Investigating a Cartier-Bresson Image

I started drawing lines based on no theory on the same images above, but got bored with it. But my random shapes and lines also matched up in amazing ways to the composition. Do you think HBC could read minds over different space and time?

Over analysis.
 
Ok, obviously Batman has taken over the thread. I found the discussion about principles of classical design and how they may be used in photography quite interesting. I do not think that Cartier-Bresson placed the elements of his images at random into the frame, by the way. :rolleyes:

On the other hand, we never know if a photographer has had a specific pattern in mind in a photograph unless we have a clear statement of the photographer.

I think what Nando simply wanted to say is that compositional principles in painting can be also used in photography, which I clearly agree with. Cartier-Bresson studied painting himself, so I find it not too far fetched, that he used what he learned from there in his photography.

The link to the book "The Art of Composition" by Michael Jacobs that charjohncarter posted is quite helpful. For example in my photographs I mostly try to arrange the elements in such a way that I find intuitively and personally interesting and sometimes I simply use the simple rule of thirds. Now it is quite interesting to see that the rule of thirds is compatible with the root 2 pattern in the book, which with its diagonals is a bit more elaborate, bringing in some more dynamics than just a simple grid.

Please note that I am not saying that those design patterns are in a way objective criteria "in nature" for a harmonic configuration as someone may find the Batman configuration much more satisfying. But it is quite interesting to learn how artists think and thought about that subject matter and how they put it into use as it can broaden the expressive range of ones own photography.

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Sorry folks, I got tied up in work and did not have time to view all the comments until today. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the discussion, it was interesting and informative.
 
Sparrow said:
No I don't agree at all, while I accept that artists and designers used classical geometric constructions for the last 2,500 years ... I have used them myself for the past 40 years now, I reject the idea that drawing random classical construction lines over some well known spontaneous photograph is of any use to anybody. I think you are selecting images that fit your theory then shoehorning them into it, rather than analysing what you see in them with an open mind.

I insist pi, phi, and root-2 come to us from Classical or Hellenistic Greece, although they, the Greeks, may well have called some of it Egyptian

I believe Henri was part of the avant garde, as seems clear from the from the historic record. He made his career in photography not in fine art or architecture why on earth would he have chosen to apply the cognitive geometry of Classical Theory in preference to the intuitive Gestalt Theory?

Arabesque means in the Arab style it is almost always applied to symmetrical design elements, tiles, filigree, carpets and the like.
Click to expand...
Dear Stewart,

YES!

Cheers,

R.
 
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