Tag Archives: Cartier Bresson

Assignment 3 The Decisive Moment: Reflection Post Submission

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Of the three assignments completed so far I found this one the most enjoyable.  It is not that the others were not thought provoking or challenging but with this one I found that I really immersed myself in the research, thought process and subject matter.  Perhaps subconsciously I was back in a comfort zone or alternatively maybe I have discovered part of my voice in this genre of image creation.  Overall I believed I have met the criteria therefore would judge my work at the detailed level as follows:

Demonstration of technical and visual skills – Materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills. (40%)

  • Technical skill: All in focus, all exposed as I wanted then, all level, depth of field as I required with the correct tonal qualities
  • Observational skills: As my research shows I did not go for the obvious and built my images up in three learning groups, with each group building on the other.
  • Design/Compositional skills: All the pictures are as I wanted them.  During shooting I made a conscious decision as to the correct orientation (landscape or portrait) for the image and tried where possible to keep true to Cartier Bresson in that I composed the image full frame in the viewfinder so as there would be little or no cropping afterwards.

Quality of outcome – Content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas. (20%)

  • I feel I have produced images that show visual qualities that allow the viewer to connect with the theme of the decisive moment and reflect the feel of Cartier Bresson’s images.  I also feel that each image works both stand alone and as part of a distinct sequence.  There is one image that I highlighted in the text that may be removed from the final submission as it does not represent a human but an animal.  I think I need time to reflect more on this but more than likely will remove it.
  • From the tutor comments on previous exercises I have given much more thought to the sequence and hanging plan and had tried to express my thoughts more both in the text and visually through annotated diagrams.  In a strange way I find this akin to maths in that while you can easily get to the answer that is only part of the solution, the workings out are what really counts in this case the thought process.  I feel that I am understanding a little more with each exercise completed.

Demonstration of creativity – Imagination, experimentation, invention. (20%)

  • I believe that the images presented the reflect the question in that I have thought hard about what I wanted to represent, and in doing so created both an interest and a curiosity with the viewer regarding the subject.  Also I tried not to fall into the too obvious cliché trap.  However some of these clichés were perhaps in group 1 of my images but still acceptable as pictures.
  • What is interesting is now that the work has been completed, I am still seeing all around me images that would fit in with this assignment.  Therefore the learning from this is that this assignment has left a legacy in my ability to see an image.  Perhaps the danger is that all future images will have a subconscious decisive moment feel about them.  I have to be careful with this so it does not restrict any future creativity in other assignments.
  • What I have learnt with this assignment (which is perhaps an extension of my work with crowds in Assignment 2) is that most of the time people are actually extremely predictable.  In my group 3 shots where I framed first in anticipation of the subject entering and exiting the frame at the right time and position, very rarely failed.  Once the subject was in the frame the secret was just for me to know when to press the shutter.  Very rarely did this not work out. I think this predictability in people will be an important learning point for the future.

Context – Reflection, research, critical thinking. (20%)

  • For this assignment much research was done.  For me the secret here was not to read about Cartier Bresson’s technique more just to study the images and ask myself what worked and why I liked it and conversely what did not and why I did not like the image.  Besides Cartier Bresson’s work there are many other modern images on the internet that were viewed.  Some of them were conscious exercises in copying his style other more accidental in nature but all good reference points.

Based on the experience and assessment from previous assignments I would consider this a pass but how much I have no idea but as always there is certainly room to improve especially so in the selection and sequencing.  I know from the tutor review positive suggestions will be made for improvement and as always appreciate the constructive criticism.

Assignment 3 The Decisive Moment: Thoughts After Many Shoots

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Knowing that I was taking too long over Assignment 2, I was also working on Assignment 3 in parallel.  My logic here was that for the Cartier Bresson type images I was looking for would probably not manifest themselves in the space of a week but would take time to find.  To find these images would necessitate being in different locations and keep observing.  As the weeks progressed I felt that the number of images I was taking was reducing but the relative quality of seeing and timing improved.  In other words where I may have tried six or seven exposures to get something right, by the end the majority of the time I was hitting what I wanted in one exposure.

Again those of the earlier sequences tended to be more of the simple compositional decisive moments.  In other words I tended to place the subject along on the intersection of the Rule of Thirds.  I was initially pleased with these as it was a departure from my photography comfort zone, however I went back to look at Cartier Bresson’s canon and while I was pleased with my images fell far short of what I saw.  The difference was how Cartier Bresson structured his images with the subject fitting in that framework.

Armed with that knowledge the rate at which I both saw possible locations and subjects within slowed right down in that the opportunities were few and far between.  What I tended to do was snatch the image when I saw a desirable scene.  A sort of premediated grab shot, if there is such a thing.  Again I was somewhat unhappy with many of the results because the subject had moved while I was thinking or the camera was focusing/setting itself and the picture had ‘uncomposed’ itself.

