Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French artist and humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He saw the camera as an extension of the eye…

Why is a camera an extension of the eye?

A camera is considered an extension of the eye because it captures and records visual information much like our eyes do. It uses a lens to focus light, similar to how the eye focuses images on the retina. The camera allows us to frame, focus, and preserve moments that the eye sees, turning brief visual experiences into lasting images. In this way, it enhances our natural vision and helps us share our perspective with others.

What is the physical pleasure in making photographs

The physical pleasure in making photographs comes from the tactile and sensory experience of the process. Holding the camera, adjusting the focus, feeling the click of the shutter, and responding to light and composition all engage the body and mind. There’s a satisfying rhythm in moving, framing, and capturing a moment often described as a blend of intuition and control. This hands-on interaction creates a sense of presence and flow, making photography not just a visual but also a deeply physical and pleasurable act.

How can photography be likened to hunting?

Photography can be likened to hunting in the way it involves patience, observation, and the pursuit of a target. Like a hunter tracks and waits for the perfect moment to strike, a photographer carefully watches for the right light, angle, and expression to capture. Both require skill, timing, and instinct. The “click” of the shutter parallels the trigger of a weapon seizing a fleeting moment. However, instead of taking life, the photographer captures it, preserving the subject rather than consuming it. It’s a hunt for beauty, meaning, or truth.

Henri Cartier-Bisson Mood-board

The decisive moment is particularly concerned with the overall structure and composition of the photograph, such as shapes, geometry, patterns, action and movement.

Henri Cartier-Bresson’s L’Aquila, 1951 is a striking black-and-white photograph that captures everyday life in post-war Italy with a quiet sense of beauty and rhythm. It’s a moment frozen in time, filled with character and subtle detail.

Line: In this image by Henri-Cartier Bisson you see hard leading lines portraying the ancient Italian infrastructure. The leading lines further put emphasis on the lady in black as they all lead to her
Henri Cartier-Bresson’s L’Aquila, 1951 is a striking black-and-white photograph that captures everyday life in post-war Italy with a quiet sense of beauty and rhythm. It’s a moment frozen in time, filled with character and subtle detail.

Shape and Form: The photo is built around strong shapes especially the rectangles and lines of the buildings and stone steps. These give the scene structure and stability. In contrast, the people, particularly the women carrying trays or baskets on their heads, bring softer, curved shapes into the frame. This contrast between the rigid background and the flowing human figures makes the scene feel both grounded and alive.

Pattern: There’s a sense of repetition throughout the photo that creates a kind of rhythm like the repeating windows, the steps, and even the similar poses of the women walking. These patterns make the photo feel balanced and cohesive, tying the different parts of the scene together in a very natural way.

Tone: Cartier-Bresson uses the full range of black-and-white tones to give the photo depth. There are bright areas where light hits the buildings and darker areas in the shadows and clothing, which help to create mood and atmosphere. The tones guide your eye around the image and add a sense of realism and texture.

Colour: Even though it’s black and white, the absence of colour actually enhances the emotional weight of the photo. The grayscale tones emphasize contrast and texture, letting the viewer focus more on form, composition, and expression rather than being distracted by bright colours.

Texture: The textures are really vivid you can almost feel the rough stone of the buildings and steps. The soft folds of the clothing and the smoothness of the trays or baskets also come through clearly. This makes the scene feel more tactile and real, as if you could step into it.

Space: The way the photo is composed gives a strong sense of depth. The people in the foreground draw you in, and then your eye moves through the street into the distance, where the buildings and background hills fade into lighter tones. This layering makes the scene feel expansive, while still intimate and focused on daily life.

Zines (short for magazines or fanzines) are small-circulation, self-published works, usually created by individuals or small groups. They are typically produced using simple tools like photocopiers, typewriters, scissors, and glue, and they cover a wide range of topics including art, politics, music, personal experiences, identity, and subcultures.

