Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) was a French photographer whose candid photographs and idea of the “decisive moment” shaped modern photojournalism and street photography.

Martine Franck: A Belgian-born French photographer known for portraits, documentary work, and her association with Magnum Photos. Franck was Cartier-Bresson’s wife and a fellow photographer with a distinct documentary career.
Decisive moment: The instant when action, form, and meaning align in a photograph. Cartier-Bresson made this idea the signature explanation of his photographic timing.
Photojournalism: Journalism that uses photographs to document events and communicate news. His pictures helped establish photography as a form of visual reporting.
Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare: A 1932 photograph by Cartier-Bresson of a man leaping over a puddle behind a Paris railway station. Its suspended leap is a celebrated instance of action and composition meeting at one instant.
Robert Capa: A Hungarian-born photographer renowned for his war photography and co-founding Magnum Photos. Capa co-founded Magnum with Cartier-Bresson and helped establish its photographer-led model.
Leica Camera: A line of compact 35 mm cameras introduced by the German company Leica. The small, quiet Leica suited Cartier-Bresson’s unobtrusive approach to candid scenes.
Street photography: Photography of everyday life and human activity in public spaces. His spontaneous city scenes became touchstones for street photographers.
The Coronation of King George VI: The 1937 coronation of George VI as king of the United Kingdom and its dominions. Cartier-Bresson photographed spectators watching the ceremony rather than centering the monarch.
David Seymour: A Polish-born photographer known as Chim, whose documentary work often depicted children and the effects of war. Seymour was a close colleague and fellow Magnum co-founder.
35 mm film: A photographic film format with a nominal width of 35 millimeters, widely used in still cameras. Its compact camera systems let him work quickly in public without elaborate equipment.

Linked from 13 pages