Henri Cartier-Bresson

So I’m not sure if anyone has heard of this guy before, but here’s a short biography: http://www.photo-seminars.com/Fame/bresson.htm

He’s a French photographer born early in the 20th century, he got his start as a painter and moved into photography, which would take him around the world many times and to some of the most important events in the 20th century. His approach to photography helped redefine photo journalism: “Decisive Moment”.

This past Friday a few of us made the trek to Amsterdam to see his last photo exhibition – he passed away last August. I didn’t know much about him before I went, but I have to say I’m thoroughly impressed with his work, his skill, and what he was able to do and see in his lifetime.

He was privy to meet many of the most famous minds of the 20th century, from working with J.P. Sartre and Henri Matisse, to photographing Ghandi only 2 short hours before he was assassinated, to being in China during the late 1940’s when Mao Tse-Tsung’s army defeated their opponents (wow – I can’t even remember their name – that’s how I know Mao won the war!) after a bloody 3-year war to take control of China.

In addition he was a prisoner of war for 2 years during WW2 – and managed to escape on his third attempt when he joined the French underground. He also spent 30 years traveling to EVERY corner of the globe and being published in every major magazine under the sun – in English, French, Chinese, Russian, and every language in between.

But what I found most impressive were 2 traits of his photography: he would always develop his shots to the edge of the negative (so there was no cropping or touching-up), and his subjects never posed (they were real action shots). Truly impressive given what others were doing with photography at the time.

From all regards he let a very full life and left a lasting mark on the world. Well – I had to inject SOME culture into this blog (it’s been severely lacking! :o)