NEW YORK CITY—West Point cadets and their admiring young ladies attend the Army vs. Notre-Dame football game, 1947. © Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos
Actually, I’m not all that interested in the subject of photography. Once the picture is in the box, I’m not all that interested in what happens next. Hunters, after all, aren’t cooks.
-Henri Cartier-Bresson
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—A football game between Michigan and Northwestern, 1960. © Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos
RENO, Nev.—1947. © Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos
The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box.
-Henri Cartier-Bresson
NEW JERSEY—Solitary confinement in the model prison of Leesburg, 1975. © Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos
NEW JERSEY—Manhattan and the Hudson River, seen from Hoboken, 1947. © Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos
LAGRANGE, Ga.—1961. © Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos
TEXAS—1957. © Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos
Think about the photo before and after, never during. The secret is to take your time. You mustn’t go too fast. The subject must forget about you. Then, however, you must be very quick.
-Henri Cartier-Bresson
NEW YORK CITY—Manhattan Bankers Trust, 1960. © Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos
NEW YORK—1959. © Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos