Matthew Davis, Dissertation, Ba Applied Media
Matthew Davis Dissertation BA Applied Media
Henri Cartier-Bressons “Behind Saint-Lazare Station” - Paris 1932 is the greatest example of The Decisive Moment. It remains arguably the greatest photograph of all time! Why?
Henri Carter-Bresson is undoubtably one of the greatest photographers of all time. A master of photography, a pioneer. His dream can be illustrated by an English philosopher Francis Bacon(1561-1626), and Bresson quotes it as what he tries to achieve. " The contemplation of things as they are, without error or confusion without substitution or imposture is, in its self, a nobler thing than a whole harvest of invention."
Bresson believed one should not over saturate any situation, he put his heart, emotion and soul into his works.
I have been researching several articles websites and documentaries about photography and in particular Cartier Bresson’s ideal of the decisive moment within a photograph. I want to see, why today in the 21st-century with millions of photographers, and millions of different imaging devices, why Cartier-Bressons uber-famous photograph “Behind SaintLazare Station” - Paris 1932 displays the decisive moment better than any other photograph. In my mind its is the greatest photograph of all time. Bresson had a unique recipe in which he followed in order to GATHER his photographs, but are these instructions that anyone could follow? Or is it Bresson’s self, Bresson’s emotion and relationship with the subjects that gave him the ability to capture what no one else has, or to my mind is capable of?
I have been looking at Bressons decisive moment as a place in which to start my research. Bressons decisive moment was what he lived for, his colleagues said he almost quivered with excitement before pressing the shutter. Is this passion still alive today?
I have looked in depth at the documentary The Genius Of Photography, 2009. [DVD] Tim Kirby, UK/London:. This is incredibly helpful and useful in search for the answer to my question. The documentary looks at famous photographers and photographs since the its invention of the medium. It illustrates photographic evolution as both a recorder and a reporter. It exposes the validity of images as fact, and the journey the photograph made to be considered art. It gives a comprehensive look into an industry that is booming. This year alone will see an additional 8billion photographs added to the ether.
In researching Photographer Gregory Crewdson I decided to keep my question within the photo-documentary genre. This will illuminate any staged photographs. Crewdson is a multi national illustrious photographer, who employees a head of photographer, and another gentlemen to press the shutter. I simply cannot class, a team of 50 people preparing to shoot a photograph in the same way one individual wonders the streets and shoots what he sees. This in the same respect goes for photographers such as Jeff Wall, a Canadian photographer who stages his photographs, and said in the documentary The Genius Of Photography, 2009. [DVD] Tim Kirby, UK/London: wall to wall media. “you just have to photograph over, and over again until something happens” This in comparison to Bresson who said “you wait, and wait” Cartier-Bresson, H. (1952). The decisive moment (Images à la sauvette). New York: Simon & Schuster. Therefore this genre of photography
Matthew Davis, Dissertation, Ba Applied Media
is not apt for my question-it is too broad, and open ended. Photo journalism is the area that I will be investigating.
I have been looking at interviews with Henri Cartier-Bresson, in particular one filmed in 2003- The Impassioned Eye , 2003. [DVD] Heinz Butler, switzerland: Xanau Films AG.. Bresson is nearing the end of his life, and now can look back, and consider what he has achieved with a wider eye. He looks at a collection of his photographs and is able to comment with a personal and emotional attachment to each one he sees. In all the documentaries I research, Bresson continues to deny being an artist or a photographer. He simply states that “we are a craftsman like a joiner making a chair” This stems my question onward, if the grandfather /legend of photography does not consider himself a photographer, then why do so many people claim it today? Simpy type in photographer into a search engine and it returns just over 421 million possible hits. Hitting one at random displays someone offering wedding photography and how does Bresson differ from current photographers?
I also have been looking at some well establish photographic theory books. The Photograph by Graham Clarke is part of the Oxford History of Art encyclopedia. It deals with Cartier Bresson and breaks down his images, so we are able to interpret and read his images. It also speaks of Magnum, a groundbreaking cooperative of master pioneers in photography who's sole mission was to report without compromise. To photograph without cropping, without lying. Magnums mission statement "Magnum is a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually."Magnum Photos. 2012. About Magnum. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx? VP3=CMS3&VF=MAX_2&FRM=Frame:MAX_3#/ CMS3&VF=MAX_2&FRM=Frame:MAX_3. [Accessed 07 November 12]. This is by Henri Cartier Bresson, and is heavily illustrated across Magnums website.
