Lost Cartier-Bresson photos of Jersey

[Andprayforrain]

In case you're unfamiliar with these: The Lost New Jersey Photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson

I was.

Enjoy.

 

[Darthfeeble]

Thank you for the link, his work is so enjoyable.

 

[maddoc]

Thank you for the link, very interesting read.

 

[Rayt]

Nice set of photos. Now I need to see more.

Yup. When I tell people I grew up in New Jersey the reactions range from a giggle from the polite to outright laughter from the rude. I don‘t bother defending the state anymore.

 

[raydm6]

Wow! Very entertaining article. Loved the images, and loved this quote:

During week four, a video crew was supposed to shadow Cartier-Bresson. But he considered anonymity essential, to the degree that he once travelled under the alias Hank Carter. When the day came, he fled. “We were chasing him through Newark in a little van,” Evans said. “He was like a gazelle. He ran through the backstreets avoiding us.”

 

[Erik van Straten]

Wonderful! This was his Leica CL period.

Erik.

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

Nice set of photos. Now I need to see more.

Yup. When I tell people I grew up in New Jersey the reactions range from a giggle from the polite to outright laughter from the rude. I don‘t bother defending the state anymore.

I'm from Florida. I know how you feel.

 

[agentlossing]

Wonderful! This was his Leica CL period.

Erik.

Is that a CL with a fifty and a hotshoe finder for the 50? That's what I kind of thought, and then wondered why he would take such a roundabout way when he had Leicas with native 50mm framelines, but when I think about it, many of the hotshoe finders have a larger and cleaner view, and he knew the focusing on that lens by feel alone, for sure.

Very cool shots. HCB compositions have such a signature feel, it's like you know it's him immediately. The photo with the traffic and bridge in the background didn't seem like a good picture at all until I clicked on it so it all fit in my monitor frame - then it was a great photo.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Agentlossing: "Is that a CL with a fifty and a hotshoe finder for the 50? That's what I kind of thought, and then wondered why he would take such a roundabout way when he had Leicas with native 50mm framelines, but when I think about it, many of the hotshoe finders have a larger and cleaner view, and he knew the focusing on that lens by feel alone, for sure."

Yes, he always used the full frame, from the moment he got his first Leica in 1932.

Could be he only used the finder of the camera to focus and used the SBOOI for composing. The image in the finder of the CL is quite small I guess. The SBOOI is life-size. I've never used a CL myself.

Erik.

 

[agentlossing]

I've handled the CL. It's a small finder but paradoxically the rangefinder is very crisp and bright, and fairly large. It's one camera I may break down and buy one day.

With HCB's muscle memory with his favorite 50mm lenses, I could imagine him using a tiny Bessa L with a fifty and VF to great effect. Not that he would have, but it's cool to imagine that kind of mastery of the 50mm frame coming from that diminutive and cheap body.

 

[Erik van Straten]

I've handled the CL. It's a small finder but paradoxically the rangefinder is very crisp and bright, and fairly large. It's one camera I may break down and buy one day.

With HCB's muscle memory with his favorite 50mm lenses, I could imagine him using a tiny Bessa L with a fifty and VF to great effect. Not that he would have, but it's cool to imagine that kind of mastery of the 50mm frame coming from that diminutive and cheap body.

Could be he liked the CL because of the low weight. I don't know anything about the viewfinder of the CL but I guess it wasn't precise enough for Cartier-Bresson. He always composed for the full frame.

Erik.

 

[agentlossing]

Oops, wrong.

 

[John Bragg]

Great read and fabulous photos. Thanks for sharing the link. Peter Marlowe, also from Magnum used the CL to great effect on his project about poverty in his native Liverpool.

Liverpool: Looking Out To Sea • Peter Marlow • Magnum Photos Magnum Photos

Peter Marlow details a raw and intimate portrait of the struggling city of Liverpool during the 1980s in 'Liverpool: Looking Out To Sea'

www.magnumphotos.com

 

[santino]

It doesn't have lines for 50mm, only 40mm. I definitely can't see him guesstimating using 40mm framelines.

My CL has 90, 40 and 50 frame lines. I highly doubt that its a special edition.

 

[agentlossing]

My CL has 90, 40 and 50 frame lines. I highly doubt that its a special edition.

Headslap, whoops, it's 35mm that the CL doesn't have. Thanks!

 

[Noserider]

Great read, thank you for sharing.

I find it funny that a WNET TV producer would crop his photos. "There's too much space! Crop in!" which then destroyed the whole visual context of the photos, which was <the whole point> of having H C-B shoot that documentary.

 

[Trask]

Thanks for bringing these photographs to our attention. I was born in New Jersey, lived there twice in my then-young life -- I'd like to see more of these HCB Jersey-graphs someday.

 

[oldwino]

The ambulance photo looks like it was taken with a wide angle. Very different vibe to the usual shots.

 

[telenous]

Thanks! Never seen these photos before.

I think I see the infinity lock on the lens. From his grip he must be shooting with the rigid Summicron 50.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Thanks! Never seen these photos before.

I think I see the infinity lock on the lens. From his grip he must be shooting with the rigid Summicron 50.

I'm pretty sure he took these pictures with the collapsible Summicron. Using a collapsible Summicron on the CL is dangerous, because when collapsed the lens can damage the arm of the exposure meter. However, collapsing the lens can prevented with some tape. Cartier-Bresson never used an exposure meter and the collapsible Summicron has an infinity lock too.

Erik.