Moodboard

How you want your design to look

Black and White Concept

Format, size and orientation

Narrative / visual concept

Design and layout

Rhythm and sequencing

Images and text

Title and captions

What Does the word actually mean?

In photography, landscapes refer to images that capture the beauty of natural or urban environments. This genre focuses on wide, scenic views such as mountains, forests, coastlines, or city skylines. Landscape photography often aims to convey a sense of place, mood, or atmosphere, using elements like light, weather, and composition to create impactful visuals. Photographers typically use wide-angle lenses and techniques that keep the entire scene in sharp focus, highlighting the depth and scale of the surroundings.

When did it start to become popular?

Landscape photography began gaining popularity in the mid-19th century, around the 1850s to 1860s, with the development of early photographic processes like the daguerreotype and wet plate collodion. It became especially prominent during the exploration of the American West, when photographers like Carleton Watkins and Ansel Adams later helped establish landscape photography as both an art form and a tool for conservation. By the early 20th century, it had grown into a respected genre, admired for its ability to capture the grandeur and emotion of the natural world.

What prompted the rise of Landscape Art during the late 18th / 19th century?​

The rise of Landscape Art in the late 18th and 19th centuries was driven by a mix of cultural and societal shifts. During the Enlightenment, there was a growing fascination with nature, influenced by thinkers like Rousseau who saw it as pure and unspoiled. This paved the way for Romanticism, which embraced emotion and the sublime in nature, with artists like J.M.W. Turner and Caspar David Friedrich creating dramatic, awe-inspiring landscapes. At the same time, the Industrial Revolution caused rapid urbanization, and the countryside became idealized as a symbol of a simpler, more natural life, prompting artists to capture rural landscapes as a contrast to industrialization.

John Constable

John Constable (1776–1837) was an English landscape painter renowned for his depictions of the English countryside, particularly the area around his home in Suffolk, which became known as “Constable Country.” While he is primarily celebrated as a painter, there is no historical record of him working as a photographer, as photography had not yet been invented during his lifetime.

Constable was good of capturing natural light, atmosphere, and movement in his paintings, often working air to study the effects of changing weather and seasons. His most famous works include The Hay Wain (1821), Dedham Vale (1802), and Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831). His technique of using loose, expressive brushstrokes and his dedication to painting nature as he saw it were highly influential, especially on the later Impressionists.

Although he struggled to achieve commercial success during his lifetime, Constable’s work gained recognition in France, where his naturalistic approach inspired the Barbizon School and later artists such as Claude Monet. Today, he is considered one of Britain’s greatest landscape painters, whose art continues to captivate audiences with its deep appreciation for nature and rural life.

Alexander Mourant, born in Jersey, Channel Islands, in 1994, is a London-based artist, educator, and writer renowned for his innovative exploration of photography. He earned a BA (Hons) in Photography from Falmouth University in 2017 and completed an MA in Photography at the Royal College of Art in 2020.

Mourant’s artistic practice delves into the relationship between the body and the photographic medium, intertwining autobiography, literature, and reference-based thinking. He employs methodologies inspired by the 1960s-70s Land Art movement, Performance, and Arte Povera to challenge and expand the boundaries of photography.

His work has been showcased in numerous solo and group exhibitions. Notable solo exhibitions include “Aomori” at The Old Truman Brewery in London (2018) and at Unseen Amsterdam (2018). Recent group exhibitions feature “To Walk in the Image” at Lismore Castle Arts, Ireland (2023), “At the Farthest Edge: Rebuilding Photography” at NŌUA, Norway (2023), and “A Sudden Vanishing” at Seen Fifteen Gallery, London (2023). ​

In addition to his exhibitions, Mourant published his debut monograph, “The Night and the First Sculpture,” in 2024. His work has been featured in various publications, including the British Journal of Photography, AINT-BAD, The Plantation Journal, Pylot Magazine, and TRIP Magazine

Beyond his artistic endeavors, Mourant serves as a Lecturer on the BA (Hons) Photography program at Kingston School of Art, Kingston University London. His contributions to the field have been recognized with grants from Arts Council Norway, Arts Council England, and ArtHouse Jersey. ​

Mourant’s work continues to push the boundaries of photographic art, inviting audiences to reconsider the medium’s potential and its intersection with personal and collective narratives.​

What Is Panoramic Images?

