Thursday, September 25, 2008

HENRI CARTIER BRESSON


  Hey folks! Hope everyone's doing just fine. Its been pretty hectic lately for a lot of reasons but it involves music and that's one subject that I can virtually never overdose on :-) Anyway I want to share something very interesting with you peeps.

                  Having always been fascinated with the creative arts, and also having dabbled in this particular medium in the past, it was a natural progression of things through which I retrenched myself in it again. I am referring to photography of course. It was always the awe of being able to transfix time onto a sheet of paper, but over time many other aspects of photography came to fascinate me.

               The similies between painting and photography is one area that particularly interests me; I'm constantly trying to either relate or disengage them. The most important similie between them is my conviction that the viewfinder of the camera translates into the canvas of a painter, while the image in the viewfinder translates into the colors of the painter's pallette. How the medium and the means translate into the final product is ultimately left to the weilder's art and skill.

                   If photography is then really akin to painting, in my opinion the Caravaggio of photography is Henri cartier Bresson, one of the pioneers of MAGNUM the premiere photgraphy agency. I have my reasons for thinking so. I  am also a huge fan of Ansel Adams, Jeanloup Sieff, Araki and Leibovitz but for some arcane reason I am more drawn to HCB. Maybe its because I share his same penchant, or rather the belief, that the real without any pre-planning is the most honest. For instance he believes in something he calls the 'definitive moment' that every object or person possesses; the photographer's role being to be observant enough to notice that moment and capture it for posterity and art's sake. 

                  What also fascinates me about him is that he is not only a photographer but a true romantic. I am convinced that every romantic is also a philosopher in certain ways and Henri Cartier Bresson is truly a philosopher. His images speak more than any amount of words.  If you'd like to get a steady foothold in the world of photography look this giant of a person up. Youtube has some very interesting videos on him. I can assure you that you'll not be disappointed. 

               Here's wishing you a beautiful weekend. Be blessed Y'all.

Note: The picture above was shot by Henri cartier Bresson in Srinagar. And also as a side note HCB died in 2007.

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