Henri Cartier Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer who was known for "candid" photography. He was also an early user of 35 mm film. He was born in 1908 and died in 2004. 

Part of his book, The Decisive Moment, 1952

I personally like this photo because it shows how composed a candid photo can be. This photo clearly was taken quickly, as he had to capture the birds flying away, but it looks as if a lot of time and planning went into it. He talks about this candid, quick photography in his book The Decisive Moment. He discussed this with the Washington quote, saying that "There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever" (see citation).  I personally really like this element of speed in creativity. While sure, you can sit and compose a shot, I think photography has the ability to capture fleeting moments, which holds a very important place in the art world. 


Bernstein, Adam (August 5, 2004). "The Acknowledged Master of the Moment". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 26, 2016

Alfred Stieglitz

Alfred Stieglitz was a New York based photographer born in 1864. He had over a 50 year career as a photographer and was influential in photography's acceptance as an art form. He was married to Georgia O'Keeffe.

Blind Woman, 1916

This is a photo of his that I personally like. It is a photo of a street beggar who was blind. Initially what I found the photo humorous and satirical (she had a sign labeling her as blind). But then I realized that it was a photo of a beggar and that it was not taken with a humorous nature. Either way, I think this photo is interesting as it makes the viewer think about the time and the situation it was taken in.

Star Books

We have been making star books in class. I finished my first one, a relatively simple one where I used three pieces of paper for each point of the star. I really like the book with the flowers because it uses a frame to show the photo. The book on the bottom is not a star book, it is a tunnel book. I have also been researching these because I plan on making one for one of my landscapes for IB Art. I found all of these images here: https://www.pinterest.com/ramey549/starbooks-tunnel-books-and-pop-up-books/

 

Social Change Through Photography

Can a photograph invoke social change?

The photo below is taken by Sal Veder. This photo shows a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War being released and greeted by his family. This photo eventually came to symbolize the end of US involvement in the Vietnam War. To me this photo invoked change by showing the pure emotional effects war has. I also think that this photo advocates for pacifism and love, and also was a symbol to the anti-Vietnam advocates.

Burst of Joy, Sal Veder 

I personally believe that a single photograph can invoke social change. I think that many people can get very inspired by one very controversial image and it causes action. In class we talked about W. Eugene Smith. He was a photojournalist who emphasized ethics in his work. This photo in particular was to demonstrate the effects of mercury poisoning.

Tokomo in Her Bath, W. Eugene Smith

Snapshot

My definition of snapshot aesthetic are photographs that hold a lot of meaning to anyone connected to the people in the snapshot, while at the same time not always the most composed photographs. Here are some old family photos and snapshots I found. 

My Dad's family vacation, 1964

My brothers, Gran, and me on a hike

My Dad and his sisters and parents

Exploring with my brothers

Pyramid with my cousins

Self Portraits

These images are by David Hockney, most of them are from his book Cameraworks. I really like the idea of using lots of smaller photos to make one large portrait or image. 

David Hockney, photo from his book "Cameraworks"

David Hockney, photo from his book "Cameraworks"

David Hockney Images, Photos from "Cameraworks"