Henri Lartigue

One of my favorite images from this photographers collection.

Henri was given a camera as a boy and he began using up film almost immediately. He is famous for his pictures of his relatives and friends jumping and leaping in the air. How he managed to capture such images has baffled some of the finest brains in the business. Technically it just wasn't possible with some of his shots..but he did it so it was possible.

This image was taken in 1911 at the height of "La Belle Epoch" movement in France. I love it because of the relationship between all the subjects. The horse and carriage are exiting the image just as the motor car is coming into view, to me signalling the birth of a new era. The lady is certainly glamorous, strolling along with her two small dogs oblivious to the car but looking right at the boy taking her photograph. I wonder if she owns a car, maybe she knows the young photographer.

I don't know if Henri Lartigue had any formal training as a photographer or if like me he was just given a camera and left to his own devises. He was however a trained artist, though by most accounts a better photographer. He certainly knew how to take a photograph from a young age. I struggled for many many years without any knowledge of what I was doing and with no direction. I picked up and put down a camera many times loosing interest because I had so many ideas but did not have the ability to get those ideas out. I still struggle today but now we are in the digital age I can see my mistakes almost instantly so have the ability to go back and try again.