Henri Cartier-Bresson
[1908 – 2004] A French photographer.
He is considered to be the father of modern photojournalism.
"to take photographs is like making love" Henri Cartier-Bresson
To photograph is to hold one's breath, when all faculties
converge to capture fleeting reality. It's at that precise
moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and
intellectual joy. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Pictures, regardless of how they are created and
recreated, are intended to be looked at. This brings to
the forefront not the technology of imaging, which of
course is important, but rather what we might call the
eyenology (seeing). -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Photography has not changed since its origin except in
its technical aspects, which for me are not important. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Photography appears to be an easy activity; in fact it is
a varied and ambiguous process in which the only common
denominator among its practitioners is in the instrument. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Photographers deal in things which are continually
vanishing and when they have vanished there is no
contrivance on earth which can make them come back again. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Reality offers us such wealth that we must cut some of it
out on the spot, simplify. The question is, do we always
cut out what we should? While we're working, we must be
conscious of what we're doing. Sometimes we have the
feeling that we've taken a great photo, and yet we
continue to unfold. We must avoid however, snapping away,
shooting quickly and without thought, overloading
ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory
and diminish the clarity of the whole. -Henri Cartier-
Bresson, on photojournalism, American Photo,
September/October 1997 , page: 76
Memory is very important, the memory of each photo taken,
flowing at the same speed as the event. During the work,
you have to be sure that you haven't left any holes, that
you've captured everything, because afterwards it will be
too late. -Henri Cartier-Bresson, American Photo,
September/October 1997, page: 76
The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. You have
to try and put your camera between the skin of a person
and his shirt. -Henri Cartier-Bresson, "Photography Year
1980, LIFE Library of Photography" , page: 27
What reinforces the content of a photograph is the sense
of rhythm – the relationship between shapes and values. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson, "Photography Year 1980, LIFE
Library of Photography" , page: 25
The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning
instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to
level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your
little box. -Henri Cartier-Bresson, "Photography Year
1980, LIFE Library of Photography" , page: 22
To take photographs means to recognize -- simultaneously
and within a fraction of a second -- both the fact itself
and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms
that give it meaning. It is putting one's head, one's eye
and one's heart on the same axis. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
As far as I am concerned, taking photographs is a means
of understanding which cannot be separated from other
means of visual expression. It is a way of shouting, of
freeing oneself, not of proving or asserting one's own
originality. It is a way of life. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
The photograph itself doesn't interest me. I want only to
capture a minute part of reality. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Think about the photo before and after, never during. The
secret is to take your time. You mustn't go too fast. The
subject must forget about you. Then, however, you must be
very quick. So, if you miss the picture, you've missed
it. So what? -Henri Cartier-Bresson, "The Camera - LIFE
Library of Photography" , page: 214
The picture is good or not from the moment it was caught
in the camera. -Henri Cartier-Bresson, "The Camera - LIFE
Library of Photography" , page: 214
Cartier-Bresson says he cannot take portraits of actors
because they pose. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Inside movement there is one moment in which the elements
are in balance. Photography must seize the importance of
this moment and hold immobile the equilibrium of it. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson, "Pictures on a page : photo-
journalism, graphics and picture editing" by Harold
Evans, page: 109 This book is available from Amazon.com
As photojournalists we supply information to a world that
is overwhelmed with preoccupations and full of people who
need the company of images....We pass judgement on what
we see, and this involves an enormous responsibility. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson, "American Photo",
September/October 1997, page: 77
All I care about these days is painting - photography has
never been more than a way into painting, a sort of
instant drawing. -Henri Cartier-Bresson, "A Propos De
Paris" by Henri Cartier-Bresson, ISBN: 0821224964 , page:
12-13 This book is available from Amazon.com
I prowled the streets all day, feeling very strung up and
ready to pounce, determined to 'trap' life - to preserve
life in the act of living. Above all, I craved to seize
the whole essence, in the confines of one single
photograph, of some situation that was in the process of
unrolling itself before my eyes. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Only a fraction of the camera's possibilities interests
me - the marvellous mixture of emotion and geometry,
together in a single instant. -Henri Cartier-Bresson,
Aperture 129, Fall 1992
He [Elliot Erwitt] has achieved a miracle...working on a
chain gang of commercial campaigns, and still offering a
bouquet of stolen photos with a flavor, a smile from his
deeper self. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
In Gene's(*) photographs there is something which throbs,
something always tremulant. They are taken between the
shirt and the skin. Anchored between the shirt and the
skin – at the heart – his camera moves even by its
passionate integrity. -Henri Cartier-Bresson, (* W.
