
By Rick Donohue
Award-winning photographer Jean-Marc Bara, whose work has garnered international recognition for his striking images captured in New York City and around the world, delivered an enlightening presentation on the art of street photography at the meeting of the Retired Men’s Association on January 8. Drawing from his transition from a successful career in corporate banking and finance to pursuing photography in retirement, Bara shared insights that demonstrated how a lifetime of analytical thinking could merge with artistic sensibility to create compelling street photography. The presentation, titled “From Intuition to Insight: A Journey in Street Photography,” offered attendees a masterclass in seeing the extraordinary within the ordinary.
Bara began by tracing his path from a successful career in corporate banking and finance at institutions like Chase Manhattan Bank and Young & Rubicam to his discovery of photography in retirement. His introduction to the Stamford Photography Club, where he met his mentor, marked the beginning of a transformation that would lead him to master one of photography’s most challenging genres. With an engineer’s precision and an artist’s eye, Bara developed a distinctive approach to street photography that combines technical excellence with emotional resonance.
At the core of his presentation, Bara emphasized that street photography is fundamentally about capturing candid moments in public spaces. He explained that while the genre demands authenticity through unstaged and unmanipulated images, it allows for traditional adjustments such as cropping, exposure corrections, and perspective adjustments. These technical
refinements, he stressed, should serve to enhance rather than alter the truth of the moment captured. The presentation’s title reflected his dual approach: the intuitive act of capturing fleeting moments and the analytical process of understanding why certain images resonate deeply with viewers.
Bara’s background as analytical, strategic, and pattern-seeking is manifested
in his distinctive photographic style. Where others might see chaos in busy street scenes, he finds order and structure. His images often employ sophisticated visual techniques: frames within frames that draw the eye to key elements, patterns that create rhythm across the frame, and their deliberate disruption that adds tension and interest. His masterful use of shadows, silhouettes, and light transforms complex urban scenes into striking compositions that often verge on the abstract.
One of the most fascinating aspects of his work is his exploration of ambiguity in photography. Bara explained how ambiguous images serve as visual puzzles that engage viewers by challenging their perceptions. These images create what he calls the “prolonged gaze” – moments where viewers linger, working to understand what they’re seeing, leading to a satisfying moment of recognition. He achieves this through various techniques, including the use of reflections, unusual perspectives, and layered compositions that reveal different meanings depending on how they’re viewed.
Throughout his talk, Bara emphasized the ethical considerations that guide his work. He spoke passionately about the importance of maintaining transparency while photographing, avoiding exploitation of vulnerable subjects, and respecting the dignity of those he photographs. His approach to photographing homeless individuals is particularly thoughtful – he either refrains entirely or ensures their dignity is preserved. When capturing street performers, he makes a point of contributing to their work, recognizing that they are part of his creative process.
The question-and-answer session revealed additional layers of Bara’s expertise. When asked about photographing subjects beyond adults, particularly children, he provided a nuanced discussion of the ethical considerations involved. He explained how he navigates the sensitivities around photographing minors, typically ensuring parent awareness, and shared how human figures can serve multiple purposes in compositions, from providing scale in architectural shots to adding emotional resonance to landscape photography. He noted that effective street photography doesn’t always require visible human subjects – sometimes the mere suggestion of human presence through environmental details can be equally powerful.
The topic of smartphone photography sparked an engaging discussion about technology and accessibility. While acknowledging that modern phones offer remarkable image quality, Bara detailed both their advantages and limitations. He recommended smartphones for beginners due to their convenience and discretion but explained how their tendency to over-process images can be managed through alternative camera apps. His own preference remains with traditional cameras, specifically his Sony Alpha One paired with a 35mm lens, which he praised for its versatility in street photography.
Bara’s technical insights proved particularly valuable when discussing his commitment to fixed focal-length photography. The 35mm lens, he explained, not only provides a natural perspective close to human vision but also forces photographers to engage more intimately with their subjects. He shared his workflow for managing an impressive archive of nearly 100,000 images, using a combination of Lightroom and AI-powered Excire Search software,
demonstrating how modern technology can enhance traditional photographic practices without compromising artistic integrity.
When asked about applying his principles to other photography genres, Bara emphasized the universal importance of developing intuition while maintaining technical proficiency. He maintains an active presence on Instagram (@candid_stroller) and his website (https://jmbaraphoto.com), where he shares both his work and insights. His published book about a Venetian boatyard exemplifies his approach to documentary photography. Working entirely in the digital realm with Capture One Pro and Photoshop, he maintains a strict ethical standard. While he’ll adjust technical aspects of an image, he never adds or removes elements, ensuring each photograph remains a truthful record of the moment it captures.
The talk can be viewed by going to the RMA website at https://greenwichrma.org, and clicking on “Speakers.”
The RMA’s upcoming presentation, “Shen’s Unlikely Journey: From Confucian China to the Court of Louis XIV” by Robert Henrey, is scheduled for 11 AM on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. Please note that this and all future RMA presentations will be held at Christ Church Greenwich, Parish Hall, 254 E. Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830.
It was a first – a young Chinese scholar’s venture into a politically fractious and religiously divided Europe awakening to the Scientific Revolution. It was the most unlikely of journeys: shipwreck, teaching the French king the use of chopsticks, kissing the Pope’s feet at the behest of his Jesuit mentors, helping publish the first European book dedicated to Confucian wisdom, having his portrait painted by order of the English king, and sipping port as a reward for explaining away Chinese books at Oxford. It’s a tragic yet inspiring story, recounted as a novel but based on the real lives of remarkable people dedicated to bridging the great cultural divide.
Robert Henrey describes this most unusual of journeys from China to the West in his recent book, “Shen’s Unlikely Journey.” Henrey will comment on how issues that would bedevil the West’s relationship with China were already present in the closing decades of the 17th century. These include each side’s conviction that theirs was the one-and-only divinely ordained culture, China’s policy of dedicating its superior craftsmanship to the goal of accumulating wealth through one-sided foreign trade, welcoming foreigners only to the extent that they provided useful scientific and technological information, pursuing territorial expansion to include Tibet and Taiwan, China’s feelings of vulnerability arising from its deep cultural attachment to a centralized imperial system that was periodically challenged by internal rebellions and foreign invaders – the Mongols, the Manchus and the Japanese – and finally a belief in the West that the only way to open Chinese to foreign influence and profitable trade was to do so by force.
Professionally, Mr. Henrey enjoyed a long career in finance. At the New York City office of Coopers and Lybrand, he headed the firm’s International Tax Consulting Practice and wrote numerous articles on foreign exchange. Since his retirement he has pursued a lifelong scholarly interest in history and linguistics – through writing and lecturing and most recently with a particular focus on Western encounters with Asian cultures.
Robert and his wife Lisette are both graduates of Oxford University, have resided in France, England and in the 1970s in Singapore, and traveled extensively. They have one child, two grandchildren, and live in Greenwich.
Note: The views expressed in these presentations are those of the speakers. They are not intended to represent the views of the RMA or its members.
RMA speaker presentations are presented as a community service at no cost to in-person or Zoom attendees, regardless of gender. Any member of the public who would like to receive a weekly email announcement of future speakers should send a request to members@greenwichrma.org. The RMA urges all eligible individuals to consider becoming a member of our great organization, and thereby enjoy all the available fellowship, volunteer, and community service opportunities which the RMA offers to its members. For further information, go to https://greenwichrma.org/, or contact info@greenwichrma.org.