The photographer that I chose to study and “shoot in the style of” for this assignment is Henri Cartier-Bresson. Born in France in 1908, Cartier was an early adopter of 35mm film and considered a pioneer in street photography and photojournalism. His younger years was when he was most active as a photographer so much of his work is black and white.

Bresson captured unscripted candid moments in time that often reflected what was going on in the world at the time. It was his raw, imperfect style of street photography that attracted me to his work and why I chose him. The black and white of the photograph’s seem to make them have more of an impact. Black and white lets the person looking at the photo use their own perception to fill in the blanks. Bresson was quoted saying "to take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life." This quote shows up in the emotion of his photograph’s.

According to the article “Learn how to take photos like Henri Cartier Bresson” on the website www.diyphotography.net, Bresson used a 35mm Leica camera with a 50mm lens. He took his photos in black and white with Kodak Tri-X ISO 400 film. He would normally set the shutter speed to 1/125 s and adjusted the aperture based on the lighting conditions.” The sight offered suggestions on how to have similar results with modern equipment but unfortunately, I discovered the article after I chose my equipment and took my photos. I did use a 50mm lens attached to a Canon EOS 6D.

For this assignment I chose six photographs from Bresson’s collection to include, specifically, Ballerina’s, Lovers, Bike Ride, Alley Cat, Mother and Child, and Walk the Line (I chose these names because Bresson did not appear to name his photographs). In my attempt to take photographs in a similar style to Bresson, I submitted four photographs, specifically, Down But Not Out, Piano Man, Sunday Stroll and Just Passing Through.

              Hyères, France in 1932                                            Moscow in 1954                     New York ​in 1947

If I were to compare my photographs style to Bresson’s style I would start with my photograph Down But Not Out. I learned that Bresson was known for being able to take a photograph without being seen by the subject. In this photo I took the photograph before approaching the man and speaking to him. He was polite and understanding and was happy to help. He lived on the streets and explained the rules between the homeless population. His positive attitude is why I chose the name Down But Not Out. I would like to try a similar photograph again in the future using a camera that is black and white compatible and not rely on applying a filter. I would have liked the photograph would have had a little more grit to give it the feeling of struggle and challenge.

My photograph, Piano Man, is another example of me capturing normal people going about their business and being photographed without realizing it. In this photograph I really like how the subject was silhouetted by the light in the background and that you weren't able to see the details of his face. I also like how the lighting allowed the walls and ground to disappear in the foreground, fading to black. This photograph was shot in the style of Bresson’s photographs Alley Cat and Mother and Child.

In my photograph, Just Passing Through, I tried to capture the style of Bresson’s photo Bike Ride and, intentionally giving the subject a slight blur, which I think helps show movement. The setting is different between the two pictures, but the feel is the same I think. I chose the passageway because of the older feel of the stone walls and the soft yellowish lighting.

My photograph, Sunday Stoll, relates to two of Bresson’s photograph’s, Walk The Line and Ballerinas. The style of the man in my photograph gave him the appearance of being from the past. The limestone building also give age to the photograph. I also like the repetition of the street lights in my photo, similar to the repetition of Ballerinas or the repeating with circles on the road of Bresson’s photo.

I tried to use minimal editing and cropping with my photographs. I didn’t want them to be perfect. Bresson’s photos were rarely posed which gave the photos more emotion and realness. I really enjoyed this project because it helped me realize that I shouldn’t be looking for the perfect photo all the time.