About a month ago I visited the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit at the MOMA (remember, Cigarette Pants & Modern Art). A few days later John Mayer (yes, THAT John Mayer) posted his observation of the exhibit on his tumblog:
Henri Cartier-Bresson at MOMA NYC
The one thing that struck me after seeing hundreds of his photos is that not a single one of them features a shallow depth of field. With faster lenses being made, it’s easier than ever to feature the subject of the shot in focus while leaving everything behind it a blur, and while it’s immediately satisfying to look at, it definitely lacks impact from a storytelling perspective. I’m guilty of taking pictures that way, and I think I’m going to try moving away from it. (Interesting that Cartier-Bresson was also a painter, which would explain why every detail in the photo was in focus – you can’t paint a blurred background.)
What he took away from the exhibit is a fairly simple concept and observation of the artist’s work but applied to myself an extremely challenging technique. I typically shoot with a very shallow depth of field as that’s how I see the world in my mind as well as it’s ability to simplify the photograph, convey an emotion or idea clearly and forces you to look at exactly what I want you to see or feel. I wanted to challenge myself and find out- what if I shot in the style of Cartier-Bresson at a large depth of field?
I took my old manual Pentax, left it on the smallest f stop at f/16 & took to the streets of NYC to see in a whole new light…
I am by no means comparing myself to the grace of Cartier-Bresson — I am, however, challenging myself as an artist. Learning from those who did it so masterfully before you through trial and error projects pushes your knowledge and understanding as a photographer. I didn’t know if I was going to love or hate the outcome and it was honestly so difficult for me to shoot being aware that everything in the frame would be represented. I’m not going to start shooting everything at f/16 but there are aspects to these images I do really love and want to continue experimenting with and incorporating into my work and vision. So thanks to you, John Mayer, for pointing out something so obvious in one of the greatest bodies of work in the world of photography.
*all images taken on Tri-x 400 with my Honeywell Pentax at f/16 using the Sunny 16 Rule (no light meter) and processed at home on Monday July 5, 2010.