For my final photos, I think that they have all worked very well. My work shows the issues around the world, that Anthropocene focus’ on. My photoshoots and edits were done to the best of my ability and came out better then what I had envisioned.
I was only disappointed with one of my photos and that would be the one that was inspired by the Marilyn Monroe collage. I feel that those photos could have had more effort put into them as well as the editing that followed. That photo was definitely rushed and if I spend more time and allowed myself to put a little bit more effort into it it would have came out exactly how id like it too.
My pollution photos, with the rubbish and the plastic bags, I felt really portrayed not only the theme of Anthropocene, but the emotions and issues that are caused by the poor actions we make as the human race. The planning that went into the portrait photos was very in-depth and that really worked to my advantage for this photoshoot.
The photos including the animals worked incredibly too, I felt that it would be good to include animals because sometimes people forget that the issues that are caused by us don’t only effect us but it effects every living thing that is around us as well. So including the animal ( snake ), really helps shed light and share that information so that people could understand, and I could spread awareness on that separate issue that we have caused.
He was a French artist, and considered a master of candid photography. He pioneered the genre of street photography. He was one of the founding member’s of Magnum photos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnum_Photos) but discontinued most of his images and opted to paint instead. “Photography isn’t just about images; it’s about capturing the essence of existence.” Cartier-Bresson was born in Chanteloup, France, and began his career as a journalist and photographer in the 1930s. He served in the French Resistance during World War II, using his photography skills to document the war effort.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Cartier-Bresson became known for his innovative approach to photography, which emphasized capturing the essence of a moment or scene in a single frame. He believed that photography should be a way to reveal the human condition, rather than simply documenting reality. He coined the term “decisive moment” to describe this concept, which refers to the fleeting instant when all the elements of a scene come together to create a powerful and meaningful image.
The decisive moment.
The book Cartier-Bresson penned in 1952, in French, was called Images à la Sauvette (“Images on the Run”). It was quite literally about taking pictures in a dynamic and moving world. He used the term “decisive moment” in his writing, with very specific meaning, but the term was appropriated as the title in the English translation.
For Cartier-Bresson, the decisive moment was not just about capturing a specific event or action, but rather about capturing the essence of the human experience.
Some key characteristics of the decisive moment include:
A sense of tension or drama
A feeling of anticipation or movement
A strong sense of human connection or interaction
A balance of shapes, lines, and textures
A sense of depth or layering
A strong emotional resonance
Timing: The ability to capture the exact moment when something significant was happening.
Composition: The way the elements of the scene were arranged to create a harmonious and balanced composition.
Light: The quality and direction of the light, which could add mood and atmosphere to the image.
Storytelling: The ability to tell a story or convey a sense of narrative through the image.
The decisive moment is not limited to specific subjects or genres, but can be applied to various forms of photography, including street photography, portrait photography, landscape photography, and more.
Examples Mood board –
What is a decisive moment.
A decisive moment generally cannot be re-create. It is a moment in time, it can be planned in a way that the photographer may wait for someone to walk past a specific structured place, where he has set up his camera perfectly. A decisive moment is also sometimes described as a miracle accident, something that wasn’t entirely planned but turned out amazing. An example of the decisive moment would be taking photos of a couple engaging in a romantic gesture, now if you were to ask the couple if you could take the photo it would change the way they act and therefore it wouldn’t end up being the same raw moment it once was. This is the whole point of a decisive moment, a moment before people change their behaviour and how they act, being just natural and just them.
Henri Cartier Bresson viewed photography in a special way
Photography as a way to capture the human experience: Cartier-Bresson believed that photography should be used to capture the essence of human experience, to tell stories about people, and to reveal the human condition.
Photography as a momentary capture: He emphasized the importance of capturing a single moment, often referred to as the “decisive moment,” when all the elements of a scene come together to create a powerful image.
Photography as a means to reveal the unconscious: Cartier-Bresson believed that photography could reveal the unconscious aspects of human behavior, revealing hidden truths and emotions.
Photography as an act of observation: He emphasized the importance of observing and waiting for the right moment, rather than staging or manipulating scenes.
Photography as a form of storytelling: Cartier-Bresson saw photography as a way to tell stories about people, places, and cultures, often using a series of images rather than a single frame.
