Puddle Jumper

Sirius Glass · Nov 9, 2022

Don Heisz said:
View attachment 321174

While it was cropped, what was cropped was some blank frame to the left and what looks like just more water. If the lens had not been blocked, the photo might not have been cropped. Then perhaps it might not have become so well-known.

The reflection in the water adds to the impact of the photograph.

faberryman · Nov 9, 2022

awty said:
I find the same on all his pictures. Its of a place and time that has no relevance to me and he fails to give any relevance.......except of the boy caring the bottles of wine, that is possibly the best picture ever.

A lot of street photographs today include at least one person looking at his phone, which doesn't do much for me. Perhaps people in a hundred years will find it fascinating and treasure the photographs. But probably not.

awty · Nov 9, 2022

faberryman said:
A lot of street photographs today include at least one person looking at his phone, which doesn't do much for me. Perhaps people in a hundred years will find it fascinating and treasure the photographs. But probably not.

Just cause you dont like people interacting with their phones, doesnt make it not relevant. Thats the time we live.

People like nostalgia, HCB is nostalgic to some, but I dont see anything past that.

cliveh · Nov 9, 2022

I think 99% of so called street photography today is complete crap, but that is just my opinion.

faberryman · Nov 9, 2022

awty said:
Just cause you dont like people interacting with their phones, doesnt make it not relevant. Thats the time we live.

I never said people looking at their phones wasn't relevant. I agree that's the time we live in. How could I not?

I said photographs of people looking at their phones don't do much for me. But that is just my opinion. You may have a different opinion which is okay with me.

awty said:
People like nostalgia, HCB is nostalgic to some, but I dont see anything past that.

It will be a shame if people in the future feel nostalgic about people looking at their phones. But that is just my opinion. You may have a different opinion which is okay with me.

I don't view HCBs photographs as nostalgia because I wasn't around when most of them were made. I view them as historic documents. There is more to HCB's photographs than nostalgia or their historic value, but I am too tired tonight to go into it, other than to say try analyzing the photographs from a technical point of view.. Assume the role of a photography instructor evaluating a student's work. What did the student do well and what does the student need to improve. If you were the student, what would you have done differently?

nostalgia (noun) - a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations

foc · Nov 9, 2022

cliveh said:
I think 99% of so called street photography today is complete crap, but that is just my opinion.

+1

Sirius Glass · Nov 9, 2022

cliveh said:
I think 99% of so called street photography today is complete crap, but that is just my opinion.

You are not alone. Too much work to do correctly for very little payoff.

Maris · Nov 9, 2022

Puddle jumper? Too easy! Remember the scene is outside a railway station, Gare Saint-Lazare, where hundreds or thousands of people need to board or exit trains. And to get across that puddle outside the station someone has helpfully placed a ladder to get people part way across. Then it's just a case of staking out the scene and photographing everyone who has an athletic go at keeping their feet dry.

A curious consequence of the Leica camera having viewfinder parallax was the necessity of cropping Henri Cartier-Bresson's much acclaimed "Puddle Jumper". Cartier-Bresson shot verticals with the viewfinder to the right thus displacing the lens to the left. The Puddle Jumper negative was exposed through a gap in a fence. Cartier-Bresson plumb forgot to point the lens through the gap and not the viewfinder! Consequently the side of the negative was obscured by a paling in the fence. The uncertain framing of the Leica viewfinder stands in stark contrast to Cartier-Bresson's insistence on "no cropping". I believe the "no cropping" rule was about asserting power, control, and ownership rather than aesthetics. If Henri did the cropping then it was ok but not for his editors.

Pieter12 · Nov 9, 2022

I believe I read that the shot of the bicyclist and the stairs was premeditated as HCB stood and waited for someone to come by and complete the composition. On the other hand I have never read that about the puddle-jumper. He most probably grabbed that one as he saw it happen, damned be the ideal composition.

MattKing · Nov 9, 2022

cliveh said:
I think 99% of so called street photography today is complete crap, but that is just my opinion.

I don't know that the percentage referenced is necessarily accurate, but I would suggest that the nature of the genre means that there will far more rejects or boring results than keepers. Similar to sports photography. To my mind the real concern isn’t street photography itself but rather the great volume of it that is so easily accessible. It is the modern paradox: the potential for discovering the wonderful - that remarkable remaining 1 percent - is vast, but the need for collection and curation is powerful.

bernard_L · Nov 10, 2022

momus said:
That shot was setup, it's glaringly obvious. What are the odds of someone just being in the perfect spot in the perfect moment? Slim to none, at best. I suspect many of Bresson's shots were setups. I'm not bothered by that, I still like many of his shots, but people like to create their own legend and continually feed it.

glaringly obvious?
Having seen some of HCB's contact sheets, I would rather bet that, like others, this picture was taken in ambush. In that context, the probability argument "What are the odds of someone just being in the perfect spot in the perfect moment?" loses much of its weight.
And, yes, many of Doisneau's pictures were staged.

