Was Cartier-Bresson Really That Great of a Street Photographer?

Was Cartier-Bresson Really That Great of a Street Photographer?

By Michael Ernest Sweet

Once again, Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Decisive Moment is set to re-release in a new version this September from Thames & Hudson. The new edition is smaller, more affordable, and has some new features including detailed descriptions of the original books making, as well as an essay about its now-famous title. This isn’t the first time this photography “bible” has been re-released. Steidl published a meticulous facsimile of the original in 2015. So, with the book’s enduring fame, constant sales, and now routine re-releasing, it seems an opportune time to ask an important question: Was Henri Cartier-Bresson really that great of a photographer?

The short answer: Yes. Cartier-Bresson was very, very great. His street photographs are the gold standard for what constitutes great street photography. Yet, at least some of his esteemed reputation is a result of various other factors. For example, Cartier-Bresson made his work in a period when more people didn’t take photographs than those who did. Today, basically everyone takes photographs and many people do so with deliberate intention. The result is that we have a lot of great photography in the world today. That photography is also buried in a mountain of bad photography. As a result, finding great photographers is a much harder task now than ever before. There are more great photographers and they are harder to find.

Copyright ⓒ Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation. Decisive Moment by Henri Cartier-Bresson

Cartier-Bresson’s work also benefits from the fact that he was making street photography at a time when this kind of photograph was relatively novel. An important distinction to make here is that HCB made street photography, not necessarily documentary work. Yes, HCB did produce documentary photography, but the work street photographers often point to and debate is his street work – The Decisive Moment. Some critics, who try and question his esteemed rank in the street photography world point to his lack of a coherent narrative. Narrative is not, necessarily, a component of street photography. Not in the way that we expect it to be present in documentary work, for example. The fact that HCB made a lot of “one-offs” is simply another feather in his cap. It should be noted that building an impressive portfolio of this kind of work can be even more difficult than a body of work with a tight narrative. When building a project with a cohesive story, one can slip in weaker photographs because they “fit” the narrative and get away with it. When every photograph must stand on its own things become more complicated and difficult. HCB was an absolute master when it came to making a standalone photograph of superior quality.

Copyright ⓒ Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation. Decisive Moment by Henri Cartier-Bresson

Street photography has changed greatly over the past few years. We see differently now. This is, at least in part, simply due to the volume of images we all consume (and make) on a daily basis. For example, in the past two years more photographs have been made than in the entire history of photography. What a sobering fact. With such constant consumption it is only reasonable that our “way of seeing and understanding” the photograph has changed. Put another way, we may not be as impressed by the kind of images HCB made in the decisive moment. We feel we too could make such images with relative ease. Maybe we could, although most people also believe that they can paint, write novels, and dance as well as the next guy, until they try. Regardless, the visual impact of HCB’s photos were undoubtedly more profound in earlier decades. When it comes to street photography, more specifically, we now have a rather narrow vision for what we believe to be good. The “Alex Webb” kind of photograph, with lots of complicated action and figures divided up by complex lines and shadows, has become the new “gold standard” for a one-off street photograph. To merely photograph a single person on a bicycle by a staircase is no longer enough for many of us. It fails to impress. But we are tossing the baby with the bathwater here. This is a fad, and perhaps the “style” of composition HCB made was a fad too. The point is we should work to refresh our vision and to be open to all types of compositions as potentially great. A cluttered and colorful frame with stray hands and elbows and kids loitering in every corner of the frame is not the only way to produce a good street photograph. More is not always more. No offense to Alex Webb. Alex’s photos are great, as I have said elsewhere and to Alex himself. The point is we need to keep an open mind as to what constitutes great street photography. Our vision has become too constrained by the all-powerful social media echo chamber, which has warped our conception of what we think a street photograph needs to be. There’s more to photograph than kids on monkey bars or religious fanatics in street parades.

Another factor critics will often bring up with HCB is that they believe many of his photographs to have been “staged”. I don’t know, I was not there. If they are, we should look at them with this in mind. If not, all the better. Does staging a street photograph make it invalid? Will the earth implode? Again, I’m not sure, although I do have a few ideas. I do know one thing, if a staged or partially-staged street photograph “cancels” a street photographer (or their photographs) then many current street photographers are in serious trouble. And what does “staged” even mean? Does finding a setting and then waiting for the right mix of people to enter the scene qualify as “staged”? Good question. Again, street photography is not documentary photography. It is also not studio work. Put another way, street photography is not a nonfiction book nor is it a novel. It is simply the act of taking photographs in the public space. Any definition beyond that quickly becomes a matter of someone’s opinion or subject to some list of “rules” drawn up by the village idiot. For what it’s worth, I personally believe the number of HCB’s photographs that could be considered staged, by any measure, could likely be counted upon a single hand. Urban legends are powerful stuff.

Copyright ⓒ Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation. Decisive Moment by Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson was (and still is) great. He was great because he turned his camera toward the streets – something novel at the time. He was great because he had an eye for classical composition, something we should not snub our noses at simply because another style of composition has become trendy. HCB was great because he had a tremendous work ethic and was unrelenting in the chase for great photographs. He was great because he helped to show the world that truly worthy photographs could be made with a (relatively) compact camera (most photographers were still hiding under dark cloths). He was great because he applied his intellect, his heart, and his vision to make photographs that still resonate today, more than three quarters of a century later. Yes, Henri Cartier-Bresson really was that great! And, this new re-release from Thames & Hudson seems like a wonderful opportunity for a whole new generation to get their hands on a copy of what will likely remain the bible of street photography for many more years to come.