Cartier-Bresson's scrapbook

[Bill Hahn]

There is a feature about Cartier-Bresson's scrapbook on the BBC website today (Feb 13).
(bbcnews.com or news.bbc.co.uk will get you there).

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

I think you can see some excerpts of it online, can't remember where (Google...), but it was truly illuminating to see: HCB was, in all honesty, a crappy printer. His skill was not the darkroom, and teaming up with a professional printer was probably the only way he could really get his vision across.

His portraits of Matisse, for example, when printed by him still retain all the composition and tension characteristic of his style, but the tones are just not there.

 

[weststarflyers]

I agree mhv

 

[David Louis]

A show featuring the individual pages of HCB's scrapbook is on display at the International Center of Photography. The images are small, as you would expect from a scrapbook. There is a very interesting pre-cropped print of his famous Behind the Gare St. Lazare.

 

[polaski]

If you missed the ICP exhibit, I'm sure they have a catalog for sale.

The only sour note was a constantly playing video of Cartier-Brresson talking about himself.