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  #1  
Old 24th December 2014, 11:56 AM
Collas Collas is offline
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Default The Decisive Moment

To celebrate the re-publication of Henri Cartier-Bresson's book, The Decisive Moment, here's an article about its influence from Sean O'Hagan of the Guardian.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddes...ed-photography

Nick
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Old 7th January 2015, 10:51 PM
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Brock who posts here runs a blog ( www.theonlinedarkroom.com ).
Recently there was some discussion about Vivian Maier. Opinion split along the lines of 'Vivian was a genius' versus 'HCB was the ultimate street photographer'.
The more I look at the photographs of HCB the more I see him as a spiritual brother of Adams and Weston. No, he didn't shoot 10x8, but his image making is all about balance. The weight of light and shadow. His photographs really don't tell us anything about the human condition, about passion or suffering. His work is often beautiful, but it is less revealing and less emotional than some others.
I'm not saying that HCB was not an outstanding photographer, but I am suggesting his drive was Art more than evangelism.
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Old 8th January 2015, 01:30 PM
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Yes I would broadly agree with that Skellum. Maier was interested in people primarily, HCB in Art primarily. Fortunately for us, we are not faced with an either/or situation and can enjoy both .

Incidentally if anyone is in Amsterdam I can recommend the Vivian Maier exhibition at FOAM (http://www.foam.org/) it is really quite splendid.

Jake
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Old 8th January 2015, 08:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skellum View Post
Brock who posts here runs a blog ( www.theonlinedarkroom.com ).
Recently there was some discussion about Vivian Maier. Opinion split along the lines of 'Vivian was a genius' versus 'HCB was the ultimate street photographer'.
The more I look at the photographs of HCB the more I see him as a spiritual brother of Adams and Weston. No, he didn't shoot 10x8, but his image making is all about balance. The weight of light and shadow. His photographs really don't tell us anything about the human condition, about passion or suffering. His work is often beautiful, but it is less revealing and less emotional than some others.
I'm not saying that HCB was not an outstanding photographer, but I am suggesting his drive was Art more than evangelism.
I would suggest that HCB was a genius and Vivian Maier was a good street photographer and I see no spiritual brother connection with AA or EW. They were more concerned with printing than capture.
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Old 8th January 2015, 09:44 PM
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Good evening Clive, thank you for taking the time to respond.
Here are a couple of HCB photographs.

http://erickimphotography.com/blog/w...on_bicycle.jpg

https://iconicphotos.files.wordpress...1932.jpg?w=700

Both turn up regularly during discussion of the decisive moment. Both are acutely observed, both are superbly composed. Of course, neither is really about the people within them- the humans act as a kind of street furniture. They are compositional elements.
Apparently HCB wasn't that interested in making prints. That doesn't, of course, mean that he didn't care what the prints looked like.

When I suggest that HCB was 'spiritually aligned' with AA and EW that's what I'm getting at- the desire for a 'beautiful photograph'. He really cared about the images being perfectly composed and weighted- just like the f64 group. By way of illustration, here's a cluttered, untidy, poorly composed street photo.

http://helpingangel.net/wp-content/uploads/004.jpg

Would HCB have taken this, or passed it by?

With regard to Vivian Maier, if you've seen the documentary on her she may actually have been unwell. However, I'd say this

http://vertigomag.co.uk/cms/wp-conte...ying-Child.jpg

Went far beyond just being good, and this

http://lumieregallery.net/custom_wp/...yshoeshine.jpg

is racist America encapsulated, illuminated, brilliantly. It's both literal and metaphorical at the same time. Perhaps HCB was a genius. Personally though, I cannot see what elevates him above Maier.
My own favourite 'street' photographer?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...inder_1899.jpg

Atget. Of course, he was almost an anachronism in his own time, but I can't resist his odd mix of melancholy and compassion.
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Old 8th January 2015, 10:27 PM
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Well we beg to differ, but your shoe shine picture may give a clue, as although very good, I believe HCB would have found a better angle to contrast the head of the shoe shine boy with a lighter background by moving forward. But VM is still on a learning curve about composition. Easy to say and far more difficult to achieve. What do us mere mortals know?
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Old 9th January 2015, 04:12 PM
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its all about observation and learning to see. Some people just never get it and some people find it easy.

Was HCB a genius? I think that's going rather too far. He was very very good at what he did but I think much too much is read into it.

And of course we only ever get to see a handful of images from a lifetimes work. Just how how much c**p don't we see.

I think it was Ansel Adams who said you are lucky to get half a dozen really good images a year (or something to that effect).

I have HCBs book "Europeans" which covers a wider period than "The Decisive Moment" but contains many of same images. I see quite a lot of humour in those images and quick witted observation that I think most of us would miss unlesss we were deliberately looking for that sort of thing. You can only photograph what you see and even if it is staring you in the face you may not see it. Learning to see is at the crux of taking good images. I still find it difficult but some days are easier than others.

Last edited by Argentum; 9th January 2015 at 04:32 PM.
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Old 9th January 2015, 04:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cliveh View Post
... AA or EW. They were more concerned with printing than capture.
Isn't that a bit like saying that a painter is more concerned with the painting than a literal recording of the scene?
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  #9  
Old 9th January 2015, 09:00 PM
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Quote:
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Isn't that a bit like saying that a painter is more concerned with the painting than a literal recording of the scene?
Yes.
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