May 13 2006
Camera Position 17 : The Instant and the Machine
The idea of photography that depends on the exact moment of exposure for success didn’t originate with Cartier-Bresson, but he certainly made the most of that perfect instant. Bresson’s idea of “the decisive moment” is examined this week, along with the idea of how photographers always have to grapple with the intersection between idea and their machinery.
Thanks for another great podcast. I was curious about your workflow before the picture is shot. It would appear to me that Bresson scouts out his shots and waits for the confluence of subjects for his “decisive moment”. Do you scout out shooting locations without your camera looking for possible subjects and lighting or do you keep your camera with you at when you see a shot set up and take it. How does your style, with a large format, differ from Bresson’s who used a 35mm?
Thanks and keep podcasting.
Don… thanks again for your kind comments. Take a look at Camera Position #18 for an answer to your question, and thanks for giving me a topic for the Podcast!
Bresson’s “the decisive momentâ€
Do we know if this really was an oppontunist moment or did Bresson have his assistant cycle up and down the street until he captured the correct moment? Just a thought.
nige
That’s a great point, Nige… we don’t ever know what any photographer saw before or after the moment of exposure. It could be that this image is the result of careful planning, or it could be a serendipitous moment.
I googled for a larger version, and came across this Flickr group, where it was posted without citation, and garnered lots of criticism as as a bad, out-of-focus photo with an indecisive subject … http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrerabelo/70458366
How much fun is that!
Like I always say… “everybody’s good at something!”
Thanks for finding this…
-Jeff
Dear Jeff Curto,
I listened to your podcast on the Cartier-Bresson’s “Decisive Moment” to learn a little more about Henri. I am doing an essay on Bresson and comparing/ contrasting him with Rober Frank. I will definitely put this and the podcast in my works cited page. Thanks so much for your help and I shall return again to browse your site.
Take Care,
Patty Lin
Thanks, Patty;
I just finished reading/grading History of Photography class term papers for my photo history class, so your use of the podcast as a resource does my heart proud.
Glad it was helpful!
-Jeff
At the moment, there’s a HCB exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo (MOMAT). I was there today, it’s really great!
Just started with digital in February, ‘07. This episode got me to re-read the camera user guides, BOTH the Basic & Advanced. I know the first time I kept thinking throughout, “I’ll come back to that”, but didn’t, or only quickly to get a certain shot. I use a PowerShot A710 IS with many features I don’t ever need/want, but there’s a many I want to be able to use easily when needed. Seems it helps to know which features I’ll never use, just so I know how to ignore them instead of being afraid of them.
Tom;
Now that our camera user manuals are more complicated than our *car* user manuals, it really pays to read them! Frustrating, because we think we should be able to figure it out, but useful because a lot of the controls are pretty inscrutable.
My 4×5 has no “mode” button…
-Jeff
Jeff - I found this post after being on Mark Seymour’s site. He mentioned Bresson - after a Google search I found this post.
After checking out your site I noticed you teach at COD. I grew up in Wheaton and now live in Naperville. Small world.
I should probably take some of your classes. Taking a view camera to Italy is first on our list as well!
- Rob
Hi, Rob… thanks for your post.
C’mon over to College of DuPage… we’d love to have you in the program!
-Jeff