Street Photography(II):Henri Cartier-Bresson

Hello guys! Today I’m going to introduce Henri Cartier-Bresson(1908-2004), a very important French photographer in 20th century. He not only left many masterpieces and concepts for taking pictures, but also created photo documentary, a precursor for photojournalism, and the world-famous Magnum Photos(瑪格蘭通訊社). His styles can be divided into three phases, and this week I’d like to share the first phase and his background.

Three Boys at Lake Tanganyika

He was born in a wealthy family near Paris. Learning painting at a young age, Bresson was good at composing and was sensitive to the surroundings when he turned to photography later. Inspired by a photo “Three Boys at Lake Tanganyika”, taken by Hungary photographer martin Munkácsi, he developed a style of “Decisive Moment”, for capturing the most moving scene. As a result, his pictures tell vivid stories and his “Decisive Moment” has an eternal effect on many photographers.

European Square,Paris,1932

Take the photo “Hyères, Paris’’ for example. A person rode a bike passing before the stairs, and Bresson took the shot above. The person’s body blurred due to the speed, and his position on the top left side can be seen as an elongation of the stairs. These factors make the picture a perfection. You may think he was fortunate, however, it was his hardworking and skills that he could catch this moment besides luck!      

Hyères, Paris,1932