@ awty "except of the boy caring the bottles of wine, that is possibly the best picture ever"
That one? It's a Doisneau picture. And I'd bet it was staged.

awty · Nov 10, 2022

bernard_L said:
glaringly obvious?
Having seen some of HCB's contact sheets, I would rather bet that, like others, this picture was taken in ambush. In that context, the probability argument "What are the odds of someone just being in the perfect spot in the perfect moment?" loses much of its weight.
And, yes, many of Doisneau's pictures were staged.

@ awty "except of the boy caring the bottles of wine, that is possibly the best picture ever"
That one? It's a Doisneau picture. And I'd bet it was staged.
View attachment 321297

Ok That makes sense Doisneau was a much better photographer.

foc · Nov 10, 2022

If you look at Henri Cartier Bresson's photos, staged or not, the most striking aspect, to me, is his composition.

He knows how to draw your eye into the photo and keep it there.

He even breaks some of the rules of composition (in the puddle jumper, the subject is about to jump out of the frame).

The images may look like they were just captured, the decisive moment, but like all simple things, a lot of hard work, knowledge and thought went into it.

Don_ih · Nov 10, 2022

cliveh said:
I think 99% of so called street photography today is complete crap, but that is just my opinion.

Over 99% of all street photos have always been crap. Even the "good" ones tend to be memorable due to either a freak or cute factor that's mostly superficial.

A little boy carrying wine bottles is a rare example of combined freak and cute.

Bresson was at least concerned about composition and most of his better-known photos can be discussed in that regard - even if they're otherwise dull.

cliveh · Nov 10, 2022

bernard_L said:
glaringly obvious?
Having seen some of HCB's contact sheets, I would rather bet that, like others, this picture was taken in ambush. In that context, the probability argument "What are the odds of someone just being in the perfect spot in the perfect moment?" loses much of its weight.
And, yes, many of Doisneau's pictures were staged.

@ awty "except of the boy caring the bottles of wine, that is possibly the best picture ever"
That one? It's a Doisneau picture. And I'd bet it was staged.
View attachment 321297

The boy carrying bottles was taken by HCB on Rue Mouffetard in 1954. Not Doisneau.

macfred · Nov 10, 2022

cliveh said:
The boy carrying bottles was taken by HCB on Rue Mouffetard in 1954. Not Doisneau.

This! https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auc...tographs/henri-cartier-bresson-rue-mouffetard

Sirius Glass · Nov 10, 2022

macfred said:
This! https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auc...tographs/henri-cartier-bresson-rue-mouffetard

I think that the boy went to the store for his parents to get the bottles refilled with wine. I will drink to that.

faberryman · Nov 10, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
I think that the boy went to the store for his parents to get the bottles refilled with wine. I will drink to that.

Remember the good old days when you could give a five year old neighborhood boy a nickel to run down to the wine shop and get your wine bottles refilled, and some old guy on the street could take a photograph of him on the way back. Today, everyone would be arrested.

Sirius Glass · Nov 10, 2022

faberryman said:
Remember the the good old days when you could pay a five year old neighborhood kid a nickel to run down to the wine shop and get your wine bottles refilled, and some old guy on the street could take a photograph of him on the way back. Today, everyone would have been arrested.

Only in America

cliveh · Nov 10, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
Only in America

And in the UK.

Sirius Glass · Nov 10, 2022

cliveh said:
And in the UK.

Daniela · Nov 10, 2022

@ awty "except of the boy caring the bottles of wine, that is possibly the best picture ever"
That one? It's a Doisneau picture. And I'd bet it was staged.

I was gonna say you probably got it confused with "Le Petit Parisien", but that was actually shot by Willy Ronis...
And to add to the confusion just for the heck of it, I just found this...

Sirius Glass · Nov 10, 2022

Daniela said:
I was gonna say you probably got it confused with "Le Petit Parisien", but that was actually shot by Willy Ronis...
And to add to the confusion just for the heck of it, I just found this...

View attachment 321336

The left arm is not in the same position. Neither is the right leg. The shadow is different. It is highly likely that they are not the same negative.

Pieter12 · Nov 10, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
The left arm is not in the same position. Neither is the right leg. The shadow is different. It is highly likely that they are not the same negative.

It is quite likely someone having a bit of fun with PhotoShop. Besides, the website "Gluten-free" should be a clue.

faberryman · Nov 10, 2022

Pieter12 said:
It is quite likely someone having a bit of fun with PhotoShop. Besides, the website "Gluten-free" should be a clue.

The other clue is that the child in the photo on the right is not carrying an 8' baguette, which may also be related to the gluten-free website.

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