TOEFL Experts Reading Practice 26
The French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) was a pioneer of modern street photography and is regarded as the “father of photojournalism.” Celebrated for the candid shots he took of everyday life in Paris, as well as for his photo-reporting around the world, he remains one of the most respected photographers of the twentieth century. His early life as an artist was not devoted to photography, however. When he was 19 years old, Cartier-Bresson began studying at the studio of Cubist painter and sculptor André Lhote. There, he learned to be a painter. He was educated in art theory and composition, and he discovered an interest in both modern and Renaissance art.
Meanwhile, throughout the 1920s, photography continued to develop as an art form, and in 1930, Cartier-Bresson became inspired by a photograph taken by Hungarian photographer Martin Munkacsi. In the photograph, titled “Three Boys at Lake Tanganyika,” three young boys play in Lake Tanganyika, an expansive, freshwater lake that touches four countries on the African continent: Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Zambia. In the photo, the boys splash in the surf. The image features their silhouettes against the lake’s foaming waves. It is a joyful scene. Cartier-Bresson credited the photograph with leading him to turn away from painting in order to focus on photography. He said of the picture, “I suddenly understood that photography can fix eternity in a moment.”
Cartier-Bresson then acquired a German camera with a 50-millimeter (50-mm) lens—relatively small compared to the lenses used by professional photographers today. Despite having many opportunities to use a larger, more complex lens over the course of his career, Cartier-Bresson preferred his 50-mm lens for several reasons. The most important of these was that with this lens, he was able to shoot without being conspicuous, which he resisted for fear of being seen as showing off. It allowed him to capture moments he might not have captured otherwise, as people often did not notice him shooting.
He also had a strong preference for shooting in black and white, believing that the myriad printing options available when shooting with color distorted the image he was seeing with his eyes. For this reason, he only shot in color when obliged to. In general, he bemoaned photography’s trend toward focusing on ever-advancing processing techniques, believing that the fetishizing1 of these techniques distracted people from what the art was truly about: seeing and capturing.
Images à la Sauvette (The Decisive Moment in the English edition), a book featuring over 100 of Cartier-Bresson’s photographs, was published in 1952 with a cover drawn specifically for the book by renowned French painter Henri Matisse. The book quickly became a classic in the canon of literature on photography. Alongside the portfolio of his images in the book, Cartier-Bresson authored a 4,500-word introduction on his photographic philosophy. This introduction to the book is often referenced today in treatises and essays on the art and history of the photograph—in particular, the portions in which he elaborates on the book’s title. To Cartier-Bresson, photography was about capturing in “a fraction of a second … the significance of an event.” In a 1971 interview, Cartier-Bresson described the art as an act of affirmation. He rejected many similar titles in favor of The Decisive Moment, including A pas de Loup, which means “tiptoeing,” a reference to how he, as a photographer, approached his subjects.
When Cartier-Bresson died in 2004, he had established a global reputation as one of the greatest photographers of all time. Yet, despite this fame, he was extremely timid and often shunned publicity. Thus, while he is revered for the photos he captured of faces around the world, he himself was rarely recognized.
fetishizing1: being overly committed to or obsessed about something, often in an irrational way
The French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) was a pioneer of modern street photography and is regarded as the “father of photojournalism.” Celebrated for the candid shots he took of everyday life in Paris, as well as for his photo-reporting around the world, he remains one of the most respected photographers of the twentieth century. His early life as an artist was not devoted to photography, however. When he was 19 years old, Cartier-Bresson began studying at the studio of Cubist painter and sculptor André Lhote. There, he learned to be a painter. He was educated in art theory and composition, and he discovered an interest in both modern and Renaissance art.
Meanwhile, throughout the 1920s, photography continued to develop as an art form, and in 1930, Cartier-Bresson became inspired by a photograph taken by Hungarian photographer Martin Munkacsi. In the photograph, titled “Three Boys at Lake Tanganyika,” three young boys play in Lake Tanganyika, an expansive, freshwater lake that touches four countries on the African continent: Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Zambia. In the photo, the boys splash in the surf. The image features their silhouettes against the lake’s foaming waves. It is a joyful scene. Cartier-Bresson credited the photograph with leading him to turn away from painting in order to focus on photography. He said of the picture, “I suddenly understood that photography can fix eternity in a moment.”
Cartier-Bresson then acquired a German camera with a 50-millimeter (50-mm) lens—relatively small compared to the lenses used by professional photographers today. Despite having many opportunities to use a larger, more complex lens over the course of his career, Cartier-Bresson preferred his 50-mm lens for several reasons. The most important of these was that with this lens, he was able to shoot without being conspicuous, which he resisted for fear of being seen as showing off. It allowed him to capture moments he might not have captured otherwise, as people often did not notice him shooting.
He also had a strong preference for shooting in black and white, believing that the myriad printing options available when shooting with color distorted the image he was seeing with his eyes. For this reason, he only shot in color when obliged to. In general, he bemoaned photography’s trend toward focusing on ever-advancing processing techniques, believing that the fetishizing1 of these techniques distracted people from what the art was truly about: seeing and capturing.
Images à la Sauvette (The Decisive Moment in the English edition), a book featuring over 100 of Cartier-Bresson’s photographs, was published in 1952 with a cover drawn specifically for the book by renowned French painter Henri Matisse. The book quickly became a classic in the canon of literature on photography. Alongside the portfolio of his images in the book, Cartier-Bresson authored a 4,500-word introduction on his photographic philosophy. This introduction to the book is often referenced today in treatises and essays on the art and history of the photograph—in particular, the portions in which he elaborates on the book’s title. To Cartier-Bresson, photography was about capturing in “a fraction of a second … the significance of an event.” In a 1971 interview, Cartier-Bresson described the art as an act of affirmation. He rejected many similar titles in favor of The Decisive Moment, including A pas de Loup, which means “tiptoeing,” a reference to how he, as a photographer, approached his subjects.
When Cartier-Bresson died in 2004, he had established a global reputation as one of the greatest photographers of all time. Yet, despite this fame, he was extremely timid and often shunned publicity. Thus, while he is revered for the photos he captured of faces around the world, he himself was rarely recognized.
fetishizing1: being overly committed to or obsessed about something, often in an irrational way
- Henri Cartier-Bresson was a groundbreaking photographer of the twentieth century.