Eugene Smith's)
We often hear of “camera angles” (that is, those made by
a guy who throws himself flat on his stomach to obtain a
cetain effect or style), but the only legitimate angles
that exist are those of the geometry of the composition. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson, "American Photo",
September/October 1997, page: 76
Thinking should be done before and after, not during
photographing. Success depends on the extent of one's
general culture. one's set of values, one's clarity of
mind one's vivacity. The thing to be feared most is the
artificially contrived, the contrary to life. -Henri
Cartier-Bresson
I hope that we don't ever see the day when ready-made
photo system, which guarantees good photographic
compostions in advance, go on the market. -Henri Cartier-
Bresson, "American Photo", September/October 1997, page:
76
I'm not responsible for my photographs. Photography is
not documentary, but intuition, a poetic experience. It's
drowning yourself, dissolving yourself, and then sniff,
sniff, sniff – being sensitive to coincidence. You can't
go looking for it; you can't want it, or you want get it.
First you must lose your self. Then it happens. -Henri
Cartier-Bresson, September/October 1997, "American Photo"
, page: 96
I went to Marseille. A small allowance enabled me to get
along, and I worked with enjoyment. I had just discovered
the Leica. It became the extension of my eye, and I have
never been separated from it since I found it. I prowled
the streets all day, feeling very strung-up and ready to
pounce, determined to "trap" life - to preserve life in
the act of living. Above all, I craved to seize the whole
essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of
some situation that was in the process of unrolling
itself before my eyes. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
This recognition, in real life, of a rhythm of surfaces,
lines, and values is for me the essence of photography;
composition should be a constant of preoccupation, being
a simultaneous coalition – an organic coordination of
visual elements. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
One has to tiptoe lightly and steal up to one's quarry;
you don't swish the water when you are fishing. I believe
that, through the act of living, the discovery of oneself
is made concurrently with the discovery of the world
around us. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
You are asking me what makes a good picture. For me, it
is the harmony between subject and form that leads each
one of those elements to its maximum of expression and
vigor. -Henri Cartier-Bresson, "What Makes a Good
Picture?", "The Best of Popular Photography" by Harvey V.
Fondiller, ISBN: 0871650371 , page: 272 This book is
available from Amazon.com
In photojournalistic reporting, inevitably, you’re an
outsider. -Henri Cartier-Bresson, "American Photo",
September/October 1997, page: 76
Avoid making a commotion, just as you wouldn’t stir up
the water before fishing. Don’t use a flash out of
respect for the natural lighting, even when there isn’t
any. If these rules aren’t followed, the photographer
becomes unbearably obstrusive. -Henri Cartier-Bresson,
"American Photo", September/October 1997, page: 76
In photography, the smallest thing can become a big
subject, an insignificant human detail can become a
leitmotiv. We see and we make seen as a witness to the
world around us; the event, in its natural activity,
generates an organic rhythm of forms. -Henri Cartier-
Bresson, "American Photo", September/October 1997, page:
76
There’s a particular kind of painting that is no longer
practiced, that of portraiture, and there are those who
say that the discovery of photography is the cause. It
does seem apt to credit photography with the abandonment
by painters of this painterly form. A subject wearing a
military coat, a cap, and sitting on a horse can
discourage even the most well-schooled painter, who feels
owerwhelmed by all the details of the costume. We, as
photographers, are not bothered by all these dertails.
