French artist and humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography.
Bresson revolutionised photojournalism and is lovingly called the ‘grandfather of street photography’ because of his theory of the decisive moment, Bresson believe the camera to purely be an extension of of his eyes and as natural as breathing.
Born: 22 August 1908
Died: 3 August 2004 (aged 95)
Alma mater: Lycée Condorcet, Paris
Spouses: Ratna Mohini · (m. 1937; div. 1967) · Martine Franck (m. 1970)
His approach to photography was treating his camera like an extension of the eye and photographing things connecting humanity.
Henri grew up in a wealthy family, to begin with Henri’s passions lay with traditional art.
He started to paint at just five years old.
In1927 Henri took on the challenge of boarding school(the Lhote Academy)
This institution was ran by André Lhote a famous and re-nouned cubist painter and sculpture.
Henri Described André as his teacher of “photography without a camera.”
In 1929 Henri Cartier met Harry Crosby who had an interest in photography and gave him his first camera and they would take photos together, which was the awakening of his photography legacy and gave him an interest in it.
Henri used the Lecia Rangefinder camera which had a 50mm lens.
He used these cameras as they were more compact and smaller, making them easy to use and take candid photos with, in comparison to a large camera.
He also used to the 50mm lens as it has a similar view to the human eye so the photos felt more natural.
What is the decisive moment?
The exact instance when a unique event is captured by the photographer – when something that may never happen again is frozen in the frame.
If a photograph is to communicate its subject in all its intensity, the relationship of form must be rigorously established. Photography implies the recognition of a rhythm in the world of real things. What the eye does is to find and focus on the particular subject within the mass of reality… In a photograph, composition is the result of a simultaneous coalition, the organic coordination of elements seen by the eye. One does not add composition as though it were an afterthought superimposed on the basic subject material, since it is impossible to separate content from form.
Cartier-Bresson’s “The Decisive Moment”
Composition must have its own inevitability about it.
But inside movement there is one moment at which the elements in motion are in balance. Photography must seize upon this moment and hold immobile the equilibrium of it. [emphasis mine]
The decisive moment is a property of vantage point, framing and timing, and not about how ideal the external event is. Cartier’s point is that in the mixture of humanity and nature, all surrounding us, there are occasional brief and fast moving moments where moving objects align naturally into a frame.
however, when all those compositional elements align, the thing average ‘thing you’re photographing can reveal something intimate and heartfelt.
This is a result of the composition. And capturing it really cannot be accomplished through organized thinking and forced structure— it happens through instinct, of pressing the shutter release at an instant based on intuition.
Image Analysis
Unlike the gate posts in both reality and reflection the human figure is distorted and blurred.
When attempting to consider what strikes me most about this image the fist element that comes to mind is the stark difference presented between the foreground and background, perhaps illustrating how unlike inanimate objects and the industrial world around us humans are forever changing, evolving and moving forward.
Despite my original thoughts towards this photography being a positive commentary on how humans are evolving fast to the benefit of all around us, upon further consideration I think its more likely this photo is illustrating the forever rush we as humans are perpetually in, the stress and anxiety of being rushed, pushed forward and swept up in whist remaining in the midst or unexpected peace that can be found in simple stillness.