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

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

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.

For this shoot I took inspiration from Axel Hutte and Thomas Sutton.

These kinds of thing can be found among nature everywhere and are quite often beautiful. However, they often display a a past of a time before us. A age of humans long gone.

Living in jersey we are surrounded by bunkers and ruins. The best place to see these kinds of things is along the five mile road and on any historical land site, such as Groznes castle.

White flags.

Black flags.

Best takes.

Editing

Final pictures

Axel Hutte is a German photographer (born 1951) studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1973 to 1981, he received a scholar ship to study in London and a scholarship to study in Venice in 1985. He is now considered one of the main representative of the Düsseldorf Art Academy.

Over the years Axel Hutte has produced many gorgeous photos and collections. However, I am focusing on one certain type of photograph he has made and that is ruins.

This is one of my favourite pieces. The colour is dull yet vibrant and the texture of the bricks is so clear that it looks rough and where the plaster and paint have chipped away. Having the door neatly line-up with the archway creates a long depth of field and the eyes are naturally drawn through the arch. but my overall favourite thing about this photo is how simple it is.

These are similar to a few photos by Thomas Sutton.

These remind me a lot of some of the heritage site around Jersey specifically Corbier light house, Mont Orguil castle and Gronzel castle ruins.

This one is interesting as it is of one of jerseys coastal defence towers, specifically Tour du Sud, La Carreire, St Ouens bay.

That is Anthropocene?

The word Anthropocene, derived from Greek, means “the recent age of man”.

Anthropocene is the largest epidemic to happen in the natural world. The effects of our human advances taking a destructive tole on the nature that has be admired and studied by many. With our plastic being eaten by birds and fish and our roads crushing hedgehogs and toads. The photographers who create work to fight for more fitting environments for our co-inhabitants, producing pieces that shock many to the heart. The planet is not our to destroy and many would be shocked to discover how much their new t-shirt would have contributed to this destruction. These artists are exploring the way in which Anthropocene has affected this world and are creating ways of warning others that their actions have consequences.

Causes of Anthropocene

There are four main causes of Anthropocene. these are: Agriculture, urbanisation, deforestation and pollution.

Agriculture:

The agricultural industry has left its mark on the planet though it may not be apparent at first. The machines that harvest the wheat for your bread release off fumes and the over farm salmon from the shop containing that much fat that it is worse for you than a big mac. Animals are over feed and pumped full of chemicals to make them more appealing to eat.

Urbanisation:

With every growing populations comes the need for more housing, clothing and food. Fields are being built on that were full of life and cramp streets and roads are making it hard for wild life to rehome themselves when they are eventually removed from their home.

Deforestation:

Wood being a vital part of our life from pencils to tables and supports in structures, including your real Christmas tree, It is every where however this wood has to come from somewhere. unfortunately that means cutting down a entire forest just to supply enough for everyone.

Pollution:

With human advancement comes the never faulting threat of pollution. Whether that be CO2 or chemicals released in to rivers and oceans and the light produced by the street light and busy road full of glowing cars blocking our gorgeous stars.

Consequences of Anthropocene

Anthropocene ultimately has major draw back and unwanted effects on us. The pollution in the air making hard to breath, filling our lungs with chemical and slowly rotting them from the inside out. The animals we eat containing antibiotics and things that were not meant for human consumption. The places we live becoming run down and abandoned or removed to build something modern and disrupting the landscape.

What are new topographics?

The term “new topographics” is used to describe a select group of American photographers whose pictures had a similar aesthetic. Their pictures were black and white with some colour and they were all landscape. The term was first used by William Jenkins in 1975. These photographers included:

• Robert Adams
• Lewis Baltz
• Nicholas Nixon  
• Bernd and Hiller Becher

The subjects in these photos were car parks, houses, trailers and ware houses. These kinds of places were picked to display America as matter-of-fact and disillusion people to the American dream. By shooting everyday homes and revealing the truth about how Americas landscapes actually look these photographers dismantled the idealised landscapes that are normally seen in photography.

Through out the shoot I was altering with the settings to make sure the photos came out clear and and that the exposure was right.

I started with 294 and dwindled it down to 86 decent photos.

From here I picked 13 that I really liked and created black and white copies. I also created copies with different editing styles and experimented a bit to see what style I like.

This photo of the fish shop by la Collette is one of my favourite I have taken. and I made a black and white copy as well.