Photography as an art form: He believed that photography was an art form that required creativity, skill, and intuition, and that it should be judged on its artistic merit rather than technical quality.
Photography as a reflection of reality: Cartier-Bresson believed that photography should reflect reality, but also acknowledged that it is always subjective and influenced by the photographer’s perspective.
Photography as a way to transcend time and space: He believed that photography could capture moments in time and spaces that would otherwise be lost, allowing us to transcend time and space.
Photography as a means to connect with others: Cartier-Bresson saw photography as a way to connect with others, to understand their lives and experiences, and to create empathy and understanding.
Leica rangefinder with a 50mm lens.
Henri Cartier Bresson was known for using a Leica rangefinder with a 50mm lens because, these cameras were compact, reliable and their design was very discrete and more hidden to the naked eye than other cameras of the era. This allowed him to take images without disrupting the moment. He also used the Leica rangefinder because of it’s stealth, quiet shutter which allowed sneaky photos to be taken without drawing attention. This silent tactic was crucial for someone who believed in capturing natural, realistic, authentic, upstaged moments.
Henri Cartier-Bresson, born 22nd august 1908 in Chanteloup-en-Brie, France, was and still is considered the master of candid photography and a humanist. Cartier-Bresson is well know for his theory of the decisive moment. Coming from a wealthy family, he was introduce to art from a young age and had an affinity for painting, however, photography soon took over that love and adoration. When he was younger he travelled around Europe and Africa, with his camera, learning about different lives and cultures. this helped him shape and mould his philosophy “the decisive moment”.
The decisive moment
He always had his camera on him waiting for that “decisive moment”. The decisive moment is described as “the exact instance when a unique event is captured by the photographer – when something that may never happen again is frozen in the frame.” Cartier-Bresson published a book in 1952, in which the concept is widely explored.
The camera
Henri Cartier-Bresson was know for using the Leica Rangefinder with a 50mm lens. Cartier-Bresson preferred this camera to any other camera as it was small and inconspicuous, this allowed him to create beautiful photos without disrupting the people he was photographing them. The quite shutter sped also helped with the discreetness of his photos. The camera itself was small and easy to work with and there for no disruptive to the people in the photos. The lens was favoured as it create images that were closest to the eye.
How does Henri Cartier-Bresson view the activity of photography?
Cartier-Bresson describes the activity of photography as “physical pleasure” and states that it is almost “like hunting” without actually “killing”
The lens is described as an extenuation of the eye.
He describes it about being “here and now” and about being in the moment.
It is about freezing a moment of time in place.
The Gare Saint-Lazare
Take in 1932 of a man leaping over a puddle, behind the station. The well known station from one of Claude Monet’s paintings. The energy of Monet’s painting is more busy and you can almost picture the trains moving and people going back and forth, starkly contrasting the simplicity of the Cartier-Bresson’s photo, shows life as it was and is strangely calm.
Claude Monet’s the Gare saint-Lazare
The leading lines follow the top of the fence and the reflection of the top of the fence. This helps to bring the onlookers eye to the leaping man. This also brings attention to the man in the centre of the photo, which might not have been noticed otherwise.
The balance and the symmetry of the clock tower and the reflection of the man show the how the reflection and the tower are one in the same.
The rule of thirds places the leaping man in the centre right quadrant of the photo this frames him in place. This eases the eye on to him. if this were not the case and he were in the left of the photo, the man would be at the start of his jump. This would change the photo, in this instance we would be able to see where the man would be going to, the ripples in the water would disappear.
The negative space at the to and bottom of the photo helps to cement the idea that this is a frame of time that has been frozen, forever to remain a fragment of a life time before ours.
Black and white holds a soul that is missed in coloured images. this was not an editing choice to put the photo in black and white. the lack of colour allows for the eye to focus on more detailed and deeper elements of the photo. the earthy texture and the poster on the wall helps the viewer to appreciate the environment and feel as though they are there.
It is very likely that Cartier-Bresson used a smaller aperture to create a bigger depth of field and have everything in focus. He would also have used a faster shutter speed, this can be see where the leaping man is fuzzy however he is non in a major motion blur.
The natural midday sun, normally a pain for other photographers, is one of Cartier-Bresson greatest strengths. The high, bright sun created high a contrast and highlighted the mans reflection and despite being blurry is one of the clearest and vivid visuals of this photo.
