Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Thought of as the father of modern photojournalism, Henri Cartier-Bresson was born on August 22, 1908 in Chanteloup-en-Brie, France to a wealthy textile manufacturer. As a child Cartier-Bresson owned a brownie box, which led to his interest in photography; yet, he also had a great interest and love for painting, which he started to learn from his uncle as a young boy. At 19, he attended a private art school, giving him the techniques to later help him become an incredible snap-shot photographer. After a trip to Africa, Cartier-Bresson became inspired by a photo of three young naked African boys running, which led Cartier-Bresson to wonder how something so beautiful could be captured. This was the start of his career. Using a Leica 35 mm camera with a 50 mm lens, Cartier-Bresson started his career as a photojournalist. His pictures ranged from just a regular day to day living, street photography, to then gradually more serious photos that led him to fame. He covered events like the coronation of King George VI, World War II after his escape from the Germans to the funeral of Gandhi, the last stage of the Chinese Civil War (1949). He also photographed the last surviving Imperial eunuchs in Beijing as the city was falling to the Communists and then went to capture the gaining of independence of the Dutch West Indies from the Dutch. We went on to publish many of his photos in series of books, the most famous of them being The Decisive Moment. When interviewed by the Washington Post, Cartier-Bresson said, “Photography is not like painting. 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," he said. "Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever”. Henri Cartier-Bresson spent most his life documenting and capturing life the second it happened, traveling the world without any boundaries and capturing great historical upheavals of the 20^th century. His legacy is continued by his wife, daughter and the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation to preserve and share his life’s work.