Henry Cartier Bresson - "Decisive Instant"

Desicive Instant, 1932
© Henry Cartier Bresson

"The “Desicive Instant” (“L’instant desicif”) is one of the most important concepts in 20th century photography. It was invented by who many refer to as “The eye of the century”: Henry Cartier-Bresson.

Cartier-Bresson composed very esthetic pictures through the viewfinder of his Leica and then just waited until something happened. A little something that made the picture unique. He that the essence of a whole situation can be captured in a desicive intant. The picture above is a classic example for this. We have a perfectly calm puddle of water and we are just about to witness the break of this silence by the person who is going to step into the water."

Fonte: "Henry Cartier Bresson", in LvxPhotography, http://lvxphotography.net/masterpieces-of-photography/henry-cartier-bresson-paris-place-de-leuropa-gare-saint-lazare/, 23 Fev. 2011