Henri Cartier- Bresson 'The Decisive Moment' 'In photography the smallest thing can be the greatest subject' Henri Cartier-Bresson is a French photographer considered to
be the father of modern photojournalism. Cartier-Bresson believed in ‘The
Decisive Moment’, the idea that there is a creative fraction of a second when
taking a photo. His photos capture natural and honest moments that are
uninfluenced by the subjects knowledge of the camera. |  |
as a journalist Cartier-Bresson felt the need to communicate his thoughts about what he saw. It was at the age of 22 on return from the West African Bush that Cartier-Bresson truly discovered photography. The world through his Leica was a new way of seeing, spontaneous and unpredictable. It was at this point that Cartier-Bresson found his passion in prowling the streets ready to 'trap' life and 'preserve life in the act of living.'
His career in photography was briefly interrupted by World War 2 where he was captured by the Germans in the battle of France. After two failed attempts he finally escaped and worked with the underground until the end of the war. In 1947 he picked up where he left of and helped to form the Magnum Picture Agency. Work for various major magazines would take him on travels across the US, Europe and to China, India and Russia. In the 50's and 60's many different books containing Cartier-Bressons photographs where published. The most famous one known today was 'The Decisive Moment' which was published in 1952.
‘Photography is not like painting, there is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.’
Henri Cartier-Bresson, Washington Post 1957
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Lewis Hine Lewis Hine is an American photographer who used his
photography as a tool for social reform. Hine is well known for capturing the
hard reality of child labour and the risks that the workers endured whilst
inside the factory doors. Hines photographs played a big part in changing the
child labour laws in the United
States. Lewis Hine became the staff photographer of the Russell Sage foundation in 1906 where he photographed what life was like in the steel making districts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He then became the photographer for the National Child Labour Committee two years later in 1908. |
Other influencial works by Lewis Hine include his photographs of the American Red Cross relief work in Europe and his document of the construction of The Empire Estate Building. During construction Hine captured images of the workers in dangerous situations whilst the framework of the structure was secured. These photographs were designed to truthfully show the risks in which the workers endured.
Helen Levitt Helen Levitt is an American photographer best known for her street photography around New York. Levitt grew up in Brooklyn where she dropped out of high school to teach art classes to children alongside teaching herself photography. She became increasingly interested with the transitory chalk drawings that were part of the New York childrens street culture at the time. Like Henri Cartier-Bresson she purchased a Leica camera and photographed the chalk drawings alongside the children who made them. In 1987 her photographs were published in 'In the Street: Chalk drawings and messages, New York City'. Levitt made two documentary films in the late 1940s, 'In the street' and 'The quiet one' She was involved in film making for nearly 25 years until she was awarded two grants in 1959 to take colour photographs on the streets of New York. Her first major collection 'A way of seeing' was published in 1965.  |  |
