Learning Lessons From Bresson by Jasper Francisco
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Street photography is a form of photography where your camera acts like a social mirror, highlighting the things that happen on the streets where the people are relaxed and free from any form of inhibition. Unlike other forms of photography, street photography doesn’t concern itself with a single subject or idea. It is a spontaneous art. It’s all about seeing things and reacting with your camera. The popularity of street photography owes its thanks to French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. Henri Cartier-Bresson is considered to be the father of photojournalism and the master of candid photography. The roots of street photography can be traced back to his works. Before he took up photography, Cartier-Bresson was a painter. He studied at the Lhote Acad-
emy and there he struggled under the academy’s strict rules for art. He then developed an interest in the Surrealistic movement. The movement revolted for objects to be photographed as they are, without being made to “look better” by modifying the object or scene. As Cartier-Bresson deepened his relationship with the members of the movement, he leaned more towards photography until he was finally inspired by Hungarian photojournalist Martin Munkacsi’s photograph “Three Boys at Lake Tanganyika” Cartier-Bresson was captivated by how the photograph has captured three naked young African boys running into the surf of Lake Tanganyika. He said that the photograph seemed to have captured eternity in an instant, an effect he cannot replicate in his paintings. This had made him drop his paintbrush and pick up a camera. His first camera was a Leica film camera with a 50mm lens. He proceeded to take it with him to the streets. He didn’t like his subjects to be aware that they were being photographed so, he covered the shiny parts of his Leica with black. This anonymity that his camera had given him helped him capture the natural state of his subjects. Henri Cartier-Bresson became an inspiration to a lot of photographers. He founded the picture agency Magnum Photos along with photographers Robert Capa, David Seymour, William Vandivert and George Rodger. Through Magnum, Bresson’s work was able to spread. Cartier-Bresson has traveled to many different places to capture photographs. He has experienced a variety of cultures and has taken a lot of pictures. He is a veteran of photography. His works are like a grandfather talking to his grandchildren, teaching them lessons in which they could use for real life. Here are some of the lessons that Cartier-Bresson could teach.
Wait for it. Cartier-Bresson would always talk about the “decisive moment�. The decisive moment is known as that split-second photo opportunity that could come to a photographer at any given moment. It could be that time a couple kisses or the moment a man dives into a pool. These moments are what street photographers aim for and given the short amount of time given for them to react, they are the hardest to get. What one could do is just be patient and wait for the moment to pass by.
Travel. Cartier-Bresson’s photography career
has taken him to many countries like China, Mexico, Canada, the United States, India, Japan, and the Soviet Union. He has learned a lot of cultures and his frequent travels are shown by the variety of his photos. Not only could travelling spawn great photographs but it could also expand the view of the photographer by seeing life outside their own.
“Photography has not changed since its origin except in its technical aspects, which for me are not important.”
Henri Cartier-Bresson never cared about what camera he had, he didn’t mind that it wasn’t the latest model at the time nor did he complain about a lack of equipment. He stuck to one camera and one lens when he was shooting for himself.
Take photos of anyone. Even children! Many of Bresson’s works are focused on children. Little children can show the status of the society around them as they are the very result of it. They give off a nostalgic feeling to the viewers of pictures. This side of street photography has been under fire due to the potential approval of some privacy laws but, usually people don’t mind when they see cameras being pointed at them.
“Actually, I’m not all that interested in the subject of photography. Once the picture is in the box, I’m not all that interested in what happens next. Hunters, after all, aren’t cooks.” Henri Cartier-Bresson reminds us that in photography, what matters the most is the picture. The continuous evolution of technology has spawned a lot of tools for post-processing images like Photoshop, Lightroom, GIMP. These tools may be useful to photographers today but, Cartier-Bresson reminds us that they are not necessary to be able to take good photos. These are just some of the lessons that the works of the great Henri Cartier-Bresson can teach us. It is good that we learn from the masters and try to emulate their styles but, let us not forget that street photography, like any art form, is about expressing ourselves. It may be good to emulate some of their works but not too much lest we make our photos look like cheap imitations. With these lessons, the only thing left for a student to do is to grab a camera, open the door, get outside, and shoot your heart out.