Introduction:

Henri was a French humanist Photographer influenced by surrealism. He was born in Chanteloup and studied literature at Cambridge university in 1928-29.

The photographer was best known for his mastering in candid photography and he pioneered the genre of street photography.

The photography of Henri Cartier-Bresson is all about and his photographs can be summed up through the phrase of the “decisive moment”, this a bit like like hunting as mentioned in the previous video concluding his work. He described photographs a bit like hunting without the killing, therefore metaphorically speaking about waiting for the right moment to take the shot, being patience and observing.

Henri’s camera:

Henri used a and was known for using the Leica rangefinder with a 50mm lens, it was considered revolutionary at this time and it was much more of a natural appeal as it it offered a view close to the human eye, therefore looked realistic like a human looking straight on onto a scenery. The Leica was much more compact and in conspicuous which the design was more discreet than a larger more conspicuous cameras of the era.

His background:

Henri grew up in a wealthy family and he initially liked art and painting yet progressively throughout t the years his passion sparked when he found his other interest for photography, his “extension” of his eye, he saw it as an extension of drawing. This caused him to travel extensively with the camera , places such as Africa and Europe.

His experiences helped him understand that photograph isn’t just about capturing photographs, it is about capturing thee essence of existence. His philosophy helped him shape the term coined of “The Decisive Moment”.

He described it also 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.

Analysing the photograph: the decisive moment

Looking at the photograph of the “PLACE DE L’EUROPE, GARE SAINT LAZARE 1932”.

The photograph was taken behind a train station in called the “man jumping in puddle”. The image was considered through a change in photography and it didn’t just capture this “fleeting” moment, it set in motion a journey that resonated throughout the photographic community. This symbolised a shift from stages, compositions to spontaneous ones with the interference of candid photography in the moment./ symbolising the importance of human experience withing the image frame.

I can depict the leading line ( balance ) and effect of rule of thirds, negative space. The use of leading lines drawn at the top of the railing and bottom of the man, as well as the balance being presented.

Especially with rule of thirds that the subject almost escapes the centre and pulls away that focus, the lines of the image such as the the ladder in the middle center of the image pairs well with the rest of the image, I believe that idea that the other items are position in the way they are make the images look more stabilised and comparable.

I the other elements below the subject of the ladder there are other dark toned items. Despite the items not looking very neat and organised in a way, I believe it adds to three images as there’s more to make it counterbalanced with the man running and its shadow below. The image is busy too so there’s not too much negative space.

Despite the image not having an colour, the use of the black and white camera that Henri had it added to the the “timeless quality”. The use of no colour means that the focus is more in depth and the colour in images means tat we’ll find it difficult to analyse the sole content of the image itself.

The image doesn’t need a pop of a different bright colour to be effective to the eye. The use of the monochromatic scale and adding the graininess looks even more old-fashioned ad mysterious as well as the surface of the ground appearing scraped up as well as the deep black tones of the subjects in the frame.

Henri likely used a small aperture to allow more depth of field in his image, the foreground focus was more clear, sharp and it allowed more detail to be provided when observing it. He used a short as well as fast shutter speed to capture the moment of the man running to pin point the blurry effect of sudden movement.

In terms of lighting, the image relies on a natural daylight, the shadows in the photograph suggests that the image was capture at midday when the sun itself was high up.

The use of just having daylight and no artificial light adds to the authenticity and simplicity of the image.

Generally photograph are aware of the problems of midday sub as it s prone to the harshness and the strong shadows it can cast. Wheres, Henri uses these elements to his work and the features construct it to look more compelling with the geometrical shapes when adds deepness to the scene.

Contact Sheets

These are the photos I took at St. Malo, inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson and ‘The Decisive Moment’.

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Chosen Best Images – Unedited

These are the photos I believe are my strongest from the St. Malo photoshoot, and will edit some of them as my final edits.

The Falling Soldier is an iconic black-and-white photograph by the Hungarian-American photographer Robert Capa during the Spanish Civil War. The image depicts a Republican soldier at the moment of his death from a gunshot to his head.it was said to depict the death of a Republican Iberian Federation of Libertarian Youth soldier, during the Battle of Cerro Muriano in the Spanish Civil War. The soldier in the photograph was later claimed to be the anarchist militiaman Federico Borrell García.

What is manipulating reality in photography?

Photograph manipulation involves the transformation or alteration of a photograph. Some photograph manipulations are considered to be skilful artwork, while others are considered to be unethical practices, especially when used to deceive, you could trick people too.

Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film-  Bright, Susan (2019) Is it Real? 

