Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism. He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography. He helped develop the "street photography" or "real life reportage" style that has influenced generations of photographers who followed.
I was given the task to find a photograph of Henri Cartier-Bresson and then to analyse it commenting on key terminology and my thoughts. When I was flicking through his images I came across this one, it instantly caught my attention and I had to open it in a new tab. When I opened it I didn't have an initial feeling or emotion I just simply took in the depths of field and shadows that it creates. As the image is in black and white, as all of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photographs are, the shadows of light are vividly shown which indicates that it has a large depth of field. You can also see that it has a deep depth of field as the children's faces in the centre of the spiral stair case are darker than the children in the foreground, which is very close to the light and camera. As there is a deep depth of field the focus is put on the faces in the foreground rather than the background, by doing this it will draw the viewer’s attention to the very edges of the spiral.
The subject of this image is the children peering over the spiral staircase. In most of Henri-Cartier Bresson’s images he photographs people. Regarding form for this image, the photographer has used shape and line to create a vanishing point. The vanishing point in this image is at the centre where the spiral has descended where the staircase ends. At the centre of the spiral is what seems to be a lined wall paper on the roof. This seems to be set up as I do not think that you would find all of these children leaning over a spiral stair case like this. This photograph contradicts Bresson's quote "Photography is simultaneously and instaneously the recognition of a fact and the rigorous organisation of officially perceived forms that expresses and signify that fact." The image does not feel as though Bresson is spontaneously responding as it is staged. I think that by staging the image he was trying to portray that even if you do set up a photograph you can still convey an emotion of confusion, 'why are the children stood peering over a spiral staircase?'.
Ed O'Keeffe
Here are some of his photographs, i have analysied them and included Ed O'Keeffe's opinion which i got from his photography website.
 |
| Old Boots On Rope by Ed O'Keeffe |
This photograph is called ‘Old Boots on Rope’. I particularly like this image; I like the composition of the thick and frayed rope contrasting with the leather boots. The boots have been captured on the sweet points of the rule of thirds, by doing this it makes the objects easier to the viewers eye and will gain their attention drawing them closer to the detail of the boots and then to the more intricate detail of the rope on which the boots are placed on. On Ed O’Keeffe’s photography website he has written a few sentences to describe the image, he said “Harbours are gold mines for photographs with old, discarded ropes and other fishing paraphernalia. I have taken a number of black and white close-up shots of rope which have turned out reasonably well. However I didn’t expect to find somebody’s old work boots lying about like this. I was tempted to move them into a better position for the photo but decided to leave them as I found them and try to make a photograph of them. It does make me wonder if the original owner was the same person who owns the rope.” When I read this I liked the idea of finding something lying around and then not moving or creating the image to capture a good photograph. From these short sentences I have learnt that I don’t have to arrange every photograph that I take, instead I should take a chance and if it does not work then I should try something different.
 |
| Whale Bone Arch Whitby by Ed O'Keeffe |
This photograph is called ‘Whale Bone Arch Whitby’. This image is of a arch made of whale bone, I like the vibrant colours of this image and the way that there seems to be an important building positioned in the centre of the arch. By seeing the building in the centre of the arch it looks as though it has been framed by the arch creating a focal point. Ed O’Keeffe said this about the image “This is one of my favourites amongst the photographs I have captured in Whitby
 |
| Retired Old Fishing Boat by Ed O'Keffe |
This photograph is called ‘Retired Old Fishing Boat’. I like this image as it is also in black and white; I like images in black and white as you see the tones of the image a lot better than if the image was in colour. The composition of this image is of an abandoned wooden boat washed up on a stoned and rubbish tipped shore. The boat is positioned diagonally across the image, when I first looked at it I was drawn to the top left side of the image this is because the bow of the boat is pointed toward the water. Also the lines of the boat direct your attention to the sea. Ed O’Keeffe said “I have a feeling that this fishing boat has been retired and will not be taking to the high seas again. It was very rotten as you can see by the holes in the side and back. As I took it I thought about the textures of the wood and the rubbish in the foreground, knowing it would make a great subject for a monochrome / black and white photograph”. After reading these sentences I agreed that the texture form the wooden boat contrasted with the rubbish in the foreground of the shore.
These are just a few of Ed O'Keeffe's photographs that I have explained. One main reason that I like Ed O'Keeffe's photography is that each image looks as though there has been some consideration of positioning and attention to detail.
