So said one of the greatest photographers of the past century.

[photopress:bresson_2.jpg,full,alignright] The work of Henri Cartier-Bresson(1908-2004) embodies his concept of The Decisive Moment, with a sure eye,mind and hand capturing the exact perfect occurence of emotion and design in the only medium capable of capturing the reality of such an expression in a split second: photography. In addition to being one of the founders of Magnum Photo Agency, the body of his work defines classic photography as many of us know it today.

And his photographs are not only the decisive moment of the street; his portraits of his contemporaries illustrate the the same revelation captured on film.

In 1973, an audio/video piece was put together with HCB, commenting on specific images, his philosophy of photography, and perception.

ICP, Foundation Henri Cartier-Bresson Paris and Scholastic,Inc. produced this 18 minute DVD of the master and his work. We’ll post an excerpt later this week.

If you would like to spend some time with Henri Cartier-Bresson and assorted guests, like Richard Avedon, on the Charlie Rose Show,circa 2000, check out this link, you’ll love to see Richard Avedon in the second one. Or watch right here:

This next one is a bit longer.

It’s a great tribute to Henri Cartier-Bresson. Also make sure you check out “Scrapbook“, the book of the exhibit that was only at ICP in this country.[photopress:B6082_150_1.jpg,full,alignright]
“In the midst of World War II, Cartier-Bresson was taken prisoner by the Germans. Working on the premise that he had died in the war, MoMA began working on a posthumous exhibition. When Cartier-Bresson resurfaced, he loved hearing about the would-be tribute. It started him thinking about his work in the light of a summation. The result is Scrap Book, consisting of 300 prints that were chosen, printed, and assembled by HCB himself. Scrap Book was restored by the HCB foundation and will be on view at ICP January 19 through April 29, 2007. The book is a facsimile reprint of Cartier-Bresson’s original album.”

You know it’s kind of funny: The catch phrase of the lomographic society is ” Don’t think, just shoot.”

Cheers!
Damon Webster