HCB"s Decisive Moment online

Thanks a lot for this link ! To my opinion indeed the most important photobook of the last century.

Cheers,

Gabor
 
Thanks for the link Steve. I have seen some of the pictures before but there quite a few that I have not. Must get the book.
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Monz
 
Just had a quick search on Amazon - £1,500! Is that true? I wonder why there havn't been any reprints.
 
kully said:
Just had a quick search on Amazon - £1,500! Is that true? I wonder why there havn't been any reprints.
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Oh. I better forget about getting a copy then!
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Monz
 
I believe HCB had the plates destroyed so future copies couldnt be made -not sure why.They do appear on e/bay( £350.00 upwards for a worn copy) from time to time.
Thanks for the appreciation- its great to have like minds to share with!

Regards
Steve
 
Has anyone seen the exhibit at the ICP?

I can't believe there isn't a reprint of this great book. This is my first time seeing it. I wonder how much a library would charge you if you took the book out and never returned it. I'm sure it won't be $1500.

Thanks for the link. It's bookmarked.
 
Many thanks for posting this. I notice that HCB seems to shoot horizontals with his right eye, and verticals from his left. Keeps nose out of the way. Must try that!
 
I'm not a huge Bresson fan, personally. I'm having a hard time seeign that "decisive moment" in his pictures... Of course, I maybe need to be educated a little more, regarding his work.
 
Monz Ahmed said:
Oh. I better forget about getting a copy then!
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Monz
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If you want a copy just PM me a e-mail address, that simple. No it will not be the hard copy but a nice and free PDF with Flash. I have a collection of old black and white pictures in digital form and a few books that will be free to download when I finally get my website up.
 
Bryan Lee said:
If you want a copy just PM me a e-mail address, that simple. No it will not be the hard copy but a nice and free PDF with Flash. I have a collection of old black and white pictures in digital form and a few books that will be free to download when I finally get my website up.
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Thanks Bryan:) PM sent.

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Monz
 
After seeing the pictures in the link posted by Steve, I’ve just ordered the following book from Amazon...

Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Man, the Image and the World: A Retrospective by Philippe Arbaizar, Jean Clair, Robert Delpire, Peter Galassi

Hope it has some of the pictures from "The Decisive Moment." The price is certainly more palatable. Does anyone have the above book?

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Monz
 
Monz, I havn't bought the book - but I did spend a good 20 minutes in waterstones looking through it. You'll like it.
 
Monz Ahmed said:
Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Man, the Image and the World: A Retrospective

Hope it has some of the pictures from "The Decisive Moment." The price is certainly more palatable. Does anyone have the above book?

--
Monz
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Monz,

I have that one, it is an excellent compilation, you won't be disappointed.

cheers
 
NB23 said:
I'm not a huge Bresson fan, personally. I'm having a hard time seeign that "decisive moment" in his pictures... Of course, I maybe need to be educated a little more, regarding his work.
Click to expand...

I kind of agreed at first. Then I went back and really looked at the images a second time, looking for something I might be missing. Bresson was a painter and sketcher more than a photographer, apparently, and his compositions show that.

Number 11, in particular - the shadows back and forth on the ground. They would only look that way for a short time each day, meaning he either tripped across the scene or waited for the sun to be in the right spot and the shaodows to be spaced that way.

The man in number 16 unconsciously, in a moment of weariness, mirroring the graffiti on the wall behind him.

Number 26 is probably one of the most famous examples of a "decisive moment." He had to watch until the guy made his little jump into the puddle. There wouldn't have been time to shoot off 5 or so shots and pick the best of the series. I might have tried to capture the splash when the man's foot hit the water, but catching the shot just as the man's reflection cleared the ladder on the ground was almost genius. Not that he necessarily was going for that shot, but it seems he might have been. It's a picture a man might have painted.

The boy trying to steal a kiss in Number 51. A timeless moment instantly recognizable (well, to me, anyway :) ). No doubt a moment before or a moment after, the scene had changed, the gap between the two less telegraphic.

Number 64, where the women mirror the hanging cloth. Enough so it wasn't immediately apparent they were women.

Number 88, where the white space on the top so drastically contrasts with the incomprehensible mayhem of the men on the bottom portion.

A lot of his images have the aspect of a tableau, not a snapshot in time. It's almost as if all that happened before and after is irrelevant, merely set-up for the shot. I'm thinking that's where the title came from.
 
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