An image showing a field of view approximating, or greater than, that of the human eye – about 160° by 75° – may be termed panoramic. This generally means it has an aspect ratio of 2:1 or larger, the image being at least twice as wide as it is high. The resulting images take the form of a wide strip.

Joiner Photos

Joiner photography is a fairly new technique of photography. A joiner, designed by Hockney is when the artist assembles an image from several overlapping photographs. David Hockney is the most notable artist that uses this technique, hence the common referral of joiners as “Hockney’s”

David Hockney

Who was he?

David Hockney is a contemporary English photographer and painter best known for his Lovely panoramic Hockney is well known for his collage-style photographs and his realist painting style. Additionally, his work was very important to the pop art movement.

David Hockney was initially hesitant about the limitations of photography, expressing reservations about its static and singular perspective. However, his appreciation for the medium dramatically blossomed after curator Alain Sayag convinced him to present his work in Paris.

Some of his work

All of his collage work is made by hundreds of individual pictures that by themselves hold very little meaning but put together can create a community of pictures that represent a larger image

Romanticism was an artistic, literary, and a smart movement that emerged in the late 18th century as a reaction against the Enlightenment’s focus on reason and logic. Instead, it emphasized emotion, individualism, and the power of nature, often portraying dramatic landscapes, heroic figures, and the sublime. Romantic artists and writers celebrated intense feelings, imagination, and the supernatural, frequently drawing inspiration from folklore, medieval history, and myths.

What is the Sublime?

The sublime is a concept in art, literature, and philosophy that refers to an overwhelming sense of awe, beauty, and even terror, often inspired by nature or grand, powerful experiences. It is something vast, intense, or beyond human comprehension, evoking deep emotions that can be both thrilling and unsettling.

Philosophers like Edmund Burke and Immanuel Kant explored the idea of the sublime, distinguishing it from mere beauty. Burke, for example, described it as something that inspires both admiration and fear—like towering mountains, violent storms, or the infinite night sky. In Romanticism, the sublime was a key theme, seen in the dramatic landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich, the wild seascapes of J.M.W. Turner, and the poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Wordsworth, who often depicted nature’s power and mystery.

How did the industrial revolution have an impact on Romanticism?

The Industrial Revolution had a profound impact on Romanticism, shaping its themes and attitudes as a reaction against rapid industrialization, urbanization, and mechanization. As factories spread, cities grew, and nature was increasingly altered by human hands, many Romantic artists, writers, and thinkers saw industrial progress as a threat to individuality, nature, and traditional ways of life.

One major effect was the Romantic idealization of nature. As landscapes were transformed by factories, pollution, and deforestation, Romantics like William Wordsworth and J.M.W. Turner celebrated the untouched beauty of nature, emphasizing its power and emotional depth. They viewed the natural world as a source of spiritual renewal, in contrast to the grime and chaos of industrial cities.

The movement also championed emotion, imagination, and the individual in response to the Industrial Revolution’s emphasis on reason, efficiency, and mass production. Many Romantics saw industrialization as dehumanizing, reducing people to mere workers in a mechanical system. This led to an admiration of solitary, rebellious figures—like the Byronic hero—and a nostalgia for the past, particularly medieval times, when life was seen as more organic and connected to nature.

Key definitions:

Exposure Compensation – Exposure compensation is a technique for adjusting the exposure indicated by a photographic exposure meter, in consideration of factors that may cause the indicated exposure to result in a less-than-optimal image.

What does this mean?

Exposure Bracketing – a technique where you take multiple pictures of the same image at different exposures, then layer them to create one image

What does this actually do?

