Ernst Haas

Vienna born Ernst Haas wasn’t professionally trained but quickly became one of the most celebrated and influential photographers in America in the 1950s.  His first essay, "Homecoming Prisoners of War," shot in Vienna led to an invitation to join Magnum as a result of the feelings and empathy evoke by the images. Dissatisfied with monochrome, Haas moved quickly into colour photography, creating essays on New York, Paris and Venice; his New York essay got him a 24 page spread in Life magazine.

Haas was interested in the super-reality of dreams and this is clear in all three essays; many of his images look more like paintings than photographs as a result of his use of colour. Although distinctive in style, each set has an individual feel corresponding to the city it represents.

Haas uses bold, colours with strong shadows in his New York essay, many images taken at night to show the bustling nature of a city that never sleeps.

Much softer contrast and dreamy pinkish tones reflect the romantic nature of a weekend in Paris.

Similarly romantic, Haas’ Venice essay introduces the blues associated with the city’s waterways; even the image of the arches shown below has the feel and rhythm of water with its colour and repeated pattern.

Having developed a firm hold on colour, Haas turned his attention to the use of slow shutter speeds to capture movement. In his essay on bullfighting, he managed to capture the graceful element of what is otherwise a brutal sport. Haas described this as ‘the beauty of a fourth dimension, which lies much more between moments than within a moment.’