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References

Albers, P. (2021, September 23). André Kertész. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 14, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Andre-Kertesz.

André Kertész: A great photographer who has influenced Cartier-Bresson. Fotor's Blog. (2017, May 18). Retrieved November 14, 2021, from https://www.fotor.com/blog/andre-kertesz-a-great-photographer-who-has-influenced-cartier-bresson/.

Henri Cartier-Bresson • Photographer Profile • Magnum Photos Magnum Photos. Magnum Photos. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/henri-cartier-bresson/.

Icevska, G. S. (2008). SHOOTING THE TRUTH: HOW PHOTOGRAPHS IN THE MEDIA BETRAY US [MA Thesis presented to Ryerson University and York University] Research online at Shooting The Truth : How Photographs In The Media Betray Us (ryerson.ca)

Johnson, W. (July 1981), W. EUGENE SMITH A Chronological Bibliography 1934-1980 Part II. Publisher Center for Creative Photography University of Arizona, 1981.

Scharf, A. (n.d.). Henri Cartier-Bresson. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-Cartier-Bresson.

Spoopyblr - Tumblr Blog.” Tumgir, https://www.tumgir.com/spoopyblr.

The photography of W. Eugene Smith. LIFE. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://www.life.com/photographer/w-eugene-smith/.

W. Eugene Smith. International Center of Photography. (2019, September 20). Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/w-eugene-smith?all%2Fall%2Fall%2Fall%2F0.

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Meet The Team

This is a shared blog between five culinary students who happened to share a love for photography. Meet the five:

Soad -

Photography has always been a big part of my life and I’m lucky to say that I’m as comfortable in front of a camera as I am behind it. But what truly makes my heart sing is standing in front of great works of photography. 

Hyunjun - 

I am from South Korea and I am living here in Canada for 2 years now. I am currently in second year of Culinary management H116 program. I like to watch a lot of cooking videos and shows. I like to go biking, too.

Nisha - 

I am currently enrolled in the 3rd semester of the H116 culinary management program. In my free time, I like going out for walks, If the weather allows, listen to music, read books and I enjoy singing as well. there's something that few people who are very close to me know that I used to write poetry and composed and write songs. I like taking pictures because that's how I capture the moment.

Sunny - 

Currently enrolled in the third semester of the H116 Culinary management program. I am new to Canada and I consider myself an artist, cooking is my passion but I also dabble in sketching. I believe photography is an art is performed and understoodfrom the soul, It is the only way to capture moments and live them again and again.

Saurarv- 

I am an international student from Chandigarh, India currently living in Canada. i am enrolled in culinary management (H116). So i think it’s a great opportunity to learn photography because in India my father has a business of photography. Also i have interest to capture good pictures from cameras and gimbals.

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What’s the better journalistic approach? and why?

For the sake of answering the question directly, we argue that the better journalistic approach is the one done by Cartier-Bresson and Kertesz. We say this because we believe that their approach represents realism and the truth more than Smith and Salgado’s approach. The long post production process that is done by Smith and Salgado, goes against the basic principles of photojournalism. According to the Code of Ethics of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), photojournalists should respect the integrity of the photographic moment. According to John Long, the Chairman of the Ethics and Standards  Committee of the National Press Photographers Association, he claims that the post production done by Smith does not capture the “truth” of the photograph.

 “Eugene Smith used dark room technique to create images that he thought  were communicating a certain ‘truth’ He felt that that is a part of the process. we don’t.  We think he went too far for the most part. Moving objects and excessive dark room technique is too much ‘Ethics’ the principle stays the same, but how they are applied and how they are interpreted would change over time. Stuff they did in 40’s and in the 50’s we wouldn’t do today. looking back at his work was over manipulated. Just because it is a dark room doesn’t make it right. The computers can be used technically to make a beautiful print, they can be used beyond technical tools to create a lie. They themselves are not a problem, it’s whether you are using that technique to deceive the public. Whether  you are using that technique to create something that was not part of the normal  presentation of the photograph

Smith and Salgado become a part of the community that they are photographing or the bonds that they create with their subjects. Randall (1996) says that in journalism, your subjects should always be aware that you are doing your job and that you are not one of them. You should do this to maintain professionalism, to avoid emotional reactions and to present the reality as it happened it is important not to cross the line between photojournalists and their subjects. Smith allowed his emotions to become a part of his work which in the end influenced the product. Finally, one of the principles of photojournalism is to “resist being manipulated by staged photo opportunities” (NPPA, Code of Ethics, 2004). Most of the photographs Smith took during his lifetime show that he tended to plan in detail how and what he shot.  For example in a photograph of Smith’s son and daughter, Smith made the two of them walk about 3-4 times in front of his camera to get the perfect shot that he envisioned. Making it a factual representation of reality or the correct way to tell a story, you should capture the raw emotions and ultimately your photo should be able to freeze a moment in time accurately.

