and even the liberation of Paris. His influence was through surrealism, and decided to make a photobook called “The Decisive Moment” which would define photography itself and be one of his most famous projects.
Cartier, at a young age studied art with his uncle using oil paint, which grew to be Cartier’s loved interest, whilst his uncle was known for his skills in art across the world and taught Cartier everything he could, it wouldn’t last long when Cartier’s uncle was killed in WWI. Later in his life Cartier attended a private art school and Lhote Academy. He would say that his teacher was someone who “taught photography but without the camera”.
during 1929, Henri was put under house arrest for hunting without a license, but was asked by someone called Henry Cosby for Cartier to be released “under his wing”. Both henry and Cartier where interested in photography and decided to take images and print them. This was Cartier’s first experience in photography.
During his life Cartier was painting and doing photography partially until he was inspired by an image called “three boys at lake tanganyika” where there where 3 African boys running into a lake. Cartier was inspired by how the image captured a moment in which the 3 boys where embraced and happy in life, which convinced Cartier to take up photography full time saying “I finally understood that photography could fix eternity in an instant”. this would be an important reasoning behind his book of “the decisive moment”, which name came from photography being something that in his eyes where to capture an event which expressed emotion and showed the settings of that exact moment.
he was obsessed with an image having the contents of patterns, lines, shapes, tone, texture, and space. Which worked in his favour, and worked especially well on the streets that he would take these images in. he began his career in film working with renowned French director, Jean Renoir as second assistant director to films such as La vie est à nous (1936) and Une partie de campagna (1936). They gave Cartier a deeper understanding of photography, for example, whilst making one of their films, they told Cartier to act himself so he would understand what it was like in front of the camera rather than behind, Things like this helped Cartier to develop his knowledge on image making. One of Henri Cartier’s quotes stated the difference between art, and photography: “There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative,”. This quote was referenced to his book of the decisive moment, and showed people that photography has a different style to it, and doesn’t (fully) copy art.