Exposure bracketing works well when shooting in conditions where the camera cannot take a natural-looking photograph. For example, when a bright light – the sun – causes extreme highlights and shadows.

HDR photos – In photography and videography, multi-exposure HDR capture is a technique that creates high dynamic range images by taking and combining multiple exposures of the same subject matter at different exposures.

What does this actually mean for photography?

There are several reasons why bracketing is essential in photography: It allows you to capture every detail in a scene. It helps you avoid overexposing or underexposing your photos. It gives you more options to choose from when you’re editing.

AEB

What is it?

It is a feature which allows you to take a sequence of images at different exposure values. This is useful when it is difficult to determine the correct exposure, or when dealing with moody lighting or interiors where it is often desirable to have a range of exposures to pick from later.

Who is he?

Ansel Easton Adams was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association of photographers advocating “pure” photography which favoured sharp focus and the use of the full tonal range of a photograph.

His childhood

Ansel Adams was born on February 20, 1902, in San Francisco, California. As an only child, he was a shy and curious kid who didn’t quite fit into traditional schooling, so his father decided to home-school him. His love for nature started early, especially after experiencing the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which forced his family to move. At first, he was passionate about playing the piano and even considered a career in music. But in 1916, everything changed when he took a family trip to Yosemite and got his first camera—a Kodak Brownie. From that moment on, he was hooked on photography, and his fascination with the outdoors and capturing its beauty set him on the path to becoming one of the most famous landscape photographers of all time.

What inspired him

Influenced by New York photographer Alfred Steig

litz, whom Adams called “the greatest photographic leader in the world,” photographers created meticulously hand-crafted prints on soft-focus, textured papers.

Ansel Adams had a long and deep relationship with the Sierra Club, an environmental organization dedicated to the preservation of nature. His involvement began in 1927, when he first published his photographs of Yosemite in the club’s bulletin. His striking images of the American wilderness, especially Yosemite National Park, helped raise awareness about conservation.

Sierra Club

The Sierra Club, one of the most influential environmental organizations in the United States, played a pivotal role in advocating for the protection of natural landscapes. A key figure in its history was Ansel Adams, the legendary photographer whose breathtaking black-and-white images of the American wilderness brought national attention to the importance of conservation.

Adams joined the Sierra Club in 1919 at the age of 17, working as a caretaker of the LeConte Memorial Lodge in Yosemite National Park. His love for the natural world was evident, and through his photography, he began to merge art with activism. His images of the Sierra Nevada, especially Yosemite, not only captured the beauty of these landscapes but also served as powerful tools for environmental advocacy.

What else did he do

Ansel Adams wasn’t just a famous photographer — he was also an activist and teacher. He co-founded Group f/64 to push for clear, realistic photography, used his art to support national parks, and documented Japanese American internment at Manzanar during World War II in Born Free and Equal. He also helped set up photography programs and created the Zone System to better control light and contrast in photos. His work blended art, nature, and social justice in a powerful way.

Image Analysis

I will be trying to combine these two mood boards as I am inspired by the way Ralph Eugene Meatyard masks identity and Cerises Doucedes successful presentation of people in their own environment and thoughts

In my photoshoot I will try to focus on the binary opposites of masculinity and femininity and try to create a powerful narrative, by mixing clothing and accessories traditionally associated with each gender—such as pairing a tailored suit with delicate lace details or a soft dress with structured, bold accessories. Lighting can enhance the contrasts as well—using harsh lighting to accentuate strength and softer lighting to bring out vulnerability or softness. Split lighting, where one side of the subject is in shadow and the other is illuminated, can visually symbolize the opposing forces. For composition, I might place the masculine and feminine elements on opposite sides of the frame or use reflective surfaces like mirrors to show both sides of the subject’s identity. Props associated with each gender, such as boots or ties alongside flowers or jewelry, will deepen the symbolism, and playing with contrasting colours can further strengthen the mood. This approach will create a visual dialogue between masculinity and femininity, inviting the viewer to explore and interpret the boundaries between them.