Candid Photographer - Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri was born in Chanteloup-en-Brie, a commune located in France. Early on in his life, Henri developed a strong passion for painting, especially surreal paintings. In 1932, after spending a year in the Ivory Coast, Henri had discovered his camera of choice- the Leica. After finding the Leica, Henri had begun his life-long passion for photography. In 1933, his first exhibition was at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York. He would then later on make films with Jean Renoir, a French film director that made over forty films.

In 1940, a year in which France was taken over by Nazi Germany during WWII, Henri Cartier-Bresson was taken in as a prisoner of war. He escaped after his third attempt in 1943 and joined an underground organization that assisted prisoners and escapees. In 1945, he photographed the liberation of Paris with a group of professional journalists. After, he then filmed the documentary Le Retour- or- The Return. In 1947, he founded Magnum Photos along with Robert Capa, George Rodger, David Seymour, and William Vandivert. He spent three years traveling in the east, but returned to Europe in 1952. There, he published his first book, Immages a la Sauvette- and the English version called The Decisive Moment. There, he explained his approach to photography, "For me the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which, in visual terms, questions and decides simultaneously. It is by economy of means that one arrives at the simplicity of expression."

In 1968, he moved away from photographic activities, and concentrated on drawing and painting. In 2003, him and his family created the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris to preserve his works. Cartier received many prizes, awards, and honorary doctorates. He eventually passed at his home in Provence August 3, 2004.

Henri Cartier-Bresson's pictures showed a story of a relaxed, natural look. Throughout his years of photography, he had captured the fascination of Africa, the tragic fortunes of Spanish republicans, the liberation of Paris, a weary Ghandi hours before his assassination, and the victory of the communists in China. His photos showed the natural look that told many stories. They were raw, natural, and showed pure emotion that could not be naturally false.