1908-

During World War II he served in theFrench army, was captured by theGermans, escaped and joined theResistance. In 1946, Carder-Bressontravelled to New York City for an ex-hibit of his photographs at theMuseum of Modern Art. Whilethere, he helped establish Magnum,which has long been one of the mostprestigious photo agencies.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, Brussels, 1937.

Putting It AII Together 199

EXERCISEFairsAssignment: Photograph a publicgathering that fits the general idea ofa "fair" any event where people gettogether for festivities, entertain-ment, games and/or food.

Goal: People tend to go to in-teresting extremes at fairs: dressingup as clowns; wearing costumes fromdifferent countries or periods inhistory; dancing, eating, playinggames and generally having a goodtime with exceptional enthusiasm.Try to capture this spirit in yourphotographs.

Tips: You may interpret "fair" toinclude festivals, amusement parks,carnivals, parades, cattle auctions,folk dances, craft shows, circuses,horse shows and any other similarevents.

Try to take your photographs out-doors, rather than indoors. (Shootingan indoor crowd scene with evensophisticated flash equipment is noeasy job.)

Think of ways to get right in themidst of the action. For example, youmight get out on a ride, such as aroller coaster, and photograph peo-ple on it. Try shooting at slow shut-ter speeds, for blurs. Get up in a fer-ris wheel and shoot down.

Student photograph by Bruce Senior.

200 The Photographic Eye