henri.cartier-bresson

It's hard to imagine what it would be like to experience a life like Henri Cartier-Bresson. What would it be like to be the original photojournalist, covering King Henry VI's coronation and Ghandi's funeral; China's fall to communism and Indonesia's rise from Dutch control; taking portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Martin Luther King Jr? As a journalism major and a bit of a photography nut, photojournalism was a dream job of mine at one point. That profession wouldn't even exist if it weren't for Cartier-Bresson. 

In a sense, I adamantly feel that photojournalism is the greatest style of photography there is. Photojournalists capture real life--no perfect models, no makeup or styling, no special effects or equipment--just them, the subject, and the camera. All those things are able to so easily ruin what a photograph should truly be: a slice of time (real time) frozen forever. With a journalistic approach, it's ethically impossible to elaborate 

a photo, 

life, 

truth.

Henri understood the power of photography, saying that "photography could fix eternity in an instant." I believe this is essentially why he gave it up. Shortly after his divorce from his wife of 30 years, he retired from his photography career and returned to drawing and painting. I think he found life too bleak and photography too honest. In drawing and painting, the artist is able to mould reality any way they desire. In photography, the moment is captured forever, with no way to alter it.

"The simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression... . In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little human detail can become a leitmotif."

—Henri Cartier-Bresson

camera.obscura.:.cultural.event

The second amazing person we met on our little trip to 16th street was this man right here. Hal Gould. This man is quite literally a sage of photography, 90 years old, and has his own official "Hal Gould Day" (February 19). He founded the Camera Obscura gallery--one of the oldest purely fine art photography galleries--after the director of the Denver Art Museum refused to show photography as an art medium. Hal opened Camera Obscura right behind DAM (as a kind of "up yours") and it was immensely successful. Although some of the photographs he curates are not my cup of tea (mostly old western-types), I can certainly appreciate the man himself. Hal has an amazing life story, having travelled to every continent, taking pictures along the way. Without Hal, photography may have never been regarded as the art form it is today.

"Art is in the artist, not in the medium."

byers.evans.:.cultural.event

After our visit through the DAM, we had lunch at the restaurant there with Mark Sink, a Denver photographer and friend of Roddy's. I was fortunate enough to sit at the same table as him and got to hear all about his life and why he chose to live in Denver and how he came to be a photographer. After having lunch, we went to the Byers Evans House Gallery where Mark was showing his collection. Having the artists there, giving us a personalized tour and explanation of each piece was such an honor. I never realized how many different techniques there are in photography until I saw his collection. It astounds me that he is able to make such beautiful art by simply scattering sugar or a flower on a scanner, or with a simple, old school Diana F+ camera. He proves that simplicity is bliss.

denver.art.museum.:.cultural.event

During our first week of school, my FSEM teacher, Roddy, took us on a trip to the 16th street area. First, we went to the Denver Art Museum and looked at a photo exhibit, then we were free to wander the museum as we pleased. I had been to the DAM before, but this particular visit was special because I believe it was the first time  the girls in my class began to grow really close. We got to view some incredible photography, had our fellow student, Ting, acquaint us with the characters in the Asian art gallery, ate an amazing meal, and experience an amazing place in the company of new friends. The museum building in itself is a piece of art (pictured at the top), and Roddy was constantly finding sources of "good light" to take our portraits in (pictured second).

sally.mann

At first glance, I didn't think I was going to like Sally Mann. My style of photography is vastly different from hers; I dabble in weird angles and high contrast colors while she takes what I think of as the obvious angle and does solely black and white photography. I'm all about digital and editing on the computer and her style is extremely vintage and she manages to do all her work by lugging around an old fashioned camera that's bigger than she is. She does portraits, I have a fear of my subject looking at the camera. She likes country landscapes, I prefer skyscrapers and architecture.

But as I continued to watch her biographical documentary, I realized just how incredible she is. She is literally living the life (not the life I ever dreamed of for myself): She's got the most wonderful husband, three beautiful children, living on her own working ranch, and doing exactly what she loves. Being a neurotic perfectionist myself, I completely admire the fact that she embraces imperfections. Being a writer, I completely admire her amazing use and expression of words. She is truly an artist. 

And yet, she's human. She faces disappointments just as anyone else does. I was able to completely relate to her when the Pace gallery decided to cancel her showing of "What Remains" after she had been working on it for four years. In my four years of high school, I worked my way up to the top of the ladder in my own passion: theatre. I had participated in every show, befriended the director, and made myself a prominent figure in the department to the point that I was elected president. From there, my goal was to get a leading role in the musical. I worked with various voice teachers and focused all of my energy into being the top soprano in my school. In the end, I was blown away that I didn't get the part and was put in the chorus. It felt as though I had spent four years on nothing. As Sally Mann put it, it was like when a bird flies into a glass window. But it has to get up, shake off its feathers, check to see if anything is broken, and keep flying. I realized later that I just didn't fit the roll, or at least the reputation and type-casting I had built up for myself didn't. Despite the embarrassment and disappointment, I tried out for all three shows this quarter at DU, got called back for the mainstage play, and got the lead in a senior project show. As Sally found a more fitting venue in D.C., I wound up finding something better too.

After watching these documentaries about these photographers and listening to the advice and musings of my professor, Roddy, I've finally realized what it is I love about photographers. They see the world in a completely different manner. Through their eyes, everything is beautiful, and they take the task of recording life upon themselves. Sometimes it comes down to making money, as it did for Annie Liebovitz and sometimes it comes down to prestige and reputation, as it did for Sally Mann. That's just life. But they manage to stay sane through it all (or at least as sane as an artist can be). At the end of the day, they are the ones that understand life better than anyone else.