Nowadays, under the rise of technology, everyone can take a picture easily with a phone or a camera. Just as easy as the way you find my blog and read it every week. (hope so 🌹) And it’s not just easy taking photos, sharing photos is also a piece of cake with the connected network. But back to 1930s, Henri Cartier-Bresson, the founder of modern photojournalism, didn’t take his amazing photos that easily.
Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
Henri Cartier-Bresson is the man who captured that fantastic moment. This French street photographer wandered around the world with a camera as his travel buddy. He was recognised as one of the leading artist of the 20th century with his mostly black-and-white photos and spontaneous, humane style.
He started shooting from a really young age.
In 1931 Cartier-Bresson came to Africa for hunting and soon grew tired of it. Although couldn’t keep up with the sport, he discovered a new interest, which he commited with to the rest of his life: photography. As soon as the photographer came back to France, he purchased the first Leica and started practising taking pictures.
Thats how one of the greatest photographer found his passion and walked on his journey.
He then finally stopped shooting professionally in 1970s and turned to painting and drawing.
“I kept walking the streets, high-strung, and eager to snap scenes of convincing reality, but mainly I wanted to capture the quintessence of the phenomenon in a single image. Photographing, for me, is instant drawing, and the secret is to forget you are carrying a camera.”
What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)
The photo was named “The Decisive Moment”.
Here is the link:Â http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2011/08/22/10-things-henri-cartier-bresson-can-teach-you-about-street-photography/
With the photo or video you are examining when was it produced (date)?
There is no exact information about the day the photo was taken.
How was the photo or video authored?Â
Henri Cartier-Bresson only used a Leica rangefinder and one lens, a 50mm, for almost all of his works. It allowed him to focus and know exactly what would be in his frame without needing a viewfinder. He also often wrapped his Leica camera in black tape to make it less obtrusive then walked down the streets, held camera up to his eye and shoot when he saw a potential moment, all in one smooth, unobtrusive motion.
That man was widely known for the spontaneous style. However with this picture, Henri had to be patient and wait for it.
“Sometimes it happens that you stall, delay, wait for something to happen. Sometimes you have the feeling that here are all the makings of a picture – except for just one thing that seems to be missing. But what one thing? Perhaps someone suddenly walks into your range of view. You follow his progress through the viewfinder. You wait and wait, and then finally you press the button – and you depart with the feeling (though you don’t know why) that you’ve really got something. Later, to substantiate this, you can take a print of this picture, trace it on the geometric figures which come up under analysis, and you’ll observe that, if the shutter was released at the decisive moment, you have instinctively fixed a geometric pattern without which the photograph would have been both formless and lifeless.”
How was the photo or video published?Â
The photo was first published in his photobook with the same name “The Decisive Moment” in 1952 at France along with 126 other photos he took around the world.
Now, with the Internet network, the photo is everywhere and anyone can upload it but Magnum Photos Pro seems to be an official publisher.
How was the photo or video distributed?Â
The photo was first distributed to viewers around the world through his photobook “The Decisive Moment” and later through his photograph exhibitions.
In the social network world, with his role as one of the major artist of the 20th Century, Cartier’s photo is uploaded everywhere in the Internet, making the distributing process become easier than ever. Cartier’s photo is also introduced in many universities for educational purpose.
References
Palmer, Daniel. ‘Mobile Media Photography’. The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media, edited by Gerard Goggin and Larissa Hjorth, Routledge, 2014, pp. 249–55.
Pro.magnumphotos.com. (n.d.). Magnum Photos Photographer Portfolio. [online] Available at: http://pro.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53ZMYN [Accessed 4 Sep. 2018].
Henri Cartier-Bresson – The Decisive Moment. (1973). [film] Directed by C. Capa. https://vimeo.com/178360907: Scholastic Magazines, Inc. and International Centre of Photography.