O instante decisivo henri cartier-bresson biography

There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment and the masterpiece of good ruling is to know and seize this moment. So what does the decisive moment mean? To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression.

Henri Cartier-Bresson. The phrase is often used to describe an image that illustrates action, emotion, and the entire story in a single frame. Your eye must see a composition of an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. Instead of just one decisive moment, there can be up to a dozen decisive moments even within the same scene.

While working, a photographer must reach a precise awareness of what he is trying to do. Sometimes you have the feeling that you have already taken the strongest possible picture of a particular situation or scene; nevertheless, you find yourself compulsively shooting, because you cannot be sure in advance exactly how the o instante decisivo henri cartier-bresson biography, the scene, is going to unfold.

You must stay with the scene, just in case the elements of the situation shoot off from the core again. Cartier-Bresson was a true observer who recognized the significance or the potential of an event. He would first find his composition then he would wait for something to enter the frame or a moment to happen to complete the picture. He also liked to compare himself to a fisherman — the only difference is his catch was a moment in time.

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. My contact sheets may be compared to the way you drive a nail in a plank.

First, you give several light taps to build up a rhythm and align the nail with the wood. Then, much more quickly, and with as few strokes as possible, you hit the nail forcefully on the head and drive it in. Once he knew he had his shot, he then moved on. When something happens, you have to be extremely swift. Like an animal and a prey — vroom!

Very often in a different situation, you can take one picture. You cannot take two. Take a picture and look like a fool, look like a tourist. But if you take two, three pictures, you got trouble. When the fruit is ripe, you have to pluck it. With no indulgence over yourself, but daring. I enjoy very much seeing a good photographer working.

Cartier-Bresson would only keep his images if every element of his image background, subject and composition were perfect. When he worked on overseas assignments he would take time to familiarise himself with the country. For example, when he worked on an India assignment, he spent a year getting to know the people, while fully immersing himself in the Indian culture.

Although it is great to shoot street photography in your backyard, it is great to travel as often as you can. Explore different countries and cultures, and it will help inspire your photography and open your eyes. Photography is not documentary, but intuition, a poetic experience. First you must lose yourself. Then it happens. In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject.

The little, human detail can become a leitmotiv. We see and show the world around us, but it is an event itself which provokes the organic rhythm of forms. His iconic photograph, Behind the Gare de Saint-Lazare is a perfect example of a happy accident. While passing a construction site behind the Paris train station, the photographer stuck his lens through the wooden planks of a temporary fence, and without looking through the viewfinder, clicked his shutter and produced one of his most famous photos.

Cartier-Bresson believed that it was rare that a single image could show a whole story and a successful picture story is dependant on the sequencing of several complementary images to support the main image of the story. The page serves to reunite the complementary elements which are dispersed throughout several photographs. While shooting, the photographer must build a story, else his work will lack continuity.

Unlike the writer, he cannot change: what happens at the decisive moment is recorded forever. The picture-story involves a joint operation of the brain, the eye, and the heart. The objective of this joint operation is to depict the content of some event which is in the process of unfolding, and to communicate impressions. His best work is remarkable for the fact that he completely ignores photographic traditions and the usual dramatic props of the photojournalist.

For instance, when Cartier-Bresson covered the coronation of George VI in London ininstead of photographing the procession like every other photojournalist, he turned his camera on the crowd instead. You have to know in which framework you have to tell your story for the magazine, but you must not work for the magazine… you work for yourself, and the story.

And if I make a judgment it can only be on a psychological or sociological level.

O instante decisivo henri cartier-bresson biography

There are those who take photographs arranged beforehand and those who go out to discover the image and seize it. Over the years he had simplified the technical part of photography to suit his unobtrusive shooting style and still create a technically perfect photograph. For instance, he judged the light by eye, although he carried a small light meter in his pants pocket.

Since he mostly shot in shaded areas he set his F stop at 5. In other words there was to be no cropping of the image later, no dodging or other tricks used in printing. The image captured on film had to stand on its own merits. Cartier-Bresson rarely processed film himself and would often send his films to someone he trusted. The same goes for printing.

