Henri Cartier-Bresson

Box Brownie

Regarded as one of the greatest photographers of his time, Henri Cartier-Bresson was a shy French photographer who was considered to be the father of modern photojournalism. He helped develop the ‘street photography’ style that has influenced generations of photographers that followed.  Cartier-Bresson was born in 1908 in Chanteloupe, France to middle-class parents.  As a boy, he started off by taking holiday snapshots using a ‘Box Brownie’ which he owned; he later experimented with a 3x4 view camera. He was also interested in painting and studied for two years in a Paris studio. This early training helped develop his eye for composition which became his greatest asset as a photographer.

Leica 35mm Range Finder

After returning from a year in West Africa it was in Marseille that Cartier-Bresson discovered photography. He was introduced to a Leica 35 mm range finder. This was a crucial experience, a new world, a new way of seeing the unpredictable was opened up to him. He remained devoted to the Leica throughout his career. He said that the camera itself was an ‘extension of my eye’. Cartier-Bresson served in the second World War and was captured by the Germans during the Battle of France.  After two unsuccessful attempts he escaped the Prisoner of War camp and worked with the underground until the War’s end. It is because of his experiences during this period which made him the photographer he was; he saw death, sadness, hardship and joy on the faces of the people he was surrounded by but not only that, he also felt those emotions which is why he could read such people and get the images he did. On resuming his career he helped form the Magnum Picture Agency in 1947. Assignments for major magazines would take him on travels around the world where he would photograph people and their surroundings.

Most of Cartier-Bresson’s photography is a collection of the little details. He quoted in his book,  The Decisive Moment, ‘In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject’.  This is true and can be seen in his pictures. He captures moments in time which have strong narratives. Some critics have accused him of being nothing more than a ‘snap shooter,’ but the best of Cartier-Bresson’s works of capturing human emotions could not be captured by luck alone, they are snapshots elevated to the level of art.  The anonymity that the small camera gave him on the streets wherever he was, was essential in overcoming formal and unnatural behaviour of those who were aware of being photographed.  To preserve its anonymity he would paint all the shiny parts of his Leica with black paint and then wait in ambush for the right time to occur seizing that moment. Cartier-Bresson quoted ‘avoid making a commotion, just as you wouldn’t stir up the water before fishing. Don’t use flash out of respect for the natural lighting, even when there isn’t any. If these rules aren’t followed, the photographer becomes unbearably intrusive’ ( The Decisive Moment). It was his unobtrusive manner that allowed him to capture some of the world’s best photographs which have given us a timeless insight into history.  

Gandhi breaking Fast just before his assassination.

A picture which sticks in ones mind is that of Gandhi in his last moments before he was assassinated. Cartier-Bresson, who was a close friend of Gandhi, was granted a photo session with him.  Cartier-Bresson was able to capture him after breaking his last ever fast. Fifteen minutes after leaving him, Cartier-Bresson heard shouts that Gandhi had been shot, he ran back and managed to get pictures of Gandhi’s family at his deathbed. However the most emotional image captured was that of India’s Prime Minister Nehru when he announced the death of Mahatma Gandhi to wailing crowds outside his home. Cartier-Bresson recounted the atmosphere of the anguished mob and even remembered what settings he used to capture that image as he never used flash in his photos. These are just examples of how Cartier-Bresson has captured an iconic moment which cannot be repeated or copied. 

Les Halles 1952

Cartier-Bresson manages to capture peoples emotion or lack of in his pictures.  In picture ‘Les Halles, 1952’ for example a worker is standing with his arms crossed and straight faced, it is hard to distinguish what he is feeling; even the man next to him does not give much indication. It appears that they are not happy being photographed and are in some way protective over something or someone. In the picture ‘Funeral of the Charonne Victims, 1962’ it is quite a strong narrative with the woman wiping her tears and the men holding hands giving each other comfort and showing solidarity. This shows that Cartier-Bresson produces strong narratives with his pictures. It is very easy to build a story around everything within that frame because he captures the right image at the right time. He somehow manages to capture your attention and imagination and opens a whole new world to the viewer. 

 The details within Cartier-Bresson’s pictures seem to indicate where it has been taken or what it is about. For example, in the picture ‘Berlin, 1962,’ the street sign gives enough information to be able to search where the picture was taken, had there only been one street name, this would have made it almost impossible to locate. This is also the case with the picture ‘New York, USA1947,’ the poster in the window of James Cagney in the film 13 Rue Madeleine gives us a distinct date of when it was taken. Cartier-Bresson somehow manages to date and locate his images in his own subtle way.

Three Boys at Lake Tanganyika

The picture on the left may be considered just a snapshot by critics but it shows that it is within some kind of war zone as the walls have been destroyed and there is an injured child in it, but regardless, the children are happy and are playing in the rubble which shows their innocence and ignorance to what is happening around them. This allowed Cartier-Bresson to go deep into areas and capture what life there was really like. He caught children in the comfort of their own environment and this sometimes included them being naked. The picture that is said to have inspired him to take out his camera and go out into the street was that of Hungarian photojournalist Martin Munkacsi showing three naked young African boys, caught in near-silhouette, running into the surf of Lake Tanganyika. Titled ‘Three boys at Lake Tanganyika.’ Cartier-Bresson said: ‘this captured the freedom, grace and spontaneity of their movement and their joy at being alive’. 

