Visual Essay

Throughout this class I have been able to explore many different styles of photography, and how they have been adapted throughout history. Many styles appealed to me but only one made a lasting impression. The works of this photographer made me realize the importance of capturing life in its purest form. The art of preserving an emotion at its split second, to enjoy it later.  Henri- Cartier Bresson made me see photography through a different lens.  Henri believed in capturing a moment that was true, one that was not staged and could tell a story with one glance. He choose to remain “invisible” within his pictures to avoid tainting the image. Henri was known as the  father of modern journalism, and was seen as a foundation template for photojournalism.

 What I grasped from Henri was not his ethics of photojournalism, but the genuine truth and feelings within his photos. It made me look back through the photos I have taken over the years. To my surprise the photos that I found the most memorable where the ones that captured action and feeling. These photos were not staged or posed, they were just taken! As I looked on the photos I remembered the feeling that was felt at that very moment. 

Henri’s photos appeared more like art to me more than many other photographers. He was able to find the art in life, instead of making it. This is what inspired me while taking the photos within this blog. I began to not focus on what I wanted to appear in the photo, but what appeared in front of me. I found the joy in simplicity, and the truth in life.  There is no better way to share, or preserve a moment that is real, then capturing it in a  photo. Henri’s work was not only used as a template for photojournalism, but it can also be used in basic everyday photography. It can remind one that not everything has to be altered, sometimes the beautiful things are found in its pure form. In today’s society we have so much artificial surrounding us, that we no longer are able to tell the difference between what is real and fake. Henri’s style of art can serve as a reminder that fake isn’t always better.

The photo uses the same aerial views that Henri incorporates in many of his photos. One can instantly look at this photo and see the celebration of life between friends. Like much of the works from Henri, this photo has motion and emotion that one can feel when viewing. 

I left this photo in color to see if the same character is involved as in black in white. I felt this photo shows life, and the color enhances that feeling. Like Henri’s photos this one captures truth and simplicity. It was not until after looking through my photos was I able to see how I captured the spilt second of the reaction; happiness. When I seen the photo I could not help but smile as I remembered the moment. I feel this is the reaction Henri strived for in his style of work.

In this photo I believe I was able to capture the expression within the subject.  My cousin was actually running  while playing tag, and this is what I caught as she was running towards me. Its interesting how one can see the exuberance and innocent of being a child. Where life is playing field with minimal worries. The similarity between this photo and Henri is the ability to capture life pure without alterations. 

 I aged the photo to have more comparison and character to the photo. Comparing this to the works of Henri, it was taken strictly for the moment. To capture the joy of just being together with friends. Nothing is artificial or positioned to portray the feeling. 

In this picture I tried to capture the near and far contrast that Henri used in many of his photos. I altered it to black and white just to show more similarity between the two works. Like Henri I was able to capture the stillness of the moment, while remaining invisible.