After further reading regarding how Cartier Bresson approached this, my technique evolved again. For many of his shots he sorted out the compositional geometry first and hoped/assumed/knew that someone or something would happen within scope within the image.  In other words he waited for the image to produce itself rather than just stumbling upon an event. Sometimes he would only have to wait a few seconds other times it would be a long wait.  I tried this and produced what I feel are my best results.

Two great examples of this are the following pictures.  It is also interesting to not they were taken nearly 30 year apart yet the technique of anticipation of what is going to happen has not changed.

HenriCartierBresson.HyeresFrance.1932

Hyeres France.1932

Bresson

Sifnos, Greece. 1961

 All images reproduced with the kind permission of Fondation HCB

 So far with what I have taken I have to conclude it is still possible to create the decisive moment in society today.

Taking what I have said above into account I would break my images down into the following three groups.

Group 1
These are decisive moments in the truest sense; those that I have caught an event just at the correct point in time.  There is no thought of geometric composition.  If there is any it is more by accident that design.  I would class these more as serendipitous – chance entering the prepared mind rather than how we imagine ‘true’ Cartier Bresson images.

 

Group 2
These images have been seen with geometric composition in that there is perspective, framing of the subject, rules of thirds, vanishing points etc. to create the picture.  They were not planned in the sense that I would wait as Cartier Bresson likened himself to a hunter stalking his prey before I took the image.  The images were just there and I was aware of the surrounding geometry and recorded the picture.

Group 3
The final group is where I have composed the scene first and then waited for a subject to enter the frame at then release the shutter at the right time.  To me these are the most reminiscent of Cartier Bresson’s work.

Henri Cartier Bresson: Just Plain Love (L’amour tout court)

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Firstly I feel I have to get the film review over with, in that what I expected to see was not what I saw.  I expected to see a reflection by Cartier-Bresson on Cartier-Bresson.  It could be argued that exactly what was presented but what I saw rather muddling mix of reflection, anecdote, reminiscence stitched together with disjointed narration and inconsistent direction.

I understand it is difficult to demonstrate a static medium such as painting or photography in moving images.  However at least with painting you can see the artist at work and admire their technique.  With photography especially that of Cartier Bresson it is a case of looking and dissecting the final image.  Here for me in the film almost every cliché was present.  Firstly zooming in and out of the print, as if your eye were roving over the image.  But this is someone else’s eye, that of the director or cameraman and not our own.  Secondly adding sound that would associate us to the picture.  When we saw Bresson’s Indian sequence unnecessary Indian music played to reinforce the message.  We can see, and observe but documentaries do not like silence.  Therefore the void must be filled.  Finally the narration especially when describing a photo was completely at odds with Bresson.  Two narration examples are Giacometti crossing the street, and the Greek boy doing a handstand.  The narrator gets too deep and profound in the analysis of existence and the reasoning of the rationale of why Bresson took the photographs and how he felt when he did so, rather than accepting they are just masterful grab shots.

For me the most interesting of the hour was the last ten minutes of so when Bresson is looking through the prints for the book/collection.  Bresson was having none of it when the editor/curator wanted to include what Bresson thought of substandard work.  Regardless of age Bresson was not letting his standards drop.  He was still sharp in judgement.  You can see at one point Bresson showing where the subject should be and why he did not like the image selected.  As Bresson states at the beginning of the film is “What matters is to look” [1].  Clearly the editor/curator in this case had not abided by Bresson’s doctrine and is one of those people who doesn’t look.

For me the other take away is that we see Bresson as a great photographer, yet the reality is that he is a great artist who used photography for a period in his career as a medium to express his vision.  Once he tired of that or rather saw he could not move further forward with that medium he swapped to drawing.

I hoped to learn a little about when Bresson instinctively know it was time to press the shutter, but it was difficult for him to articulate that split second.  Bresson could not do it, as I would expect similar from a marksman or sniper yet all instinctively know when the time is right.

An interesting thought is that besides his skill at judging the decisive moment how much of his success was being at the right time in the development of photography as a medium.  How would Bresson fair in today’s society in this image conscious environment.  Any device these days seems to be capable of capturing an image and we are all conscious of the fact they can and that can be loaded to the internet in a matter of seconds.  My experience of when I was shooting for Assignment 2 the moment the camera was out people become wary.   They know what was going on.  Observe Bresson’s image of the crowd at Ghandi’s funeral.  He had the freedom to photograph the crowds because they did not realise what he was doing.  How different would that be today in this image obsessed world? Sadly more than likely a large percentage of the mourners would be taking pictures themselves.

I fairness I did watch the documentary a couple of times again however my views still hold.

 

References:

[1] L’amour Tout Court, 2001. [film].Directed by Raphaël O’Byrne; France, Les Films à Lou [Online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYYwqo8HKbw [Last accessed 16 Mar 2015]