[Leica] Bull

[timatherton at theedge.ca (Tim Atherton)]

> Again, Tim, I just do not see any of this as a problem.  I am familiar
> with most of Henri-Cartier Bresson's writings and the writing about him,
> and nowhere do I recall anyone citing this image as "the "ultimate"
> decisive moment photograph, caught by the master photographer..."

Well, this is something I've come across many many times (though I've never
held to it myself) in writings, lectures and discussions. In fact my point
has always been the it doesn't represent the decisive moment as it is
commonly understood. It's a good picture, but it's not a "decisive moment".
Now HCB may well never have said it is, but it is commonly given as one of
the best examples of such a moment

 Maybe
> some people WANT it to be that, but your analysis is completely beside
> the point.  Regardless of HOW it was taken, "Behind the Gare
> Saint-Lazar" is a magnificent photograph; You should stop trying to lard
> additional values onto the picture, even if you are disappointed by the
> Master's technique.  The mythology and mystique of this photograph
> reside entirely within the eyes of beholders.

Oh - I'm not disappointed by anything - personally I never put it up there
in the first place - as BD says - the decisive moment was the moment of
recognising the picture that could be made, not in the moment it was taken.
In that sense (and I'm saying nothing about journalism or documentary here)
the Capa death of a loyalist soldier is one of the "ultimate" decisive
moment photographs - assuming that commonplace understanding of the term.
It's closer to Nick Waplington's Indecisive Momento... :-)

tim

tim