Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/01/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>>Back when I was learning photography, many, many years gone by, they >>stressed bracketing, on the theory that 'film is cheap, the picture is >>priceless'. Try it: you'll like it! > >Imagine Henri Cariter-Bresson bracketing decisive moments? <G> >========== The style of picture taking of H C-B is no secret, at least not since the spade of recent books, telling us exactly how and why this suberb Leica phoytographer took his pictures. One might be inclined to state that he invented the art of Leica photography. The 'decisive moment' as usually interpreted does not exist, not as a theory nor as a practice. The reason for H C-B not to bracket is not his ability of calculating exact exposure values, nor his strategy of waiting and taking that one fabulous photo. His contact sheets show a different world. He states himself that he could estimate, through long experience his exposures, because he uses only one film AND takes pictures in only a very limited set of lighting situations for which it is easy to remember the settings. It is also known that the developing/printing has been done by people who knew the circomstances of H C-B and even then 'cursed' him for the wrongness of many exposures. Ever seen a Bresson picture in stong backlighting or even situations with more than 4 stops latitude? Erwin