Eugene Smith: The Walk to Paradise Garden, photograph of Smith’s  son Patrick and daughter Juanita, 1946 (W. Eugene Smith Shadow and Substance, Jim  Hughes, 1989)  

Smith’s son remembers that he and his sister had to walk 3-4 times in front of his father’s camera

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What is similar? & What is different?

Andre Kertesz is a photographer from Hungary, who then went to Paris in 1925 to begin his career in freelance photography. Kertesz is considered to be a pioneer of photo-journalism. Kertesz prides himself on the fact that he always carried a small camera around and took candid, informal photographs. His photographs were able to freeze a moment in time and capture them at the right moment. The reason he was able to capture the moment so perfectly was just by “feeling it”. He says, “Look at the atmosphere, the reflection. Why did I do it this way? Instinct. I have no other explanation. The subject offered itself to me and I took advantage”. He took the approach of a photojournalist without being aware of it.  

Kertesz: Behind the lines, Gologory, Poland, 1915 Instead of the heroic images, Kertesz’s camera was focused  on the life behind the lines

Henri Cartier-Bresson is considered the godfather of photojournalism yet he does not see himself as a photographer. The way that Cartier-Bresson explains his work is similar to Kertesz, “I was puzzled… I said: I don’t know, it’s not important” (Cartier-Bresson, 1952). Cartier-Bresson believes in the importance of The Decisive Moment, “To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event it’s proper expression”. This is similar to Kertesz “feeling” that he gets before capturing a photograph.  Another similarity between Kertesz and Cartier-Bresson is that when they started photography, neither of them thought about reporting through the means of photos. Cartier-Bresson also believes in taking pictures while being invisible, similarly to Kertesz who always carried around a small camera to take photos that way they are not interrupting the scene.

Eugene Smith took his first photographs at the age of 15 for two local newspapers in Wichita, Kansas. He worked as a war correspondent for “Flying” magazine (1943-44) and a year later for “LIFE”. Smith is similar to Kertesz and Cartier-Bresson in the way that he wanted to capture reality with his photographs, but the way he wanted to capture reality was different from them. Smith relied on editing his photographs and manipulating the photo to capture the image that he wants. A colleague tried to convince Smith to submit a photograph but he replied, “I can’t show it. This face here needs toning, needs burning in. This thing down here needs changing. The eyes are wrong” (Lasko, 1989). Kertesz and Cartier-Bresson knew exactly when and how to capture a photo at the right moment to bring that image to life and tell a story but Smith not only wants to portray the reality he felt and saw through the camera lens but by also editing and adjusting the light.

Photo 20: Eugene Smith: Spanish wake (W. Eugene Smith and the Photographic Essay,  Glenn G. Willumson, 1992, p.128-129)  

The light, constructed in the postproduction process, dictates the objects and people that audiences should focus on.

Another difference between Smith and his other photojournalists is that Smith was not invisible in producing and capturing images. Kertesz and Cartier-Bresson take pride in being invisible and capturing the scene as it is without interfering whereas Smith would interfere with his subject in his photographs. He often tended to become part of the subject’s community. Smith also tended to build tight bonds with the people he was capturing whereas the other photojournalists would never do that.

Sebastiao Salgado is a photographer who believes that he needs to have interactions with the people in his photographs. He is similar in this sense to Smith because Salgado feels that he must enter the circle of the subjects in the photo and become those people. Salgado also expresses his position on global politics and the economy through his work, which Cartier-Bresson and Kertesz do not do. Salgado, just like Smith, focuses a lot of his attention and time on the post production work in his photos.

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Sebastiao Salgado

Sebastiao Salgado (1944-present) Brazilian

Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado Júnior is a Brazilian social documentary photographer and photojournalist that uses a monochromatic approach and feels that the spectator should focus on the painting's subject rather than the color. His work has a dramatic quality to it, as well as a level of intricacy. The influence of industry on the natural landscape, as well as the impact of deprivation, are frequently seen in Salgado's photographs. In brutal but often beautiful black-and-white pictures, he investigates issues like hunger, poverty, and societal inequity. He has received multiple photojournalism honours, including the International Center of Photography's Photographer of the Year award. 