Final pics from this shoot.

Before the 16th century, landscape didn’t really exist as a genre in its own right. Landscapes were merely seen as backgrounds for portraits and other forms of paintings. the term “landscape comes from the Dutch word “landschnap” which means “region” or “tract of land” but became associated with the art in the early 1500s, this is due to the fact that in the Netherlands landscapes be came popular with protestants to decorate their homes. Outside the Netherlands, landscapes often depicting scenes from mythology or biblical settings, as well as historical scenes.

The 17th century brought around the ear of classical landscapes. Rome became the ideal place for landscapes to be painted. Everything within the paintings became purposefully placed to create the balanced and timeless mood to help the paintings seem harmonious. Many of these landscapes sought to illustrate an ideal landscape recalling Arcadia, a legendary place in ancient Greece known for its quiet pastoral beauty. However, despite the commissions and popularity of them they remained low in the hierarchy of the academies.

The late 18th century saw Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes change the views on landscape paintings, he saw them as something to be celebrated and considered with a worthy status. In 1800 he published the Eléments de perspective practique which emphasized the aesthetic ideal of the “historic landscape.” Generations of French landscape painters would benefit from this book and the recognition Valenciennes’ received.

As the 19th century brought round the industrial revolution, the standard hierarchy of art collapsed land scape paintings gained in popularity. Barbizon painters such as Théodore Rousseau and Charles Daubigny became less concerned with idealized, classical landscapes and focused more on painting out-of-doors directly from nature—a practice known as plein air painting. The 19th century also saw the start of landscape photography which would greatly influence the landscape painters’ compositional choices. Courbet’s radical painting techniques and independent spirit paved the way for the next generation of painters including Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley, these would become some of the most famous painters in history, other wise know as the impressionists.

During the 20th century, artist used landscape photography to create interpretations of the land  through pictorial effects and, later, through formal compositions of close-up, cropped views of the landscape. Photographer Ansel Adams captured attention with his breath-taking views of the wild beauty of the American West. In the second half of the 20th century, the definition of landscape was challenged and pressed to include concepts like urban landscapes, cultural landscapes, industrial landscapes, and landscape architecture. Today, the landscape continues to be a subject artists turn to when contemplating the ways we relate to the places where we live and the impact we as humans have on the land.

For this shoot I wanted to create the classical Hollywood female lead sort of feel, they often look like they glow and this creates an ethereal resemblance and in many ways they have influenced todays beauty standards.

To create this effect I focused on the beauty the area we shot in and how the model was dressed and situated herself. I had her dress in a dress that complimented her skin tone and hair colour. We walked around for a bit then came across this beautiful little place with a stream going around an island type piece of earth which had trees and bushes growing all around.

These where my camera settings through out the shoot.

The photos are not 100% clear. I wanted blurred lines in some aspects to help display that beauty does not equal perfect. the lack of clarity also creates a sense for intrigue as it is not revealing the whole truth. This is a problem that some people meet when they grow up as they either have their trust broken or don’t know who to trust as others may have lied to them about something in the past. This is a serious problem especially with the popularity of social media where you don’t know who is on the other side of some social media accounts.

I ended up with 69 photos and selected them down 4. I then made different versions of them and colour coded them according to the which were the best in my opinion.

Purple symbolises the photos which I don’t think are the best, where as yellows represents ones are particularly my favourites.

With some I tried to make to model stand out more from the background.

My final selection

This is one of my favourites. the way the models face is obscured creates a mystery in which viewer does not know what the model looks like or who she is. Visually her body follows a 3X3 grid drawing attention to her and not so much the background. The larger depth of field give the photo an ethereal feeling.

This was a fun shoot to do but if I could go back I would create more variety on my photos as a lot of them where very similar. I would also bring some props and carry out all the ideas that we came up with whilst at the soot sight.

Mirrors and glass

Make up

Lines

Flowers

Shoot 1: mirror/ make up – woods and/or studio

Shoot 2: flowers(faux flowers) – studio

Butterfly lighting is a technique of lighting the forms a small butterfly shape under the nose, where it got its name, and it can also highlight the cheekbones.

It is a technique that will flatter anyone. Then taken with soft light it can cast a delicate light to create an ethereal look. here is a example that I took.

to create the technique have a light directly faceing down on to the models face, as seen below.