Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2012/06/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The term was written by Jean Francois Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz in the 17th century and was familiar to most literate French people for 400 years. HCB' s French title for the books meant to the effect "snapshots". But the publisher for the English version gave if this title which had been a familiar phrase; and meant pretty much the opposite of HCB' s title. HCB shot faster then anybody I've ever seen I finally saw some document film of him when I was in San Francisco on an LHSA thing. He could shoot a screw mount faster than I've seen anybody shoot an M. he'd advance to the next frame with one quick motion of his left thumb which turned the knob. It looked like a Keystone cops movie... Sped up. (under cranked) HCB' s approach to photography was the same as any photojourinsit of that era which is shoot like crazy, burn a lot of film and go over your contacts with a fine tooth comb finding that one magical shot which has everything. Perfect composition and perfectly captured action. And a few other things including a heavy dose of Je ne sais quoi. (I don't know what) In other words the opposite of that "the decisive moment" connotes to most people. If anything "the decisive moment" would come when you find the shot in your thick stack of contacts and put a big circle around it with a red grease pencil. What people think it means is to stand somewhere pretending to be invisible and then go click when you think you've really got a shot and go home and develop and print it. Not sure if anybody ever worked that way. But it wasn't HCB. Perhaps some people did with a sheet film camera. Maybe a large Daguerreotypist. But I don't think somebody with a Leica with 36 pictures on the roll. There is nothing in the world which does not have its decisive moment, and the masterpiece of good management is to recognize and grasp this moment." "Il n'y a rein dans ce monde qui n'ait un moment decisif." Jean Fran?ois Paul de Gondi, cardinal de Retz (September 29, 1613 ? August 24, 1679) What HCB DID say was and I paraphrase from memory: "perhaps your first 5000 rolls won't looks so good." - - from my iRabs. Mark Rabiner http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/springdays/ > From: Emanuel Lowi <manolito at videotron.ca> > Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> > Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2012 19:19:49 -0400 > To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> > Subject: Re: [Leica] OT: Are we Anal or what? "The Puddle Jumper" / Re: > How> > about this one? > > The term "decisive moment" is not Cartier-Bresson's. It is a translator's > interpretation of the French title of one of HC-B's books. > > A lot of people like to think it means: "I stood there and took just one > single perfect frame of something that just happened to pass by me -- and > that's why I am a genius. " > > What it really means is: "I captured an image of a spit-second." > > Nothing is real. It is all noise. > > Emanuel > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information