Rather, we enjoy ourselves, because we can easily capture
life in all its reality through our camera. -Henri
Cartier-Bresson, on subject. "American Photo",
September/October 1997, page 76
It seems dangerous to be a portrait artist who does
commissions for clients because everyone wants to be
flattered, so they pose in such a way that there’s
nothing left of truth. -Henri Cartier-Bresson, on
Subject. "American Photo", September/October 1997, page:
76
If the photographer succeeds in reflecting the exterior
as well as interior world, his subject appear as “in real
life.” In order to achieve this, the photographer must
respect the mood, become integrated into the environment,
avoid all the tricks that destroy human truth, and also
make the subject of the photo forget the camera and the
person using it. Complicated equipment and lights get in
the way of naïve, unposed subjects. What is more fleeting
than the expression on a face? -Henri Cartier-Bresson, on
subject. "American Photo", September/October 1997, page:
76
Our eye must constantly measure, evaluate. We alter our
perspective by a slight bending of the knees; we convey
the chance meeting of lines by a simple shifting of our
heads a thousandth of an inch…. We compose almost at the
same time we press the shutter, and in placing the camera
closer or farther from the subject, we shape the details
– taming or being tamed by them. -Henri Cartier-Bresson,
on composition. "American Photo", September/October 1997,
page: 76
A photo seen in its totality in one single moment, like a
painting, its compostion is a melting together, an
organic coordination of visual elements. You can’t
compose gratuitously; there must be a neccessity, and you
can’t separate form from substance. -Henri Cartier-
Bresson, on composition. "American Photo",
September/October 1997, page: 76
For a subject to be strong enough to be worth
photographing, the relationship of its forms must be
rigorously established. Composition starts when you
situate your camera in space in relation to the object.
For me, photography is the exploration in reality of the
rhythm of surfaces, lines, or values; the eye carves out
its subject, and the camera has only to do its work. That
work is simply to print the eye’s decision on film. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson, on composition. "American Photo",
September/October 1997, page: 76
What is photojournalism? Occasionally, a very unique
photo, in which form is precise and rich enough and
content has enough resonance, is sufficient in itself -
but that's rarely the case. The elements of a subject
that speak to us are often scattered and can't be
captured in one photo; we don't have the right to force
them together, and to stage them would be cheating...
which brings us to the need for photojournalism. -Henri
Cartier-Bresson, "American Photo", September/October
1997, page: 76
Reality offers us such wealth that we must cut some of it
out on the spot, simplify. The question is, do we always
cut out what we should? While we’re working, we must be
conscious of what we’re doing. Sometimes we have the
feeling that we’ve taken a great photo, and yet we
continue to unfold. We must avoid however, snapping away,
shooting quickly and without thought, overloading
ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory
and diminish the clarity of the whole. -Henri Cartier-
Bresson, on photojournalism. "American Photo",
September/October 1997, page: 76
Memory is very important, the memory of each photo taken,
flowing at the same speed as the event. During the work,
you have to be sure that you haven’t left any holes, that
you’ve captured everything, because afterwards it will be
too late. -Henri Cartier-Bresson, "American Photo",
September/October 1997, page: 76
Of all the means of expression, photography is the only
one that fixes a precise moment in time. We play with
subjects that disappear; and when they’re gone, it’s
impossible to bring them back to life. We can’t alter our
subject afterward.... Writers can reflect before they put
words on paper.... As photographers, we don’t have the
luxury of this reflective time....We can’t redo our shoot
once we’re back at the hotel. Our job consists of
observing reality with help of our camera (which serves
as a kind of sketchbook), of fixing reality in a moment,
but not manipulating it, neither during the shoot nor in
the darkroom later on. These types of manipulation are
always noticed by anyone with a good eye. -Henri Cartier-
Bresson, "American Photo", September/October 1997, page:
76
I find that you have to blend in like a fish in water,
you have to forget yourself, you have to take your time,
that's what I reproach our era for not doing. Drawing is
slow, it is a meditation, but you have to know how to go
slow in order to go quickly , slowness can mean splendor. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson
And no photographs taken with the aid of flash light,
either, if only out of respect for the actual light -
even when there isn't any of it. -Henri Cartier-Bresson,
"The Decisive Moment"
I’m always amused by the idea that certain people have
about technique, which translate into an immoderate taste
for the sharpness of the image. It is a passion for
detail, for perfection, or do they hope to get closer to
reality with this trompe I’oeil? They are, by the way, as
far away from the real issues as other generations of
photographers were when they obscured their subject in
soft-focus effects. -Henri Cartier-Bresson, on technique.
