The photographic master Henri Cartier-Bresson made some key observations about photography, translated as “the decisive moment” which is often (incorrectly) characterized as: "capturing an event that is ephemeral and spontaneous, where the image represents the essence of the event itself."
Henri Cartier-Bresson, the "father" of street photography, believed that the mission of the photographer was to patiently and deliberately wait with camera in hand for that unique instant that will never again be repeated. He identified this time as the photographer’s Decisive Moment.
I love looking in detail at another photographer’s work. To immerse yourself in someone else’s creativity—to see what their ideas spark inside of you, what excites you, what makes you sit up and think 'Wow, that’s really cool!'—that’s all great fuel for your own photography.
A bible for photographers. That is how Robert Capa described The Decisive Moment by Henri Cartier-Bresson. After almost 70 years it was first published, this book has still a lot to say to photographers and especially to street and documentary photographers.
Wow... Where do I even begin? I would say that “The Decisive Moment” by Henri Cartier-Bresson is one of the most beautiful photo books I have ever handled, and it is a book that brings me extreme joy and happiness (you can see all the photos from the book for free over at Magnum Photos).
Online book marketplace AbeBooks -- probably the first link you'll see if you try to search for a rare, signed or early edition of your favorite novel or photo book -- has a list of the 10 most collectable photography books of all time. You can probably guess two or three of them, but do you think you know them all?
Henri Cartier-Bresson is a name forever engraved on the face of photographic history. Known for his humanist approach to photography and the world around him, the so-called father of street photography defined his photojournalistic style with each snap of the shutter.
And while his individual photographs are something to marvel at in their own right, one of the greatest contributions he ever gave the world was a book called The Decisive Moment, which you can now once more own without spending $500+ dollars.
Here's what Henri Cartier-Bresson, the father of modern photojournalism, said about his concept of "The Decisive Moment" in an interview with The Washington Post in 1957.