Can you explain why HCB chose this photo?

[Alan Edward Klein]

Many times I can catch the decisive moment in one shot, but sometimes it takes more and then to find it requires one to do some editing. Who really cares if it take more than one photograph? If someone had the audacity to criticize me for taking more than one photograph to capture the decisive moment, they better no be standing near window because hypothetically or actually the would be thrown through a window at the decisive moment.

I'd like to get that shot.

 

[Besk]

Well, the fact of the matter is, that's unimportant. That he saw or invented something, took several shots to get just the right image (in his opinion) of that -- that doesn't diminish the final image or the effort. It doesn't make it any less of a "decisive moment", either. This photo:

View attachment 385917

He waited for something interesting. Maybe he took 36 photos of various people, dogs, cats, etc., wandering around down there. But this is the photo he presented.

Would you fault a painter for painting a dozen canvasses of one subject before hitting upon the one he or she thought was worthy of exhibition?

Agree completely!

A painter can control his subject and composition. A photographer (doing HCB's type work) doesn't have the luxury.

 

[BrianShaw]

I don’t see how one can ‘prove’ a working concept to be BS. I think a lot of people have understood exactly what he meant. My impression is that HCB had great personal integrity, while at the same time having a mercurial intellect.

And further to the points @Don_ih just made, you would apparently fault him for selecting his decisive moment and not sharing his dross, but would you fault him or any photographer for all the times they didn’t press the button because the moment wasn’t right? Selection - both before and after exposure - is very much part of expression. That’s what this thread is all about.

I wonder how many other versions of the photo in post 1 exist it’s such a static image that there must have been innumerable “decisive moments “ to choose between.

 

[snusmumriken]

I used to have the Magnum contact sheets book, but sold it on because its size was disproportionate to its interest for me. From what I remember, HCB cut his negatives into single frames, at least early in his career. You can see that in post #213. As a result (as far as I recall), we don’t know what images lay either side of the puddle-jumping man, for instance. But I sympathise with his POV. Apart from the practical issue of handling single 35mm frames, the photos he chose not to share (or even take) are no business of ours.

 

[BrianShaw]

Very nice. Besides probably violating copyright law, how does this pertain to the query of why HCB chose the photograph in question?

If nothing else, a very nice presentation of his work for people like me who are only peripherally knowledgeable about his collections of decisive moments.

(Thanks @cliveh !)

Context is good. I’ve always wondered how folks know the difference between “the” decisive moment and “a” decisive moment without knowing the context of potential options.

 

[warden]

… but sold it on because its size was disproportionate to its interest for me.

Great way to put it. I have some of those books too!

 

[snusmumriken]

I’ve always wondered how folks know the difference between “the” decisive moment and “a” decisive moment without knowing the context of potential options.

It’s a Zen thing. You know it when it happens. You wait, or you move, maybe only millimetres; then suddenly there it is. As HCB put it, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes”. But he was emphasising the decisiveness of that one shot, not five alternatives.

 

[Arthurwg]

{Moderator note: link removed, as it is likely a link to a site in breach of copyright}

I would think that "fair use" would apply in this case, but with today's Supreme Court, you never know.

 

[Don_ih]

It might be worthwhile for people to go back up and read what Alex wrote about the term "decisive moment".

 

[BrianShaw]

It might be worthwhile for people to go back up and read what Alex wrote about the term "decisive moment".

… or listen to some old George Harrison songs.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

It’s a Zen thing. You know it when it happens. You wait, or you move, maybe only millimetres; then suddenly there it is. As HCB put it, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes”. But he was emphasising the decisiveness of that one shot, not five alternatives.

That happens to me a lot. Then when I get home and look at the shot, I realize something is wrong, I missed something, or an item is out of place, etc.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

… or listen to some old George Harrison songs.

"All Things Must Pass"

Including, it seems, the decisive moment

 

[MattKing]

I would think that "fair use" would apply in this case, but with today's Supreme Court, you never know.

Sharing an excerpt is fair.
Making the whole publication available for download without charge? Not so.
If the author and/or publisher aren't the ones electing to make it free, we don't want Photrio to be involved in aiding a third party in doing so.

 

[Pieter12]

Would you fault a painter for painting a dozen canvasses of one subject before hitting upon the one he or she thought was worthy of exhibition?

A painter will usually make dozens of sketches before committing to paint on canvas. And then he or she might make many versions of the subject/image, exploring it. Witness Monet's Cathedral of Rouen--there are 30 canvases, pretty much all from the same point of view. In addition, a painter (except with watercolor) can paint over the image multiple times, making major or minute changes as he or she wishes. de Kooning would draw on pieces of tracing paper and move the bits around a work in progress, often over a long period, to get the result he was happy with.

 

[Harry Callahan]

{Moderator note: link removed, as it is likely a link to a site in breach of copyright}

Thanks to the moderator for saving me from trouble, i wasn`t aware that this "free pdf" could be a problem.

Perhaps you can quote the important part?

You don't violate copyright quoting text from an article, particularly in a (basically) academic discussion such as this.

Unfortunately this interview is like 30 pages or even more - and they never talk about this exhibition this book is from, as this interview was held a few month before in occasion of another exhibition (in another country i think).
Also they don`t explicitly talk about this earlier exhibition, the interview is rather general about photography and personal preferences of HCB. The interviewer for example does ask what HCB is thinking of the back then pretty new video format.
Therefore it would be hard to quote the important part as there only are some sentences you can associate to his exhibition(s).
I had to read through this again to find statements you could associate to his exhibition(s) - but the question apparently is whether this was allowed because of copyright; it would be several longer statements.