Can a photograph lie?

Given the right circumstances, it is possible to mislead someone by presenting an unedited, accurate photo. For example, one could use an unedited photo of two people facing each other to create the misleading impression that they were talking to each other when the photo was taken.

 A camera itself never does lie, but people often misinterpret what they see, and others manipulate what they show you. However not all photos are reliable and sometimes not all photographs were taken with documentary intent and some are heavily manipulated. Many decades of photographs are in black-and-white or the colour has faded and is no longer accurate.

Robert Capa

Robert Capa was a Hungarian–American war photographer and photojournalist. He is considered by some to be the greatest combat and adventure photographer in history. Friedman had fled political repression in Hungary when he was a teenager, moving to Berlin, where he enrolled in college.

He is most famous for his images of war made him one of the greatest photojournalists of the 20th century.

Documentary photography’s central moral associations are:

depicting truth

recording life as it is

camera as a witness.

Henri Cartier-Bresson is a popular photographer born in 1908, well known for his candid photography. The techniques Cartier developed and used in his own work has since inspired many generations of photographers after him and he is considered to be the father of photojournalism.

Life and Techniques

Henri Cartier grew up in a wealthy family a few kilometres east of Paris. From a young age, he liked to draw and paint, and was even influenced by the Surrealist photography of the 1920s. During his conscription into the French army in 1930, he received his first camera from a friend. Afterwards, Cartier decided to spend a year in the Ivory Coast, where he would learn hunting techniques which he would later use in his photography.

Cartier’s approach to his photography allowed him to make his photos perfect, by using a technique he developed called the ‘Decisive Moment’.

“There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment” – Cardinal de Retz, 17th Century.

This quote perfectly encapsulates Cartier’s technique. From a photographical point of view, the quote can be interpreted as, there is a moment in time where everything aligns perfectly.

Henri Cartier treated photography like hunting. He would align his camera perfectly for a photo and wait for the decisive moment to take the shot. This decisive moment is often when a person wonders into the frame, unaware of the camera.

It is this natural process of allowing the freedom of the world to essentially choose the subject of the photo that gives Henri Cartier’s photos a sense of truthfulness. None of it is faked or staged, Cartier’s work is grounded in reality. And the people in these photos are in their complete natural state, placing another layer of reality onto his photos.

The Leica Rangefinder

The Leica Rangefinder was the primary camera Henri Cartier-Bresson used. The camera was revolutionary for the time. Henri Cartier discovered the camera during his time in the Ivory Coast in 1932. The camera was compact, portable and had a quiet shutter. This was perfect for Henri, the camera could be handheld and kept out of sight, and when he took the photo the sound of the shutter couldn’t be heard by the people around him, allowing Henri to stay completely hidden from the subject and make his photos as true to reality as possible.

Cartier used a 50mm lens. This is because it provided a perspective much like the human eye, and had a wide depth of field, which added another touch of realism to his photos.

Gare Saint-Lazare, Paris, 1932

This is one of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s most popular photos that also outlines some of the techniques that Cartier used in his photography. Firstly, the rule of thirds is applied to the framing of the photo, dividing the photo into three equal parts upwards and three equal parts across.

By framing the photo this way, Cartier divides each detail of the photo into sections, disconnecting every significant detail from each other. This allows for easier viewing, the photo isn’t interconnected and messy, it is organised and direct.

Additionally, the black and white enhance this directness. This is because the photo is stripped of colour, allowing the viewer to interpret just the objects and textures, as the additional complexities of colour are removed from the photo. It is also important to note that the shades of black and white have varying effects on the photo, depending on how dark or light. In the foreground and background of the photo, the people visible are the darkest parts of the photo. Additionally, they are both reflected in the puddle, where both subjects are contrasted heavily by the light of the sky. Both of these features make them stand out in the photo.

These two subjects also demonstrate two techniques Henri Cartier-Bresson used in this photo. The first is that both subjects are in focus, which means that Cartier would have had to use a small aperture so that both subjects and the rest of the photo would be in focus. The second is the connection between the two subjects.

The subject in the foreground is equal size to the subject and his reflection in the background. Although it is not obvious, this creates an invisible lead into the centre and background of the photo.

What is most important about the photo is Henri Cartier-Bresson’s use of the decisive moment. Without Cartier’s understanding of the decisive moment, he would never have taken this photo. If the photo was taken a few milliseconds earlier or later, the moving subject would be out of place. If it hadn’t rained, the puddle wouldn’t be there to reflect. If it hadn’t been overcast and cloudy, and the midday sun wasn’t directly above, the photo wouldn’t have been lit the same way. By taking the photo at that exact moment just before the subject hits the ground, Cartier takes the photo at the decisive moment, the moment in time, from that exact perspective, where everything aligns perfectly.