"American Photo", September/October 1997, page: 76
Photography is nothing--it's life that interests me. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson
In a portrait, I’m looking for the silence in somebody. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson
In photography, visual organization can stem only from a
developed instinct. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
I'm not interested in photography. With photography you
don't grasp anything. It's just intuition. To be a
draftsman is very different. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Sharpness is a bourgeois concept. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst. -Henri
Cartier-Bresson
Of course it's all luck. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
..photography, for me is a supreme moment captured with a
single shot. -Henri Cartier-Bresson, This interview was
given by Henri Cartier-Bresson in November 1977, and
originally appeared in "Camera" magazine.
He made me suddenly realize that photographs could reach
eternity through the moment. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Actually, I'm not all that interested in the subject of
photography. Once the picture is in the box, I'm not all
that interested in what happens next. Hunters, after all,
aren't cooks. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
The world is going to pieces and people like Adams and
Weston are photographing rocks! -Henri Cartier-Bresson,
during the 1930's
To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a
fraction of a second, of the significance of an event, as
well as of a precise organisation of forms which give
that event its proper expression. I believe that through
the act of living, the discovery of oneself is made
concurrently with the discovery of the world around us
which can mould us, but which can also be affected by us.
A balance must be established between these two worlds-
the one inside us and the one outside us. As the result
of a constant reciprocal process, both these worlds come
to form a single one. And it is this world that we must
communicate. But this takes care only of the content of
the picture. For me, content cannot be separated from
form. By form, I mean the rigorous organisation of the
interplay of surfaces, lines and values. It is in this
organisation alone that our conceptions and emotions
become concrete and communicable. In photography, visual
organisation can stem only from a developed instinct. -
Henri Cartier-Bresson, There is also a shorter version of
this quote: "To me photography is the simultaneous
recognition in a fraction of a second the significance of
an event, as well as the precise organization the forms
that give that event its proper expression." -Henri
Cartier-Bresson, "The picture history of photography:
From the earliest beginnings to the present day" by Peter
Pollack , ISBN: 0500271011, page: 155 , "The Decisive
Moment" by Henri Cartier-Bresson
Photography is, for me, a spontaneous impulse coming from
an ever attentive eye which captures the moment and its
eternity. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Photography is an immediate reaction, drawing a
meditation. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
Drawing with its graphology, elaborates what our
consciousness grasps in an instant. -Henri Cartier-
Bresson
There is no closed figure in nature. Every shape
participates with another. No one thing is independent of
another, and one thing rhymes with another, and light
gives them shape. -Henri Cartier-Bresson
As time passes by and you look at portraits, the people
come back to you like a silent echo. A photograph is a
vestige of a face, a face in transit. Photography has
something to do with death. It's a trace. -Henri Cartier-
Bresson
'Manufactured' or staged photography does not concern me.
And if I make a judgment, it can only be on a
psychological or sociological level. There are those who
take photographs arranged beforehand and those who go out
to discover the image and seize it. For me, the camera is
a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and
spontaneity, the master of the instant which - in visual
terms - questions and decides simultaneously. In order to
"give a meaning" to the world, one has to feel oneself
involved in what he frames through the viewfinder. This
attitude requires concentration, a discipline of mind,
sensitivity, and a sense of geometry. It is by great
economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of
expression. One must always take photos with the greatest
respect for the subject and for oneself. -Henri Cartier-
Bresson
"They . . . asked me: "'How do you make your pictures?'
I was puzzled . . . "I said, 'I don't know, it's not
important.' -Henri Cartier-Bresson
from
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