3 Pioneering Street Photographers that Could Still Teach Us Something Today
3 Pioneering Street Photographers that Could Still Teach Us Something Today
Some of the greatest names in Street photography can teach us something about exposing a great composition
This week I killed two birds with one stone for an MFA Photography assignment. I had to write a 1,000 word essay for a photographer of my choosing within the genre I would like to excel in. Naturally, I chose documentary photography as street photography is something that I have been building my portfolio in. I’ve been thinking about dabbling in other genres as well like fine art to broaden my creative horizons. However, with school and other responsibilities on my plate I don’t have the time or resources to devote the necessary time to this artistically rich genre that would require so much of my attention so I think I will broaden my street photography portfolio and expand my knowledge in this genre as much as I can right now.
With that being said, I thought it be a cliché that I focus solely on Henri Cartier-Bresson. One of the greatest names in street photography since I’ve already written a little bit about him in this newsletter. You can find him in the archives of Creative Journey PhotoMag. So, I thought why not go ahead and look up the man who mentored him when I found André Kertész. A Hungarian man who immigrated to Paris and New York to make a name for himself in street photography.
Once I knocked out those 1,000 words I had to write a 1 or 2 paragraph excerpt on 3 photographers that I admired along with photos that describe why I think they are the best to be admired in my genre of work. So I highlighted Kertész, Bresson and Brassaï. The last was also mentored by Kertész and I found his work to be very gritty and raw.
So, I thought it to be a good idea to include these excerpts in this week’s issue of Creative Journey PhotoMag to help you digest some of the greatest names in street photography and hopefully take away a little bit of inspiration from their work with you in your own creative pursuits with photography.
“For this assignment, I will be exploring three photographers who are notable street photographers who have marked documentary photography for many artists who would like to follow pursuit. I find that these photographers all use the decisive moment to the best of their expertise creating visual artistry that makes it an example for many street photographers to follow. I will begin with the first and notably mentioned mentor for many street photographers after him, André Kertész.
André Kertész
André Kertész was a mentoring street photographer of his time. When Leica I came out he was one of the first ones to use this portable camera to take street photos in Paris and New York. His work is marked by light, geometric shapes, and movement. He liked to use shapes to create movement through his photos that weren’t typically seen in most photographers’ work. You can see what I mean through the three photos I use below as an example of his intention to create lines, shapes, and movement through the geometric lines that run from the foreground into the background drawing the eye from the viewer way into the back of the image to create a sense of travel way into the depth of field of the image. This is an interesting technique I haven’t seen before as most people use strait lines, C curves, or S curves to create the same sense of dimension that Kertész did at the early 20th century.
There is something to be said about this first photograph. The jagged geometric lines that lead the eye from the viewer’s point of view in the foreground into the background is something that isn’t seen a lot. The depth of field is usually led in a straight line through spiraling C or S curves but this geometric leading line draws the eye from an interesting point of view way into the background leaving the question of what the man at the background of the image is waiting for.
The bystanders in the photo seem to be unbothered by the photographer as they carry on in their everyday interactions in seemingly normal everyday life conversations but the man at the back of the image is waiting expectantly for the next train to come and no one else is as concerned as he is.
If it weren’t for this photographer’s eye we wouldn’t have caught a glimpse of everyday life and the importance of the man at the back who eagerly awaits his next stop. Who would have thought that any photographer would be so intelligent to capture such an amazing shot? Could it ever be recreated today? Let’s see what else Kertész has shot.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer coined as the father of the decisive moment. The decisive moment refers to taking a meaningful photo at the exact moment that can never be taken again. It is a way of describing and capturing a moment in time that can never be taken back. Cartier-Bresson did this in his photographs as he used composition to poetically create documentary photographs throughout his travels abroad. Most of these photos are in Spain, France, and Mexico. You can probably notice a moment captured in time by the child running in the first photo. It perfectly frames the boy running from one end of the frame to the next in pursuit of something or going somewhere important in his childlike mind. It is a whimsical photo as it shows the true nature of children playing on the street without a care in the world.
Brassaï
Brassaï was a French-Hungarian photographer who took pictures at night in Paris. He became a journalist and scoured the city by night taking pictures of the more grittier places of the town including such personalities as prostitutes, street cleaners and so on. He also took lots of pictures of other contemporary artists of his time including Matisse, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Picasso. Below, you can see some of his pictures including that of a portrait of Dali. Two couples in a romantic night in Paris and a woman carrying a beautiful dress over her shoulder down the street. Each of these stories carry its unique personality and tells a different story between fame, romance, and femininity in real-life situations.
Here are the three photographers I have mentioned for this assignment and I hope you enjoyed reading about them as much as I have. Each of them have a quirky way of approaching street photography that composes an image thoughtfully to capture the decisive moment from their own perspective. I enjoyed looking at the way each photographer used perspective and depth of field to create a story all of their own. It is an interesting way to take away something from other greats before us who help us better our own practice in the long run.
Thanks for reading,
Rosa
There you have it. A little update about what is going on in class with me this week as the semester is coming to a close this December. I have a lot of reading, photographing, and researching to do for my MFA in Photography in the following months so I will do my best to keep up with writing once a week or at least twice a week for the Creative Journey Photo Mag. I hope you enjoyed this throwback in history and find a little inspiration from these greats. I really enjoy going back in history and learning from the greatest artists who seem to remind us that time and history repeats itself. If we are careful enough we can mimic their style and repeat history in a good way. That will leave great footprints for the future to come since most of the time we think of history repeating itself to be something bad. Anyway, I know I loved most of all learning about the geometric leading lines from the foreground into the background of the Leading Great Kertész. There is so much to be left said about these great artists and photographers but I guess I’ll leave room for someone else to uncover these great stories.
Thanks again for reading.
Yours truly,
Rosa de Saron C.