hcb reported dead at 95

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PARIS (Reuters) - Frenchman Henri Cartier-Bresson, widely regarded as one of the great photographers of the 20th century, has died aged 95, LCI television reported on Wednesday.


The publicity-shy Cartier-Bresson, a founding member of the Magnum picture agency in 1947, died in the south of France, the private channel said.


The cause of his death was not immediately announced.


Cartier-Bresson made his name partly by being in the right place at the right time, a knack that enabled him to develop his talent for capturing on celluloid what he called the "decisive moment."


During a career in which he traveled to 23 countries, Cartier-Bresson documented the Spanish Civil war, the liberation of Paris during World War II, the death of India's Mahatma Ghandi and the fall of Beijing to Mao Zedong's forces in 1949.


In 1954, the Frenchman also became the first Western photographer allowed into the Soviet Union after the death of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin the previous year.


Thirty years later, Cartier-Bresson packed away his Leica camera and switched to the other passion in his life -- drawing.


Last year, the national library hosted a retrospective of Cartier-Bresson's work, grouping 350 classic shots and drawings almost 30 years after he gave up photography.
 
It’s hard to know what to say... HCB was the reason I got seduced into the RF world and he is one of my favourite photographers... Thanks for everything Henri
 
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From the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3536724.stm
Friends said the photographer, who became known for his ground-breaking street photography, died in the French southern town of l'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.

He was buried in a private ceremony in the town, reports said.

The publicity-shy photographer was a founding member of the Magnum picture agency in 1947.

Regarded as one of the pioneers of photojournalism, his pictures now hang in art galleries around the world.


Cartier-Bresson was a founder of the Magnum photo agency
Friend and fellow photographer Lord Snowdon paid tribute to him on Wednesday.

"He was brilliant, I will miss him very much," he told BBC News 24.

"I don't think he'd like his work to be called art, he would like to be remembered as an anonymous figure. His books record moments that can't be captured again."

Born in 1908 in Chanteloup, near Paris, Cartier-Bresson initially studied art before taking to photography in the 1930s.

He helped transform what had been regarded as little more than a gentlemanly hobby into a bona fide profession.

He also coined the phrase "decisive moment" in photography, referring to the split second of timing that helped transform a picture into an iconic image.


His photography for Magnum was world-renowned
He called it "the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organisation of forms which give that event its proper expression".

He was a student of Surrealist art before becoming interested in photography. In 1931 he moved to Africa, where he lived as a hunter for a year.

On his return to Paris he revolutionised street photography with his images taken with the Leica rangefinder, the first 35mm camera.

Hard-hitting

He worked across Europe, but in 1940 was imprisoned by the Germans after the occupation of France. He escaped three years later and witnessed the liberation of Paris.

In 1947 he set up the Magnum agency with two other ground-breaking photojournalists, Robert Capa and David Seymour.

The agency forged a name for hard-hitting news photography. Cartier-Bresson covered Mao Tse-Tung's victory in China and the death of peace activist Mahatma Gandhi in India.

Celebrities who sat for him included artist Henri Matisse, singer Edith Piaf and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
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HCB was one of my idols. I once saw a show of HCB prints and the images have stayed with me to this day. A great photographer who likely influenced us all.

Henri, thanks and RIP
 
Well... This is hard news... And it was to be expected. Away goes another 20th-century giant! :(

I was surprised he lived this long. In fact, I thought he was gone already when about a year ago (in June, I think), I read an interview in which he stated that he had returned to painting, his first love, and also that sharpness in photography was a "bourgeouis" concept.

So long, HCB. And here goes my humble tribute: in homage to blurriness.
 
I am seeing an image of him on a city street, wearing a long coat, stepping forward, bending a little with Leica to his eye, capturing the moment infront of him. If I find that picture I will post it here.
 
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I am somewhat embarassed to say I did not know much of Bresson, I have seen his photographs many times but did not put a name with them.
I found this photo of him which I felt very appropriate for today:
http://www.magnumphotos.com/c/htm/C...5E8CWH&Pass=&Total=87&Pic=76&SubE=2S5RYDR72QB

For other neo-phites I recommend this site of which is an organization he helped found:http://www.magnumphotos.com/c/Home_MAG.aspx?Stat=Menu_Home.

Looks as though he had a full life, loaded with opportunity and made the most of it.

Todd
 
A sad day for me as HCB and Capa brought me to the world of RF photography. Rest in peace HCB! You will be missed and remembered for a long long time!
 
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Today, while driving up to my summer home in upstate New York I heard the sad news on my car radio from WCBS 880, a New York City all news station. It was repeated on each half hour news segment. How sad!. True, he did not photograph for the last 20 years or so choosing to return to his first love, painting.
IMHO he was the father of 35mm rangefather photography and made Leica what it is today. Rest in peace Henri; we all owe you an incalcuable debt. A truly awesome contribution not only to photography but to mankind.
Kurt M.
 
i grew up looking at his stuff and not knowing who took the shots.
there were many shooters that influenced me and he was one. i applaud his life and his photographic accomplishments.

joe
 
i just finished watching the pbs/charlie rose interview with hcb, from 2000.
very interesting, he (hcb) kept calling himself and anarchist.
almost seemed disinterested in his career and refused to call himself a photographer, only saying he had camera.

joe
 
backalley photo said:
i just finished watching the pbs/charlie rose interview with hcb, from 2000.
very interesting, he (hcb) kept calling himself and anarchist.
almost seemed disinterested in his career and refused to call himself a photographer, only saying he had camera.

joe
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I think the fact that he didn't buy into the whole hero status thing made him even more likable. I remember watching a documentary on him and I think he was about to look over the final edit of one of his books.. There was a room full of people fussing around and he was looking unimpressed by the whole goings on. When he started to look thru the book he got about three pictures into it and said something along the lines of this one isn’t a good picture and was about to tear a page out of the book, the look of horror on many of the faces in the room was priceless and I'm sure he grinned a little as they all very politely stopped him doing some last minute editing :D
 
Mason Resnick's comments about meeting him on the Pop Photo forums are very telling about this "anti-hero" aspect of his character.

Trying to think of it from his point of view, he is famous for capturing what others were doing. Maybe he felt that he did not feel he did anything to make his images different than those that could have been made by others. Of course, sitting here without his talent, I realize that when I make a good image it is as much due to luck as it is my skill. He perhaps didn't want to accept the depth of his talent.
 
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