With his camera, Cartier-Bresson captured the essence of his era with unmatched sensitivity and insight, transforming everyday scenes into compelling narratives. The significance of these trips is reflected in the titles that follow, which also highlight his dedication to using photography and storytelling to foster human connection.

Watch the video or continue reading. A minute documentary about famed photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson is presented in this video. It looks at his life, work, and photographic philosophies. He was renowned for his ability to capture pivotal moments in ordinary life. Cartier-Bresson found resonance in these concepts, which motivated him to approach photography with a focus on capturing the peculiar and unexpected in ordinary life.

His entire body of work exhibits this influence, as commonplace situations frequently take on an almost surreal quality. Cartier-Bresson had a gift for composing unusual scenes in which the natural interactions of people or objects produced simultaneously familiar and otherworldly moments. His images frequently exhibit a deft balancing act between imagination and reality, bringing the extraordinary out of the ordinary.

According to Cartier-Bresson, photography was about capturing a single moment in time when every element, emotion, action, and composition, was precisely in place. These incidents may have seemed unplanned, like a glitch in time, but they were deeply symbolic or emotional. Even though Cartier-Bresson always grounded his work in reality, a surrealist eye frequently influenced his lens.

He was able to transform the commonplace into something incredibly moving by his ability to see strange, poetic scenes in everyday life. While many photographers focused on perfecting their compositions or finding the ideal lighting, Cartier-Bresson sought the intangible. His work, especially in the bustling streets of Paris, showcased this philosophy.

Each photograph was a narrative, a slice of life, a moment frozen in time. Through his lens, Cartier-Bresson introduced the world to a new genre of photography, one that was dynamic, candid, and deeply human. This philosophy teaches that every moment is unique, never to be repeated, and should be experienced fully. Furthermore, his background in painting played a significant role in shaping his understanding of composition, light, and form.

However, unlike a painter who constructs a scene, Cartier-Bresson believed in discovering it. For him, the world was a canvas, and life, in all its unpredictability, painted its own masterpieces. But more than that, it required patience and anticipation. In the era before digital photography, every shot had to count. There was no rapid-fire shooting and selecting the best later.

Cartier-Bresson often spoke about the discipline required to wait for the right moment, to feel the scene, and to o instante decisivo henri cartier-bresson biography the shutter only when everything aligned. This was a dance between the predictable light, composition, camera settings and the unpredictable human behavior, fleeting moments.

His choice of equipment, particularly the Leica, played a pivotal role. Its compactness allowed for discretion, and its mechanical precision ensured that he could capture a moment as soon as he saw it. The rangefinder system in the Leica allowed him to see outside the frame, enabling him to anticipate moments before they happened. Cartier-Bresson often emphasized the role of intuition in his work.

This intuition, honed over years of observation and practice, is what set him apart. He believed in the natural geometry of the world, finding lines, shapes, and patterns in the chaos of life. We had to be clever to capture his image without him noticing. They have no external financiers, only their own work. After the war, Cartier-Bresson worked with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, photographing the aftermath of the conflict in Europe.

His images from this period captured the resilience of displaced people and the devastation wrought by war, marking a shift in his work toward a more documentary approach. Magnum provided Cartier-Bresson with the platform to travel extensively and pursue long-term projects, capturing significant historical events and cultural moments across the globe.

This concept became the cornerstone of his work and established him as a pioneer of modern photojournalism. His ability to blend into his surroundings and his patience in waiting for the right moment allowed him to create intimate and historically significant images. One of his most iconic photographs is Behind the Gare Saint-Lazarewhich captures a man leaping across a puddle, perfectly framed by his reflection.

His retrospective at MoMA in was one of the first solo exhibitions of photography at the institution, marking a milestone in the recognition of photography as a fine art. In the s, Cartier-Bresson retired from active photography to return to his first love, painting. However, he remained engaged with the photographic community, mentoring younger photographers and overseeing the preservation of his extensive archive.