Henri Cartier Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer widely regarded as a father of modern photojournalism. Born in 1908, he trained first as a painter before taking up a small handheld camera, which let him move quickly and unnoticed through the street. He became famous for capturing what he called the decisive moment, the split second when everything in a scene falls into perfect order.

He photographed all over the world, documenting major events and everyday life alike with a sharp eye for geometry and timing. With Robert Capa and others he co-founded Magnum Photos, the influential photographers' cooperative. Cartier-Bresson preferred natural light and rarely cropped his images, trusting his instinct in the moment, and his quiet, perfectly balanced pictures have shaped photography ever since.