Gold mine of Serra Pelada, State of Pará, Brazil, 1986

Eugene Smith and Sebastiao Salgado used a different approach, that of a painter. They emphasized the importance of photographers being visible. They can also communicate with the person they're photographing or describe what they want the image to look like to the subject. For them, photography is utilizing camera lenses to reproduce an image in their heads, with the goal of allowing the audience to see and feel what the photographer has experienced. I believe they are professional journalists who can analyze and express an occurrence through images that capture topics or events such as civil turmoil in a foreign nation. Furthermore, the fundamental distinction was that they had followed a strict ethical framework. Nonetheless, they have sublimated the events in art, making it easier for the general people to comprehend the seriousness of the situation.

Korem camp, Ethiopia, 1984

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Eugene Smith

Eugene Smith (1918-1978) American

Eugene Smith, an American photojournalist, is credited with popularizing photo essays. He has always thought that "clicking on an image" has a function. He desired for his photographs to elicit an emotional response from the viewer. He also intended to alter people's perceptions of conflict. His humanitarian stance is seen by his photographs of those who were involved in the battle. Many people thought he was confrontational, yet he was always concerned about his topic. 

Tanaka Jitsuko (18) with her mother in 1971.

Eugene Smith, unlike Henri Cartier Bresson, believed that manipulating a photograph was acceptable. If staging lends the image the legitimacy of its setting, it should be used. He printed the photo multiple times until he was satisfied that it was appropriate for him. He was always eager to view the finished result in post-production. In 1943-1944, he worked as a photojournalist war reporter for Flying Magazine, and then for Life Magazine a year later. While following the American attack on Japan he was seriously injured. His biggest photo essay is from Minamata Village, Japan in 1975. The entire fishing village was in great trouble due to the dumping of mercury by a chemical company.

Eugene and his wife Aileen Mioko Smith in Minamata in 1972.

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Andre Kertész

Andre Kertész (1894-1985) Hungarian-America

Andre Kertész is a Hungarian-American who served in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I. He was considered one of the most-inventive photographers of the 20th century, by setting the standard for the use of the handheld camera, creating a highly autobiographical body of work, and developing a distinctive visual language. He pursued the style of Constructivism and Surrealism, but his own style was a blend of emotion and observation.

Underwater Swimmer, Esztergom, Hungary, 1917

He has influenced other famous photojournalists like Brassaï and Henri Cartier-Bresson, to whom Kertész taught photography. Buying Leica, a handheld camera, in 1928, he was able to move more freely with any environment. This inspired him to the idea of the chance encounter, which made him to patiently await the photographic moment, instead of manipulating the photograph.

The Circus, Budapest, 1920

After leaving Paris for New York due to the threat of World War II, it was hard for him to re-establish his reputation even though he worked for famous magazines like Harper’s Bazaar. His early surviving photographs were mainly of the people, animals, and landscapes of Hungary, which reflects that his interest in using the camera was capturing the moment.

Birds Eye View, Washington Square Park, September 25, 1969

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Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 - 2004) French 

Henri Cartier-Bresson, who is considered a godfather of photojournalism, was a French photographer developed with Surrealism. After spending a year in Ivory Coast, he found Leica, which is a handheld camera. This particular camera was relevant to Cartier-Bresson because of its silence and anonymity. He wanted to remain silent, and even unseen while he was taking a picture. He even covered the bright parts of the camera with black tape and sometimes hid the camera under a handkerchief. He was similarly reticent about his work.

Children in Seville, Spain, photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1933.

Cartier-Bresson believed that pictures should be taken while the photographer is invisible, not interrupting the scene. The thought behind his belief is that when the audience is consuming opinions or commentary pieces through words, they know those words are someone’s point of view. But when it comes to photography, the audience accepts the photographs as they are, without doubting or thinking about what happened in the process of digital editing of images.

Mahatma Gandhi a few hours before his assassination in 1948 by Cartier-Bresson 

His philosophy in photography is shown in one interview.

How much should the photographer influence the final product?

"If you made yourself obvious, even just by getting your light-meter out, the only thing to do is to forget about photography for the moment and accommodatingly allow the children who come rushing at you to cling to your knees like burrs (Cartier-Bresson, 1952).

 Henri Cartier-Bresson Flies a Kite, Provence, 1987. Photograph: John Loengard. Courtesy of LIFE Gallery of Photography

Both Andre Kertész and Henri Cartier-Bresson developed Surrealism. They both didn’t want the photographer's presence in the photograph. For them, it was not allowed to be in the scene nor even have communication with the person they are photographing. For example, Cartier-Bresson didn’t even let his camera show by hiding under the handkerchief. They thought the beauty of photography is in capturing the moment, not taking a photo of a staged scene