Photography A Critical Introduction edited by Liz Wells. This is another text I am using, as again it considers many arguments that will be relevant to my question. It talks about the technology used, and photography in the age of electronic imaging. We live today in a culture where we as individuals photograph everything, our breakfast, a self portrait, capturing a flyer for a band playing. We are certainly living in an enlightened age, with all the information in the world at our fingertips. We Tweet and Skype, share where we are, who we are with and what we are doing millions of times each and everyday. We have cameras on us almost every hour we are awake. We photograph everything. The age we live in is a significant participant in my question. Traditionally at the beginning of the 20th Century Photography was a profession. A mechanical and chemical skill, knowledge was required if any kind of lasting image was required. This is the era Bresson was brought up in. His family were of adequate wealth, and were able to provide Bresson with a box brownie. The camera that made photography widely available to everybody. Bresson was a keen artist and spent two years working in a parisian studio. This formative training in art and all its traditions may have led Bresson to working and capturing the images in the very specific styles he did. Technology advanced still further and with the launch of the groundbreaking Leica Bresson was a nobody anymore. "I suddenly understood that a photograph could fix eternity in an instant” Time Magazine. 2003. Eternity In An Instant. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,447192,00.html. [Accessed 07 November 12]
Matthew Davis, Dissertation, Ba Applied Media
Technology, and its forging evolution may of had a significant effect on the images Bresson created. He was photographing in a time when photo-documentary was only just available due to the Leica’s revolutionary fast lenses. This enabled photographers to shoot scenes without the need for a tripod, and the images would still remain sharp, even if the scene was in relatively low light. This was in direct comparison to photographers using large format, heavy antiquated cameras that took 20 seconds plus for a scene to be exposed, or the box brownie-a greta camera, but it lacked significant detail. The lenses the Leica offered were exceptional. Incredibly sharp, and could expose scenes in tenths if not hundredths of a second. Leica's lenses are still valued today. Used standard lenses sell on ebay regularly in excess of £3000. They were a massive revolution, and an incredible advancement in how people took a photo, and indeed what they photographed. Today the technology surges ever forward. The latest photographic technology freezes a photo, but captures an entire depth of field. The viewer then chooses what to have in focus. The process/camera is called a Lytro camera, and yet again it is pushing every boundary. We have all this technology available now, and it eases capturing images, so why hasn't anybody been able to better Bresson in the capture of that illusive moment?
My research on Bresson demonstrates that he was quite a philosopher, a very passionate emotional emphatic man. The next text I will look at is Photography and Philosophy. This is a collection of essays on ‘The Pencil Of Nature’. This I Believe will help me to grasp the point in which Bresson makes. That each image is different, and we must approach each shutter press with a fresh approach.
The other side of the question relates to the over-saturation of photography. How everything must be more, bigger, better. I have been looking at various journal's, and online magazines to help me look into this. I have been looking at technological sites, and camera manufacture sites. Any member of the public can buy a camera now, point at the subject and shoot ultra high resolution images capable of capturing in excess of 20 frames a second. Surely there is no defining moment. Surely you will just capture it? Including scientific american.com. The Americans are in the process of creating a 32giga pixel camera that will photograph the edge of the universe, and it will do this 24 hours a day, creating a massive huge photograph of our galaxy. This combined with the hopes of photographer Thomas Hawk who plans to have 1 million of his photographs published by the time he dies, he continues to state that he is behind schedule already. This is a massive project just like the LSST (Large synoptic Survey Telescope), and it pushes another question. Quality or Quantity?
So the question I am asking is Henri Cartier-Bressons “Behind Saint-Lazare Station” Paris 1932 is the greatest example of The Decisive Moment. It remains arguably the greatest photograph of all time! Why?
TALK ABOUT THE IMAGE
Behind Lazzare station is an incredible image, not only because it opitimises the decisive moment, but for the countles codes and messages it contains. (Willhelm FLUSSER REF) Deconstructing the image will illustrate why this is a fundamentaly important image. This image was one of only two images that Bresson took that he cropped in his life. Cropping was a massive no no in Bressons eyes, however he justified this as he took the photograph from behind railings. The camera would not fit through the railings, so the image was not quite as Bresson had envisaged . (SEE PIC) Bresson states that he saw
Matthew Davis, Dissertation, Ba Applied Media
the scene whilst walking down the street, and quickly snapped it. The light was low, and a rail obscred part of the image, but this aside Bresson still captured something incredible. The first great thing about this obviously is the man jumping. His heel is about to splash down into the puddle, and this would change the serenity and dynamic of the image irrevocably. The next thing is the repetition
ABOUT CARTIER BRESSON HIS TECNIQUE THE WAY OTHERS CONSIDERED HIM OTHER PHOTOGRAPHS CREATING DECISIVE MOMENT IMAGERY TECHNOLOGY WHY, TECHNOLOGY EVOLVING ETC
SUMMARY WHY THERE HAS BEEN NO IMAGE LIKE IT KNOWINGLY