Though i recall him saying that he wanted pictures that strike him. But he didn`t went into detail what strikes him i think...

 

[snusmumriken]

HCB comes across as a reluctant interviewee, giving brief and often evasive answers. In the interview with Avedon he seems almost sulky. Because of this attitude/manner he sometimes contradicted what he said in other interviews. For instance, when Avedon asked him what Surrealism meant to him, and he shrugged and said “I’ve no idea - never thought about it”. Yet in another interview which I can’t pinpoint just now, he was asked “So are you a Surrealist?”, at which he smiled shyly and very quietly said “Yes”.

He was similarly ambiguous about the whole ‘decisive moment’ thing, as @Alex Benjamin has illustrated. He clearly disliked being pinned to a static, un-nuanced viewpoint.

 

[Arthurwg]

Sharing an excerpt is fair.
Making the whole publication available for download without charge? Not so.

Sorry, missed the "whole publication" part.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

HCB comes across as a reluctant interviewee, giving brief and often evasive answers. In the interview with Avedon he seems almost sulky. Because of this attitude/manner he sometimes contradicted what he said in other interviews. For instance, when Avedon asked him what Surrealism meant to him, and he shrugged and said “I’ve no idea - never thought about it”. Yet in another interview which I can’t pinpoint just now, he was asked “So are you a Surrealist?”, at which he smiled shyly and very quietly said “Yes”.

He was similarly ambiguous about the whole ‘decisive moment’ thing, as @Alex Benjamin has illustrated. He clearly disliked being pinned to a static, un-nuanced viewpoint.

We tend to give many average people without much knowledge too much credit because they gained some notoriety. In America, it's often actors from Hollywood who have gained fame that we listen to. They seem to know which investments to make and what medications to take. Then we go broke and die early because we listened to them. We might be better off following our own North Star.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

We tend to give many average people without much knowledge too much credit because they gained some notoriety. In America, it's often actors from Hollywood who have gained fame that we listen to. They seem to know which investments to make and what medications to take. Then we go broke and die early because we listened to them. We might be better off following our own North Star.

Alan, you cannot seriously be implying that Henri Cartier-Bresson is an "average" person "without much knowledge." You're making it sound like he's the equivalent of Scott Baio. I must be reading you wrong.

 

[snusmumriken]

Alan, you cannot seriously be implying that Henri Cartier-Bresson is an "average" person "without much knowledge." You're making it sound like he's the equivalent of Scott Baio. I must be reading you wrong.

This.

 

[Mike Lopez]

We tend to give many average people without much knowledge too much credit because they gained some notoriety. In America, it's often actors from Hollywood who have gained fame that we listen to. They seem to know which investments to make and what medications to take. Then we go broke and die early because we listened to them. We might be better off following our own North Star.

Good lord.

 

[Don_ih]

Alex, don't diss Chachi.

Joanie loves Chachi

 

[Harry Callahan]

HCB comes across as a reluctant interviewee, giving brief and often evasive answers. In the interview with Avedon he seems almost sulky. Because of this attitude/manner he sometimes contradicted what he said in other interviews. For instance, when Avedon asked him what Surrealism meant to him, and he shrugged and said “I’ve no idea - never thought about it”. Yet in another interview which I can’t pinpoint just now, he was asked “So are you a Surrealist?”, at which he smiled shyly and very quietly said “Yes”.

He was similarly ambiguous about the whole ‘decisive moment’ thing, as @Alex Benjamin has illustrated. He clearly disliked being pinned to a static, un-nuanced viewpoint.

Yes, this also was in this interview from 79.
But i think i understand why:
HCB was pretty famous back then and people wanted to know about his opinions and his life. But i think he just didn`t wanted to be the "guru" people pilgrim to to have illumination - and he just wanted to keep his privacy.
He wanted to take pictures. In the interview i read he said something like "i don`t know about photography i want to do it".

If he now had said what Surrealism meant to him, or what Photography "is about", a lot of people would have read his statement and commented on this. There wasn`t the internet back then, but if a famous artist did state something in an interview, which then was published in a newspaper or alike - some other artist, or a critic, would react on this and you end up in a public debate - by newspaper or alike - which may go on endless.
Today, with the internet we have this very often - and this can be very exhausting, respectively time-consuming.
And if you are famous, you also have "followers" who expect you to react and counteract and debate etc. ...
... but it seems to me that HCB wanted to avoid this.

Also it seems to me that he wanted to keep some of his privacy. In the interview i read he does say that he won`t comment or explain his photos - but i think he did so because he did not want everybody to know everything about his own life. In this interview he says something about "not sniffing around".
The picture of the kitchen garden apparently has something to do with his personal life - and he wanted to share this personal picture with the public - but he didn`t wanted everybody to know about his personal life.

 

[MattKing]

We tend to give many average people without much knowledge too much credit because they gained some notoriety. In America, it's often actors from Hollywood who have gained fame that we listen to. They seem to know which investments to make and what medications to take. Then we go broke and die early because we listened to them. We might be better off following our own North Star.

So says the older generation, to the younger generation, since time immemorial!
We all find inspiration in our own way, from sources that matter to us in their own way.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Alan, you cannot seriously be implying that Henri Cartier-Bresson is an "average" person "without much knowledge." You're making it sound like he's the equivalent of Scott Baio. I must be reading you wrong.

This.

Good lord.

I was thinking along the lines of "the emperor wears no clothes." We often give too much credit to people we are enamored of who don't deserve it. I've watched some famous photographers in YouTube interviews and they are the worst. Some were just annoying, ignorant louts. Now I don't know HCB personally, and he may be a genius. But it's still a good idea to take everything people say with a grain of salt.