Henri Cartier-Bresson is one of the most influential photographers to have lived. He virtually invented photo-journalism. He died in 2004.
One of Cartier-Bresson’s key concepts was that of the “decisive moment,” of which he said: “To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression.” In other words, capturing the essence of a situation in a single moment, in a composition that includes all the information necessary to make it stand on its own, without any further explanation.
Cartier-Bresson was a master at capturing the decisive moment. I remember seeing an exhibition of his in Japan 20 years ago. There were hundreds of photos tightly packed on the gallery walls. Each one spoke to me.
Photo: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報記者古德謙攝
The photo above, of the child with his hands clasped into a prayer gesture, while he looks to the mysterious woman in the hat (his mother?), possibly out of curiosity, perhaps for reassurance, maybe for guidance on what to do next, was taken in Longshan Temple in Taiwan six months ago.
Many photographers aspire to taking just one photo that could be described as capturing a decisive moment. This one is mine.
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
亨利卡蒂埃布列松是世界上最有影響力的攝影師之一。新聞攝影幾乎可以說就是由他一手開創的。他在二零零四年逝世。
布列松最重要的一個概念就是「決定性瞬間」。他說:「對我而言,攝影是一瞬間的事,在那一瞬間,你抓到一個事件的精髓,同時將畫面中的各個元素精準的架構出來,恰如其分的呈現眼前的事件。」換句話說,在一剎那間掌握一個事件的要點,然後在構圖上抓住所有必要的資訊,讓照片可以獨立於文字之外,不言自明。
布列松是捕捉決定性瞬間的大師。我記得二十年前在日本看到他的展覽,那數百張陳列在牆上的照片,每一張都對我說了一個故事。
而上面這張圖裡,一個小孩雙手合十,以拜拜的姿勢跪著,同時看著帶著帽子的一個不知名女子(他的母親?),或許他是出於好奇吧,或許是想確認自己的姿勢是正確的,也或許只是想知道下一步該怎麼做。這是六個月前在龍山寺拍攝的。
許多攝影師期許自己能拍下一張可稱為抓住決定性瞬間的照片。而這一張,就是我的那麼一張照片。
(台北時報編譯詹豐造譯)
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