HCB's Decisive Moment Reprint Arrived

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tstermitz

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I just got my copy of the Steidl reprint of Henri Cartier Bresson's "Decisive Moment". This has been out of print for a long time.

This is a beautifully produced book; very high quality. Although most of the photos are duplicated in the book "Henri Cartier Bresson Photographer", there are a number of really great or important photos contained here. There is more emphasis on HCB's travels in China, India or Mexico.

I must say though, that I like the book "HCB Photographer" rather better. The "Decisive Moment" runs most of the photographs larger, including across the fold. This is kind of a disaster for appreciating the geometry and composition of HCB's work. You can't easily run your eye (or a ruler) across the page when the photo is across the fold.

And, I'm not sure the larger image size is the right format to view HCB's street photos, not in a book anyway - maybe on the wall.
 
tstermitz said:
I just got my copy of the Steidl reprint of Henri Cartier Bresson's "Decisive Moment". This has been out of print for a long time.

This is a beautifully produced book; very high quality. Although most of the photos are duplicated in the book "Henri Cartier Bresson Photographer", there are a number of really great or important photos contained here. There is more emphasis on HCB's travels in China, India or Mexico.

I must say though, that I like the book "HCB Photographer" rather better. The "Decisive Moment" runs most of the photographs larger, including across the fold. This is kind of a disaster for appreciating the geometry and composition of HCB's work. You can't easily run your eye (or a ruler) across the page when the photo is across the fold.

And, I'm not sure the larger image size is the right format to view HCB's street photos, not in a book anyway - maybe on the wall.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the rundown. I get an original copy from the library once in a while when I want to see it.

This is one of my favs from the book...

http://blogsearchtest.tumblr.com/image/110263740956
 
tstermitz said:
I must say though, that I like the book "HCB Photographer" rather better. The "Decisive Moment" runs most of the photographs larger, including across the fold. This is kind of a disaster for appreciating the geometry and composition of HCB's work. You can't easily run your eye (or a ruler) across the page when the photo is across the fold.

And, I'm not sure the larger image size is the right format to view HCB's street photos, not in a book anyway - maybe on the wall.
Click to expand...


The book is intend as a facsimile hence the format and the size.
 
Maybe it is just me, and I've never seen a copy of the original book for comparison, but I received my copy of this reprint a few days ago and was hugely disappointed. Yes it is a "beautifully produced book" with the exception of the photos which look like, to me, low resolution scans of pages taken from a beat up copy of the original book. The book is of historical interest, but just consider yourself warned.
For what it is worth, I am not saying 'gee, HCB's photos are not in perfect focus, and there is motion blur!' I am not holding the photo reproduction in this reprint up to modern high resolution standards. My frame of reference is the reproduction of photos in any of the hundred or so photo annuals from the 1940's and 1950's that I have, such as those from U.S Camera; the printing and photographic clarity in those being much better. If the original negatives had been used for this book it would have been vastly better, and well worth the purchase price, as opposed to this. I know that isn't possible, I'm only saying that if you are expecting something that looks like that, even something that looks like it was done from scans of degraded negatives, this falls well short of that. I have seen large prints made from some of the negatives of some of the photos here, and if one thinks that one can gain an appreciation for HCB's craft from looking at the anemic low quality reproductions here.........
Obviously, others here are enjoying the book, and I can't argue with that. I just wish I had seen comments like the ones I am making here before I wasted my money, personally speaking. But, yes, for me, other than the atrocious quality of the photographs, the book is lavishly produced, there's that.
 
I saw them on the wall at the HCB exhibit a few years ago in Atlanta. Got to meet some great RFF members as well. I can't afford the book & our library never receives such a book.
 
Michael Markey said:
All been discussed and explained in this thread

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144640
Click to expand...

I realize that. I preordered the book in early December, before I came across that thread. There are many people who have not seen that thread, only this one, and would be considering a purchase. That is why I posted what I did today.
Owing to the original thread, which I had read in its entirety, I already knew that the photos were made from scans of an original book. I still was not prepared for what I saw when I opened my copy. My heart sank, that's all I can say.
I'm glad others are enjoying the book, but in my opinion, and perhaps I am a crank so no need to call me one, this was a huge missed opportunity. The publishers are to be commended for even trying this, and went to obvious pains with every other aspect of the printing and presentation, except the actual photographs.
My daughter has a cheap 4' x 6' poster in her dorm room of the gentleman jumping over the puddle which, in terms of resolution and tonality puts the one in this book to shame. They could have gone to her dorm room, scanned that, and it would have been the best reproduction in the book-easily. It didn't need to be done this way, negatives or no negatives.
I hope everybody who buys this enjoys it immensely, and that I am the only one who perceives it this negative way. Seriously. I only posted because I wish that someone had done the same for me, and I could have spent the money on Tri-X:)
 
Oh ...I agree.
I debated whether to get it myself and only at the last minute placed the order.
It came a few months ago and I must say I wasn`t that impressed myself.
 
Mine arrived today too. Overall very well done. I've seen many prints in the HCB museum in Paris (fully recommended!), and the book doesn't compare for print quality although I find it is not as dismal as some of the posts would indicate. In my view it is worth the price, as the essay and the composition of the images are simply brilliant and I'm happy to have them in my library. To date my library consists largely of British, American and Russian literature from the 1900s, with a few "foreign" titles and history books (early 1900s focus) sprinkled here and there, and I think this makes a valid start into more visual artistic titles. However, if you have the big bucks to go for an original then by all means do so.

cheers,
Rob
 
Michael Markey said:
If I`d seen a copy before hand I doubt that I would have bought one.
Click to expand...

Yes, if I'm honest I wouldn't have done so either. I'd never read The Decisive Moment before so it was interesting to buy this facsimile and see all the selected photos, the ordering and read the essay but it's not a book I'll be coming back to time and again.
 
Yep ...don`t really regret buying it ...it is interesting as you say but like you I` ll not be re rereading it.
I much preferred the Clement Cheroux book.
 
Mine arrived a couple days ago and I have been enjoying it. I did not expect it to be an exact copy so I'm glad that everyone has confirmed that for me. I seriously doubt that I would have been able to afford the book if they had gone back to the original negatives.

To me the important part of this book is what it shows me of the mind of HCB, both with his photography and with his first book. Not only do I see the photographs but I also have the words of HCB himself, as well as others.

I am also a great fan of the early Barnack Leica and I find it impressive what one artist was able to do with it by utilizing the camera's greatest strength.

If you were honestly expecting a $2000 book for $75 then you will probably be disappointed. But, if you would like a "copy" of Henri Cartier Bresson's first photography book to browse through at your leisure then this fine book from Steidl is probably right up your alley. It is certainly worth the price and I do recommend it.
 
When living in a small, kind of rural university town in the '70s, the local library had a pristine copy of the original "Decisive Moment" on its shelves. Wonder if it's still there?
 
Amazon notified me that it was back in stock this morning. Glad I checked here first. Money's a little tight and I think I'll pass on this one. Maybe see if the library bought a copy.
 
Got mine. I like it. It's a decisive moment in photographic book history. I was prepared for some underwhelming print quality by the the recent Paris HC-B exhibition prints, many of indifferent quality. I was pleased with the number of photographs in the book I'd never seen before. Satisfying purchase from my point of view.
 
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