Thread: Went to a Cartier-Bresson exhibit the other day...

Some cracking pics there Nic.

Most of my street work is shot from the hip so often I don't know how good/bad the shot is till l8r. Sometimes I'll review pics on the screen but this is usually to check I have the exposure about right. My POV is much higher than my cameras so sometimes the shot is dramatically different to how I imagined it. All I can really do is try and be in the right place at the right time with the camera set up correctly. Don talks about patience and that is one thing I need to manage better. Sometimes I anticipate a good shot and blow it by hitting the shutter button way too early. Sometimes I try and avoid that by shooting on continuous but with a little camera like the GRDIV your buffer fills very quickly and the scene is past you in 2 shots time (3 if you are lucky). You really should nail it in one - spray and pray rarely pays off!

A lot of my shots are taken on the move and I often see shots develop just out of reach and the moment is gone before I'm close enough. I don't let that put me off. Better to see a missed shot than not to see anything at all. I see missed shots all the time, usually when I have no camera with me. I've been on a few shoots where I shot 100 plus pictures and went home to review them only to discover I had no memory card in the camera! Very annoying but I'm sure the exercise was all part of the learning process and it all helps you develop that photographic eye.

Thanks for the comments on this thread. Sorry, I hadn't gotten a good chance to read through them all until now. It's very cool to hear all your thoughts on HCB's methods and your own approaches to photography. Based on the images I saw at the exhibition, my impression of HCB's methods are like some of those already expressed; that he was a fisherman who found his spot and waited for the fish to swim past. Some seek out the moment, others wait for the moment. Different folks, different strokes. I really liked the slightly grander scale of some of his images and how the different elements helped reveal some of the secrets of the time and place where the image was taken. Over time I've taken to calling this environmental street photography where the people and the place are equally important to the image.

I'm not sure if the exhibition is moving on to another city anytime soon but would highly recommend a visit if you are ever in the vicinity of it or something similar.

Originally Posted by Andrewteee

How do the rocks in front of the sign relate to the exhibit?

I think they are a separate piece of art. They are part of a large set of concentric circles on the floor. The HCB exhibit was behind the sign on the other side of the wall.

Originally Posted by Luckypenguin

I think they are a separate piece of art. They are part of a large set of concentric circles on the floor. The HCB exhibit was behind the sign on the other side of the wall.

Ah, thanks. I like such works. Hamish Fulton, Richard Long, etc.

The HCB exhibit was in San Francisco earlier this year and I should have gone.