A blog post is always frustrating in that one has to choose what to address about the subject at hand, necessarily leaving a lot unexamined. This is true for all our subjects, but becomes truly excruciating when trying to discuss a photographer such as Henri Cartier-Bresson. My apologies for all that is left unsaid. In particular, Henri-Cartier Bresson is a man whose influence is felt not only through his pictures per se, but also through his attitudes and ideas. I'll focus on those, leaving deeper analysis of his pictures to someone else - or some other time.

Born in in 1908 and deceased in 2004, Cartier-Bresson was "only" active in photography from the 30s to the 70s. Yet his influence is second to none. To many, he is best known as the father of photojournalism, meaning that activity of capturing life and events as they occur in order to tell a (news) story. This is however debatable as many initiatives in the area pre-date Cartier-Bresson, and many other photographers might be given the title. More importantly, I feel his most crucial contributions lie elsewhere - though links with his photo-journalistic practice abound. 

The key to Cartier-Bresson's works is the obsession with capturing the moment, something unique, and engraving it in eternity with photography. His approach, interested in details and unlikely occurrences is a constant inspiration to all photographers, and is an obvious direct or indirect influence on all street photography.

Furthermore, it can be argued that his work ethos was basically an anticipation of the photography by the masses we have seen in recent years. Interest in non-posed "real-life" photography, with little to no editing and use of the (at the time) most accessible tools signaled that photography need not be restricted to an artistic elite only familiar with the most intricate technique. Of course, technique is of critical usefulness, but it is not what makes a great photography, being merely a tool to the higher purpose of creating a great picture. Or, in the words of the master himself: "Technique is important only insofar as you must master it in order to communicate what you see...(...) In any case, people think far too much about techniques and not enough about seeing". This focus on "seeing" should always be in the forefront of any photographer's mind, whether a seasoned professional or an enthusiastic amateur. Time and time again one comes across outstanding photographs that were made with simple techniques or tools less powerful than now available, and conversely other pictures made with painstaking technique and impressive tools that are of little or no interest. While technique and tools are invaluable, they pale in comparison to the impact of the ability to see.

That brings us to Cartier-Bresson's decisive moment. In the famous book of the same name, he outlined his theories on photography that resonate to this day. That is quite an astounding feat, especially if one considers the book isn't that easy to buy these days. Out of print for many years, it has now been re-edited, but only in a luxurious and expensive edition that makes it inaccessible to many. Yet its influence was so great that its ideas have percolated into the photographer sub-conscience so to speak.

In it, he develops the ideas quoted above, but crucially also the idea that photography is about the decisive moment when one releases the shutter and captures a fleeting moment for all eternity. That is, to him, the moment a photographer is creative. The one where he recognizes a specific event, composition, or any element of significance that he will capture. 

This has been unsurprisingly both inspirational and controversial. Inspirational because it is all that street photography and photojournalism are about. Controversial because this largely (but not completely) excludes posing and editing/post-processing from the scope of photographic creativity. And that's probably the most interesting part - the discussion and reflexion that can arise from such an idea. I'll likely develop my thoughts about this in a later post, but I'd love to hear yours in the meanwhile!