Henri Cartier Bresson was most known for his photo at Place de l’Europe Behind Gare Saint Lazare which is when his “decisive moments” project really grew popular . He would say that he would like to connect humanity through photos.
he would bring a camera everywhere with him in order to capture every/any millisecond in a moment. He described his camera as an extension of him as if he was hunting so he needs to be patient wait for that perfect shot.
His camera
Henri Carter Bresson was particularly fond of using a Lecia Rangefinder this is because it was considered one of the most inconspicuous of the cameras. That was because they were a lot smaller than most other cameras available at the time it also didn’t have a loud sound when it took the photo. This helped him with his photos as his aim was to get candid photos so the more invisible he could be the better. He was also very fond of using a 50mm lens as he felt that it offered the most realistic point of view as its what’s closest to our eye.
His background
Henri grew up quite wealthy with his family in France which is where he was introduced to art.to begin with he had a big interest in painting however he later found that photography is what he was most passionate about. He found photography to be an extension of the eye.
He felt this was able to interreact the world with his camera which lead him to start travelling he went to Europe, Africa, China, Indonesia, India, Burma, Pakistan and many more… The experiences he got out of his travels influenced him to start his project “decisive moment”
image analysis
leading lines-
In the photo you can see that he’s using leading lines from the railings to draw attention to the man in the image. Although you can argue it doesn’t draw your eyes perfectly because it does kind of draw your attention off the page if you were to follow the railing it does help frame the image and then I find that the ladder of the left of the man helps to draw attention to him.
framing and negative space-
I find in this image it uses negative space really effectively it frames the subject really well drawing a lot of attention to it due to it being really calm and not having much going on. It helps balance out the image as the middle has lots going on and has lots of detail so the calming upper and lower sections helps it feel more organised and less chaotic. I also find the shadow and the clock really help balance out the image as they are both on leading lines but opposite sides of the photo making it look more even and aesthetic pleasing otherwise for example it might look too top heavy.
Colour and texture-
In his photos he has them in black and white this is because at the time technology had not advanced enough to have a camera ion colour. However I think the having it in black and white really works the viewer tends to see more detail within the actual I’m age this way as they are not being distracted by colours.
I think due to there being no colour in the image i think it helps with texture as it draws more attention to it and makes it stand out. you can see all the texture on the walls and the ground very clearly
Camera techniques-
In this image you can tell that he has used a small aperture as there lots of depth in in his image. This meant that everything in the image was in focus including the foreground and the background.
You can also tell he uses a fast shutter speed because for the time the image was taken its considered very sharp so he would have had to use that fast shutter speed to be able to capture the quick movement.
Lighting-
You can tell that this image is really relying on natural lighting and you can tell that it was most likely mid day when he took this photo based off the man shadow in the water. Some people can struggle with taking photos midday because of how bright the sun can be making it more difficult as it can cast some very harsh shadows however instead of fighting that Henri Carter Bresson leant into that and wanted to capture those shadows.
Symbolism-
Henri Carter Bresson focused on the deceive moment which he achieved very successfully he started the shift from very staged photos to these spontaneous candid images which shows the human experience a lot more as people are unaware they are trying to look a certain way or do a certain thing for the camera is people is their true and raw form.
Hannah
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