Henri Cartier Bresson was a French artist and photographer. He is best known for his candid photographs and street photos. He viewed taking photographs as an extension of the eye and and thought of it “like hunting but without the killing”. The main ideology of his work became known as the decisive moment. He would capture moments in real-time happening without his control. He didn’t stage his images as he wanted to photograph the reality of the world and capture something just as it is. He aspired to connect everyone rather than carry on with the divide, he thought they should be bridged together.

He grew up in France with a wealthy family. He was introduced to arts from an early age and was first was interested in painting until he discovered photography. Then his passion was photography as he saw it as an extension of drawing and extension of the eye as he could capture exactly what he was seeing. Photography inspired him to travel so he went to places around Europe and Africa to dive into other culture. This then inspired his view of life which became ‘ photography isn’t just about images; it’s about capturing the essence of existence’. This helped him to form his philosophy of the ‘decisive moment’.

Bresson used and favoured the Leica rangefinder camera. This is because it was reliable and it was designed in a way that it was more discreet than the usually large cameras in that time. Because of this, he was able to use a faster shooting style which wasn’t obvious and drew attention to him. This camera also had a quiet shutter noise which allowed him to take photographs of moments without being exposed. He would use the 50mm lens as it offers a field view close to the human eye, allowing him to capture the natural moments he was seeing in front of him.

To expand on out work with Henri Cartier -Bresson, as a year, all photography A-level students took a short day trip to St Malo to gather photos. We spent a few hours looking, waiting and being patient waiting for perfect moments to capture.

Photoshoot –

I took a very wide variety of photos ; people, animals, landmarks, culture buildings and whatever else caught my eye. I wanted to capture ‘moments in time’ to show the inspiration that I’ve got from Henri Cartier – Bresson’s late photography work. I gathered a total of 250 photos and decided it would be best to narrow down my photos to help my editing and production.

Best photos –

With these 26 photos, keeping in the theme of Henri Cartier – Bresson, I want to edit them with black and white to show the nostalgia and sneak peaks of his work through mine.

Edit 1 –

Using the filters on light-room, I used a black and white one to show the inspiration I have gathered from Henri Cartier – Bresson and his vintage black and white photos, and adapt that to my own work.

The filter obviously changed the photo, but I wanted to adjust the highlights and lowlights of the photo to show more of a grunge vintage look, almost to make it seem like it was taken years prior.

Final edit ( photo 1 ) –

Edit 2 –

This photo I understand is not like the ‘captured moment’ style like Cartier – Bresson but I felt like the incorporation of street art can be a very powerful, moving thing to witness and in a way can be a small moment captured in time through art.

Using the filter to add a black and white tinge to the photo, I just thought it would be more simple then doing it manually.

Adjusting the highlights and shadows simply to make the black and white hues balance well and not look more uneven. I love how my photos look when I enhance the texture, clarity and the dehaze, it makes them very clear and clean to show a modern enhancement.

Final edit ( photo 2 ) –

Edit 3 –

I thought about photographing this car in particular because cars can have a lot of feeling connected to them and with this Vintage 1989 Renault. I thought it could signify a particularly great idea of ‘moment in time’ and a captured a nostalgic view.

Just the filter added again…

With this photo, I enhanced the shadows and white hues in the photo because of the fact that its a vintage car. I thought that making the car almost look pristine can show a beauty through it especially with the worn brick wall behind it.

Final edit ( photo 3 ) –

Edit 4 –

For this photo, yes I used the exact same filter as I have been using already, however I feel that for this photo, it can really extenuate the feeling of love shown through the people in this photo. It reminds me of the stereotypical ‘love’ from eras like the 50’s and 60’s and the black and white tinge really helps show that.

Just using the tools on Lightroom, I balanced out the hues and tones to make the photo more equal.

Final edit ( photo 4 ) –

Edit 5 –

This photo is slightly different again from Cartier – Bresson’s usual photo style but I thought that capturing a dog, that with a family, could be capturing not just a dog but a very important part of someone’s moment due to the importance that this dog may have on someone.

Yet again, sticking with a black and white filter, however not the same one, one that has almost a warmer hue to it which I thought could capture the moment with the feelings within it.

Just adjusted the hues and tones again to balance the photo also enhancing the clarity and texture to show the realism in the photo and yet again the modernisation.

Final edit ( photo 5 ) –

Final photo edits gallery –