Today it can be seen that many photographers are adopting Cartier-Bresson’s style of photography especially in wedding photography. Many find it less obtrusive and find themselves more at ease for photographs to be taken in this way which then allows the photographer to really capture couples’ emotions of their special day from a distance. This is fast replacing the need for staged photographs because nowadays with peoples different attitudes and moods, the modern day couple prefers to have pictures taken in this way to capture the true moments of their special day. Storybook style albums are fast becoming popular with couples as this tells the story of their day from the bride having her make-up applied through to the wedding ceremony then onto the reception and dinner and finally the first dance. This differs from the traditional posed pictures with friends and families.

Cartier-Bresson’s style of photography was not using professional models; he would take pictures quietly, unobtrusively without the person even knowing that they were being photographed. Before he takes a shot, he has scanned the background to see how that shot would tell a story. He is a great influence and mentor to many photographers today who have adopted his style and methods in their work.

‘The simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organisation of forms which gives that event its proper expression ... In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little human detail can become a leitmotif.’ 

                       

The Society of the Spectacle

The Society of the Spectacle (‘the Spectacle’) is an inverted image of society in which relations between commodities have replaced relationships between people. La Société Du Spectacle is a work of philosophy and critical theory by situationist and Marxist theorist, Guy Debord. It is a book that was first published in 1967 in France, and later made into a documentary. The Spectacle provides an extensive reinterpretation of Karl Marx’s work in its application of commodity fetishism.

This essay explains the background of the Spectacle by setting out the thoughts of the famous philosopher, Karl Marx, on capitalism, and how the founder of the Spectacle incorporates Marx’s teachings. The essay establishes how society is affected by the Spectacle, in particular, how commodities have replaced the social aspect of life. It goes on to describe how the Spectacle reflects on photography and how photography plays a main role in enticing consumers into buying a particular product that they may not even need.

Karl Marx was a German philosopher whose ideas played a significant role in the development of modern communism and socialism. Marx argued that capitalism would inevitably produce internal tensions which would replace capitalism and lead to a stateless, classless society. Structured upon the common ownership of the production, free access to articles of consumption, the end of wage labour and private property in the means of production and real estate. Guy Debord was a Frenchman who was raised by his Grandmother. After dropping out of university where he was studying law, he became a revolutionary poet, writer and film maker. In the 1960s he led the Situationist International Group which influenced the Paris Uprising of 1968 which saw the largest general strike in France resulting in the economy coming to a virtual standstill. It’s affect was such that it almost caused the collapse of President Charles De Gaulle’s Government. Many think it was his book ‘The Society of the Spectacle’ was a catalyst to the strikes. He later developed this into a film which was one of his most recognised works. Debord’s aim is to “wake up the spectator who has been drugged by spectacular images.”

Anxious iPadders awaiting the release of the iPad 2

Commodity Fetishism marks the mystification of human relations said to arise out of growth of market trade, when social relationships between people are expressed as, mediated by and transformed into, objectified relationships between commodities and money. People are controlled by what happens in society whether they are aware of it or not. The clothes that are worn to the latest game console and the most popular influence: the mobile phone. Mass media is a major influence and seduces people with the sexualisation of advertising. By sexing up the products, the advertisers are tapping into  the subconscious mind thus making that product an object of desire and even if one cannot afford it at that moment, by seeing other peers with that particular product entices one to find ways of obtaining it just to keep up with the Jones’s. Apple have cornered this market extremely well. They have made their products the most sought after in the world and every time a new product is released people of a certain market flock to the Apple store days before just so that they can be the first to own that product, be it the iphone or even the ipad. Although other companies try to compete and bring out similar products to rival them, people still remember the Apple products. Apple do not need to do much marketing because those who do buy their products will tell others how great the product is, which can be by word of mouth, video clips on youtube, ebooks, images and even text messages.

Brands such as Nike had no credit in the basketball world before 1984, when they struck a deal with Michael Jordan for $2.5 million to promote them. Michael soon became a rising star in Basketball and all the youngsters knew who he was and those who didn’t soon found out. This was the perfect way for Nike to promote their name. Each of the Air Jordan’s released pushed the boundaries of style and technology. Since it’s first release in 1985, there have continually been new designs of the Air Jordan athletic shoe released each year even after Jordan’s retirement from basketball. Today, Jordan is not as popular as he was a few years ago and the youth of today probably do not even know who he is but they are still buying the product because of the Nike brand. Nike is probably the most successful in sportswear and they do not even need to write their name because their logo i.e. “the swoosh” alone speaks for itself and everybody knows the brand. 

