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03/15/2012 11:19:34 AM · #1
Interesting read. Although I do think it mostly applies to certain styles of shooting, there are definite lessons for all types of photography.
03/15/2012 11:45:55 AM · #2
I should study lesson 5
03/15/2012 12:01:43 PM · #3
Big fan of #4. Nah, make it humongous gigantic fan of #4.
03/15/2012 01:08:48 PM · #4
Thanks Johanna, a nice read.

This was the most important point for me: âPhotography is nothing â itâs life that interests me.â I have read a few interviews in French by him and yes he was more interested in being in the moment than the photograph itself, we could all learn an awful lot from that, the rest will be dust in no time.
03/15/2012 01:29:48 PM · #5
Originally posted by jagar:

Thanks Johanna, a nice read.

This was the most important point for me: âPhotography is nothing â itâs life that interests me.â I have read a few interviews in French by him and yes he was more interested in being in the moment than the photograph itself, we could all learn an awful lot from that, the rest will be dust in no time.

True for street and action photography but not quite for landscapes. Quite often the weather is horrible and I'd rather be by a warm fire but then the final image makes it worthwhile ;)
03/15/2012 01:30:18 PM · #6
Gosh...Johanna, I must be a List Grinch! Lists rarely inspire me as much as the work itself. Boiling down the work of HCB into a pile of connected bones...1, 2, 3...really removes the flesh and blood depth of his unique work and vision. I found this particular list somewhat generic.

Or, maybe I just haven't had enough coffee yet today...I'll get back to you after my second cup...;-)
03/15/2012 01:37:08 PM · #7
I'm a generic grinch myself. There was an interview on Utube with HCB that I prefer although I couldn't watch to the end because the interviewer was such a jerk. Other ways to get closer to HCB...

I am enjoying my coffee.
03/15/2012 01:40:57 PM · #8
I was bemused by #7. HCB was interested in the MOMENT, not the SUBJECT. And that example picture, with this caption: "This is a very simple photo, but it shows so much about the LIFE of the person being photographed" Really? What have we learned about her LIFE except that she wears tight blouses and highlights her hair?
03/15/2012 02:00:52 PM · #9
Originally posted by posthumous:

I was bemused by #7. HCB was interested in the MOMENT, not the SUBJECT. And that example picture, with this caption: "This is a very simple photo, but it shows so much about the LIFE of the person being photographed" Really? What have we learned about her LIFE except that she wears tight blouses and highlights her hair?

Yeah, we are ever only looking at ourselves. It's inescapable.
03/15/2012 02:03:16 PM · #10
Originally posted by MargaretN:

Originally posted by jagar:

Thanks Johanna, a nice read.

This was the most important point for me: âPhotography is nothing â itâs life that interests me.â I have read a few interviews in French by him and yes he was more interested in being in the moment than the photograph itself, we could all learn an awful lot from that, the rest will be dust in no time.

True for street and action photography but not quite for landscapes. Quite often the weather is horrible and I'd rather be by a warm fire but then the final image makes it worthwhile ;)


My best landscapes were the ones where i was totally present and for the most part had nothing to do with photography. In photography if we think to much about the final result we cut ourselves of from the instant we are trying to capture. For Bresson photography was a way of living in the moment, a sort of walking meditation if you like. Without any goal or desire for profit, how can art stem from anything else but this.
03/15/2012 02:04:35 PM · #11
Originally posted by posthumous:

I was bemused by #7. HCB was interested in the MOMENT, not the SUBJECT. And that example picture, with this caption: "This is a very simple photo, but it shows so much about the LIFE of the person being photographed" Really? What have we learned about her LIFE except that she wears tight blouses and highlights her hair?


Yeah, terrible example.
03/15/2012 02:11:15 PM · #12
<~~ going to start wearing tight blouses and highlight my hair.
03/15/2012 02:18:47 PM · #13
Originally posted by Art Roflmao:

<~~ going to start wearing tight blouses and highlight my hair.


you definitely need to highlight it because I can't even see it!
03/15/2012 02:31:15 PM · #14
oh the irreverence.
03/15/2012 03:28:00 PM · #15
Originally posted by jagar:

My best landscapes were the ones where i was totally present and for the most part had nothing to do with photography. In photography if we think to much about the final result we cut ourselves of from the instant we are trying to capture. For Bresson photography was a way of living in the moment, a sort of walking meditation if you like. Without any goal or desire for profit, how can art stem from anything else but this.

I do hiking as well so I understand appreciating landscapes without photography. But I also appreciate photography without being in the landscape. How else would you appreciate other people's photography? This disregard for the final result is something I can't relate to.

But maybe I am talking here about PP, not the moment of capture. To me PP is a very important part of creating a vision. Hence HCB is not a good artist for me to follow.

I also do these days a lot of homework before I go shooting. I know in advance what, where and how I want to photograph. Does it mean I will never be an artist?? There are a lot of landscape photographers who are also artists. Isn't this the case? I am confused. Like with anything to do with ART!! :(
03/15/2012 03:28:12 PM · #16
Originally posted by tnun:

oh the irreverence.


