Homage to Henri Cartier Bresson - My World

Reality check

Anyone who knows me knows I have a thing about Henri Cartier Bresson. Well he was French( I am a Francophile too) and his photography is most definitely the single biggest inspiration of mine. Even before I knew the images I actually wanted to captured reflected his way of seeing the world. Considered the Godfather of modern street photography and photo journalism that is he captured the image as it was. No cropping, no desaturation, no tweaking in Photoshop. If it was blurry so be it. If someone wasn't quite in the best posed position does it really matter? In the real world, people are sitting around waiting for you to capture their image airbrushed, the sunset doesn't always looks beautiful and slush from that beautiful snowfall can make an equally interesting real image. Does every image have to be perfect, beautiful, geometrically balanced. The world is slightly askew, shoot it that way. You can always hold the camera at at different angle to capture the relatively dull scene to add your own creative twist. As he said he trapped life. Each image, especially the people I capture, traps that specific moment in time. The lone walker in the scene, unawares, whoever they were, braving what I can tell you now was a bitterly cold day midweek trapped through the lens. A moment never to be repeated. The pretty colours of Parliament Street reflected in the slush pools, the grim reality that when snow melts it's really quite miserable and horrible captured as it was. The way Bresson did.......



......Of course we all know that I am also barking mad. Throw in that element of quirkiness then all the above goes out the window and I can show you my very none Bresson images. Pics when I have specifically coaxed people to play the fool for the camera, or purposely shot the same inanimate object from quirky angles, waiting for sunlight to hit the bridge, because it seemed like a good idea at the time. 100 times, that being the abridged version of a very long story!

For more My World posts, Click here after 8pm.

MONOCHROME ODD SHOTS - LOOKING GLASS

Bresson-esque by Babooshka

Reflections of Ramsey 

Last week we had a trip around the two beaches of Ramsey. This week I am purely indulging myself with for me pure photography reflections. As it is Monochrome Odd shots I used this one to start the theme, "Looking Glass." It's Mooragh Lake with the park. I was standing one side taking upside down reflections, a particular speciality when I spied the couple of walkers. I purposely waiting for them to walk into the frame.  I have often tried to convey that photographers are born not made and you either think photography or you don't. I saw in my mind's eye how the image would look and waited for the walkers to arrive into my image naturally. Not serendipity, not stage managed, but a natural image nonetheless. 

(Photography, what is it?)

This week I am going to use one camera, the reasonably priced Nikon D50, wide angled lens on various setting, times, weather conditions. All images will be pure. No cropping, colour balance, contrast, brighten sharpening. The ugly and the beautiful will stay within the image. The common links will be around Ramsey and all reflections of one kind or another. One camera, one lens, one photographer. Ramsey is a very normal looking town as I have shown you. I intend to make it look surreal in a natural way. Twin Peaks, Alice In Wonderland anyone. You may or may not like these images. They may not be easy on the eye, or may be too easy. For me photography is using my eye, my brain, my natural ability. I think when we employ other techniques ie photoshop then it should be classed as photo art,a new genre perhaps. We really do need to make the distinction to safegaurd both photographers and artists. I am a photographer and I take photographs. I am a dying breed, please don't make my partner or I the artist extinct.

Aileni will see to your Monochrome needs

Katney will see to your Odd shots.

To know me as a photographer, go google one word Bresson.

A WALK ALONG LEZAYRE ROAD

Lezayre Road, Ramsey

This is Lezayre Road, Ramsey. Looks very Suburban doesn't it? Actually it's a minute walk into the town high street, or if you like the downtown area. Not that we really have a downtown area. When you live on an island and a small town, everything becomes squashed, compact, within easy reach. As you can see it's also very quiet, very, very quiet.


Lezayre, is actually another Parish. This though is just it's namesake the road. Looking into the distance you are heading towards, Kirk Micheal, Curraghs Wildlife Park and the lead out to Peel. As you can see it is a very tree lined area and sunlight struggles to make an impact which is great for those Bresson shadows. In the distance you can see a footbridge, where the solitary walker and solitary car are situated underneath. On the left hand side of the footbridge (looking at the shot) you will find Ramsey Grammar School and on the right hand side the newly built Junior and infants school.


Quiet isn't it. What time of day do you think I took this image? Dawn perhaps? No it was 4.45pm. Just before the rush hour traffic. There is an optimum time for the photographs here. Before 4.30pm, it's full of school kids and school run cars, after 5.pm the slight rush hour. A 15 minute window for a 5 minute walk into town. Enough time to stop at intervals and play around with the light and shadows. Keep an eye on that footbridge. It's going to to be featured in it's own post soon, with it's own quirky background story.


If you follow the TT, The Isle of Man TT Road Races, motorbikes then you are looking at part of the circuit. This is the approach into Ramsey under the footbridge, coming towards the point I've taken the image from, travelling over my shoulder out of shot and onto a right turn at the Swan Pub, the backdrop for my motorbike photos. It's a lot quieter today than it is then. A lot quieter!