Henri Cartier-Bresson

[smoke665]

I stumbled on this Henri Cartier-Bresson | International Center of Photography a collection of his works. I have to wonder, if after looking through them, had they not included notable figures, would he have "still" been famous? Thoughts????

 

[cgw]

I stumbled on this Henri Cartier-Bresson | International Center of Photography a collection of his works. I have to wonder, if after looking through them, had they not included notable figures, would he have "still" been famous? Thoughts????

Too bad we're not neighbors and unable to chew on this, washed down with a few cold ones. Stupid hot here today, perfect for refreshed, enjoyable, pointless debating!
OK, for me his celeb shots were just part of his remarkable talent for presenting stories and not just scenes. That seems to me to be at the heart of what street(once called "candid")photography
is about. I'm fond of "street" and that's what I strive for.
His style changed around 1953-54 when the Leica M3 and Tri-X hit the market almost simultaneously. Greater mobility, compact size and fast handling paired beautifully with a b&w film with true latitude. It didn't hurt either that he had wonderful printers.
Sidebar: Celeb "portrait" photography seems no more than taxidermy to me. Can't personally stomach Karsh's stuffed sitters. That view keeps me in a simmering stockpot atop many people's stovetops...

 

[Don Fischer]

good question! I've wondered about the famous guy's from the past. How could they have done so well with the equipment they had in those days. Really had to have their ducks in a row! I don't know that my DSLR photo's are any better than my film photo's but then I convinced I'm pretty good no matter what anyone else sys!

 

[smoke665]

@cgw The thing I find most interesting, is that I'm not overly impressed with many of his non-celebrity images. IMO the technical aspects are mediocre at best, to the point that I wonder how much his notoriety contributed to them being considered important works. If you or I were to post similar images, would we become famous? LOL

@Don Fischer Despite the primitive by today's standards, Ansel Adams produced superior images that were also art worthy. Something so many of the so-called famous photographers didn't accomplish.