Nowadays people tend to have less time for socialising, and jobs and hectic lifestyles have taken over people’s social lives. As a result of social networking sites, people are now communicating through the power of the internet. This has affected face-to-face communication skills in a way that people do not really know how interact with each other as they did say 15 years ago, prior the technology boom. This can be noticed mainly in London where there is almost no interaction between people on the tube. Everyone has either a newspaper, mobile phone or laptop to keep them occupied just so that they do not have to make conversation. This is exactly what Debord was expressing when he said relations between commodities have replaced relations between people, i.e commodity fetishism. The lack of face-to-face communication has affected people’s confidence. When sitting behind a computer, there is no direct face-to-face contact which allows more time to respond to whoever is on the other side, therefore not seeing facial expressions and hearing tones in the voice may lead to conversations being misunderstood. Traditionally, people in the north of England tend to have a different attitude; they are not as technology hungry and tend to be friendlier and seek that interaction with people. Social interaction plays a big part of their identity, particularly the older generation. However, this pattern is starting to fade to some extent with the younger generation wanting to catch up with the South.

Today, society is more about wants rather than needs due to the facility of obtaining credit to be able to afford luxuries. Television has been the major culprit in enticing society into buying what we do not really need. Food, shelter and clothing have been made more desirable, no longer does one just want a house, one also wants a designer kitchen, bathroom, bedroom with all the mod cons and 40” flat screen HD, 3D TV. Marks and Spencer’s make their food so desirable on TV that when people watch television they are automatically captured. Their timing is also calculated so that it is shown before or around dinner time to get ones taste buds going. This reflects in photography in marketing which can be seen on billboards when one is driving, on public transport or even in magazines and newspapers. Photography is the tempter used to draw in the consumer. Due to editing software a simple image can be manipulated to look “perfect” and draw in a specific market. Fashion magazines have greatly airbrushed the image of models to show her with flawless skin and a size zero and this is viewed by young girls and there is this pressure to “look good” because this is what society believes a woman should look like. There is no understanding of why images look this way and this leads to women crash dieting or even turning bulimic to reach societies expectations.

Not everybody will react the same to a particular advert, as everyone is different and has different values; what appeals to some may not appeal to others. A Marks and Spencer’s advert for chocolate cake with hot creamy chocolate oozing out of it will not appeal to someone who is weight conscious.

People are influenced and dominated by images everywhere. In this modern day, if an image appears sexy, it will sell. The notion that ‘sex sells’ is extremely clear. The sexualisation of products is what captures a person and makes them desirable. Even simple things such as books have caused a stir when the image of a naked couple in bed were more interested in reading than sex. In some ethnic societies in the UK this was scorned upon and they resorted to painting over the billboard to cover up the nudity. So photography dominates society because it is quick to capture a person’s attention compared to a short film or advert on television. In all the magazines that are available today, whether it be a food magazine of gardening, good photography is what first captures a person before reading the text. Sex appeal can increase the effectiveness of an advert because it attracts the consumer’s attention. A pair of long legs on a billboard is more likely to catch and hold a man’s attention than a puppy regardless of how cute it is; even women are drawn to them with the desire of having silky smooth ‘goddess legs’. 

In conclusion, today’s society mirrors that of the Spectacle; commodities have taken over and are a substitution for using the once important social skills people possessed. This has occurred through photography, in particular how ‘perfected’ images influence people to buy products that look good but that they may not even need. Is photography the reason for the substitution of social skills with commodities? This may appear to be the case. Today’s society is the Spectacle ... an inverted image of society in which relations between commodities have replaced relationships between people.

Essay by Rishi Bangaroo

Fireworks at Wardown Park 2010

A bit late but better late than never. I took these at Wardown Park in Luton on 5th November 2010. This was the best spot I could find as it was packed with onlookers. I set my camera to Bulb on f/8 and ISO 100. This is my first attempt at photographing fireworks so hopefully next time will be a lot better.

Painting and drawing with light

Experimenting painting with light with a torch. I covered the torch with red cellophane for the injection of colour.

Melen Courses - Phil Richardson

At the beginning of this year, I enrolled in a Diploma course in photography with Phil Richardson of Melen Courses in Gaddesden Row, Hertfordshire. I entered with absolutely no knowledge of how to use a DSLR camera. Phil taught me what the different settings were and how and when to use them to get the perfect shot. Almost immediately I began to understand my camera. Phil's teaching methods are "crazy" to say the least and he is more than happy to pose for you if there are no models available. He has so much information and enthusiasm that he just blurts things out in random order and funnily enough it seems to get stored in your hard drive without realising it until you go over your notes and the answers just pop in!

There are photographers out there who will not give you the time of day as they are afraid that you will somehow put them out of business but Phil really wants the best from you and you can ask him anything at anytime via email (and I mean anytime). Sometimes I've emailed him at stupid o' clock waiting for an answer the next morning, and he's replied straight away.

With each module comes an hour's 1 to 1 time which can be done face to face or via Skype if you prefer and this helps you to get the most out of your assignment. Phil will also tell you if he thinks you can do better with your pictures and gives you more time to get the shot.

I can definitely say that I fully recommend Phil for any course to do with photography as I believe that you won't find anyone with his type of commitment. Phil teaches for the passion not for the money, his courses are more like a social gathering with everyone sharing information, you also get to meet like minded people who share his enthusiasm for the subject.

You can check out the courses at www.melencourses.co.uk. you won't be disappointed!