+1

I was actually amused by his opinion of photo editing, which he simply did not do himself. He just handed off his images to his team for THEM to deal with. I found that aspect of his approach just a little disingenuous. I'd give anything to know how he'd handle the digital age, when so much can be accomplished AFTER the fact. But again, depending on the type of photography, sometimes the capture alone is all that is needed.
03/15/2012 03:32:09 PM · #17
Originally posted by tanguera:

Originally posted by tnun:

oh the irreverence.


+1

I was actually amused by his opinion of photo editing, which he simply did not do himself. He just handed off his images to his team for THEM to deal with. I found that aspect of his approach just a little disingenuous. I'd give anything to know how he'd handle the digital age, when so much can be accomplished AFTER the fact. But again, depending on the type of photography, sometimes the capture alone is all that is needed.


+1 especially as back in his day photo editing was basically crop, dodge and burn...if he were around now I think he'd be a Minimal Editing lobbyist :-)
03/15/2012 03:36:02 PM · #18
Originally posted by tanguera:

Originally posted by tnun:

oh the irreverence.


+1

I was actually amused by his opinion of photo editing, which he simply did not do himself. He just handed off his images to his team for THEM to deal with. I found that aspect of his approach just a little disingenuous. I'd give anything to know how he'd handle the digital age, when so much can be accomplished AFTER the fact. But again, depending on the type of photography, sometimes the capture alone is all that is needed.


This makes me wonder if his negatives are archived anywhere, and if anyone has compared them with the prints made available from them. Does anyone know?
03/15/2012 03:49:15 PM · #19
Originally posted by snaffles:

Originally posted by tanguera:

Originally posted by tnun:

oh the irreverence.


+1

I was actually amused by his opinion of photo editing, which he simply did not do himself. He just handed off his images to his team for THEM to deal with. I found that aspect of his approach just a little disingenuous. I'd give anything to know how he'd handle the digital age, when so much can be accomplished AFTER the fact. But again, depending on the type of photography, sometimes the capture alone is all that is needed.


+1 especially as back in his day photo editing was basically crop, dodge and burn...if he were around now I think he'd be a Minimal Editing lobbyist :-)


He would be for sure, he would also still be one of the best photographers around and by far, why, because his priority was the act of taking photos and not the resulting photos or the ego trip that comes with them.
03/15/2012 04:20:54 PM · #20
ah, yes. let loose thine ego.
03/15/2012 05:05:14 PM · #21
Originally posted by tnun:

ah, yes. let loose thine ego.


Well, only when the hair highlights glow perfectly...;-P
03/15/2012 09:34:40 PM · #22
Originally posted by tanguera:

I was actually amused by his opinion of photo editing, which he simply did not do himself. He just handed off his images to his team for THEM to deal with. I found that aspect of his approach just a little disingenuous.


This has been one of the things that I think is misunderstood about HBC today. He saw himeslf as the hunter, not the cook, but you can be sure he was not advocating serving up raw meat to his guests.

The fact that Cartier-Bresson sought out the best printers he could find and used them for years is at odds with the casual "Oh that's just cooking, anyone can heat things up" attitude his glib remark implied. Look at the work done by the printers he used George Fèvre and Voja Mitrovic and you will see the sort of shining work of true masters. Not just for Henri, but for a variety of other master photographers.

Acting as if his photography was all in the camera is not the level of honesty that HBC was famous for, it sounds more like the pompous twit who takes all credit for work he hired out, as if the part of your work that you can't or won't do is unimportant. You don't work with the same people exclusively year after year if what they do is not important, yet #4 makes it sound like his work in the camera allowed him to drop off the film at his local drug store for processing with other people's vacation snaps. Didn't happen, can't happen, and if you believe it, your work will suffer.

Message edited by author 2012-03-15 22:27:20.
03/15/2012 09:43:57 PM · #23
Originally posted by snaffles:

+1 especially as back in his day photo editing was basically crop, dodge and burn...if he were around now I think he'd be a Minimal Editing lobbyist :-)


Adams was a contemporary, and his printing instructions could run to several pages, dozens and dozens of steps using friskets and all sorts of complex mechanisms to make the print look like what he saw. Back in his day photo editing was a complex art of light and alchemy, and vastly more complex that all the digital toys we enjoy today.
03/15/2012 10:13:36 PM · #24
Originally posted by BrennanOB:

Originally posted by snaffles:

+1 especially as back in his day photo editing was basically crop, dodge and burn...if he were around now I think he'd be a Minimal Editing lobbyist :-)


Adams was a contemporary, and his printing instructions could run to several pages, dozens and dozens of steps using friskets and all sorts of complex mechanisms to make the print look like what he saw. Back in his day photo editing was a complex art of light and alchemy, and vastly more complex that all the digital toys we enjoy today.

Thanks
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