The Lost Interview - Henri Cartier-Bresson

Topic: Grab something to drink, watch this, and discuss.

Anything else I say would ruin this Thread.

CLICK HERE FOR INTERVIEW WITH HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON

Charlie Rose drives me nuts, drowning the genius of HCB by cutting him off every few seconds.

Click here for THE IMPASSIONED EYE, a 2006 documentary of Cartier-Bresson.

thanks for sharing. love it! +100!

Thanks for posting this. I thought it was very insightful.

HCB is one of my favorite photogs. His gear philosophy is especially insightful.

That guy is a freak of nature. All those shots with a single MF 50mm lens.

I can't imagine how he got some of those shots as casually as he claims.

Nick_b wrote in post #5880359
That guy is a freak of nature. All those shots with a single MF 50mm lens.

I can't imagine how he got some of those shots as casually as he claims.

I hear you. Some people just stand in front of the camera, read some lines, and they get $25mil for each time they do that.

I do not understand some of these talents either.

Though Charlie Rose drove me nuts, I really appreciated the first few minutes of that interview (Well the rest too).

First, HCB talking about gear. His tools. His comment about carrying a camera with him always (do you have your camera with you? ... Not today... Then he shows a pencil, which is a tool for drawing, his shared love along with photography).

Second, his demythification. It had always bothered me that many said "Ah, HCB no longer takes photographs". Sort of like when a Sports Athlete hangs the cleats, or the rackett. So his particular clarification that he never stopped taking photos, was extremely soothing.

It did start getting to me when Rose asked him about his POW experience, and HCB got in tears, making a very personal and deep comment "I think of those who did not make it out"... To which instead of a moment of silence, Charlie Rose took as an opportunity to try and dig deeper for journalism. Kinda like the 'Anarchism' comment. It was just a comment. But Rose kept pushing on and on, until it was clear Henri would not answer such a question.

Amazing indeed that this man took hundreds of amazing photographs. I shall try to do more as he says (when talking about capturing a photograph "You musn't want. Just be receptive").

I have the evening to myself, so I will listen to the other link, the Impassioned Eyes.

Yes, thanks for posting the links.

I listened to the Charlie Rose interview until he brought up globalization and then switched over to the 'Impassioned Eye,' thinking that I would watch a few segments over the next few days. Of course, ended up watching it in its entirety: fascinating.

While I highly recommend the Impassioned Eye, some POTN members should be forewarned that, as far as I can recall, there was absolutely no discussion of gear. Don't get me wrong, debate on whether Cartier-Bresson only used a 50mm or occasionally, or maybe just rarely, slapped on a 35mm or 90mm is interesting and even instructive. Still, absence of such coverage could cause some members health problems. Anyway, for those who actually appreciate photography, it is a worthwhile and perhaps even inspirational watch.

Looking at the works of Cartier-Bresson, Eliott Erwitt, Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand, and the likes consistently reinforces the immutable fact that at this stage, the procurement of a better lens or body will not facilitate, on any conceivable level, my ability to attain their level of quality.

I reckon I'll give Rose another try as well.

sjones wrote in post #5884166
Yes, thanks for posting the links.

I listened to the Charlie Rose interview until he brought up globalization and then switched over to the 'Impassioned Eye,' thinking that I would watch a few segments over the next few days. Of course, ended up watching it in its entirety: fascinating.

While I highly recommend the Impassioned Eye, some POTN members should be forewarned that, as far as I can recall, there was absolutely no discussion of gear. Don't get me wrong, debate on whether Cartier-Bresson only used a 50mm or occasionally, or maybe just rarely, slapped on a 35mm or 90mm is interesting and even instructive. Still, absence of such coverage could cause some members health problems. Anyway, for those who actually appreciate photography, it is a worthwhile and perhaps even inspirational watch.

Looking at the works of Cartier-Bresson, Eliott Erwitt, Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand, and the likes consistently reinforces the immutable fact that at this stage, the procurement of a better lens or body will not facilitate, on any conceivable level, my ability to attain their level of quality.

I reckon I'll give Rose another try as well.

Training your eye takes time and finding your own voice takes even longer and will probably be a life long journey. Sometimes to many equipment choices only confuse. Find one focal length and learn to see in that focal length. Ralph Gibson was also used a 50mm lens for allot of his work. He said that was the focal length that best represented his vision.