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Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Scrapbook at the National Media Museum 7th March to 1st June 2008

6th March 208

Henri Cartier-Bresson is often said to be the godfather of modern photojournalism and is best known for one phrase – by accident.

Images à la Sauvette was the name of the 1952 book which gave the world some of the most enduring images this famous French photographer captured. This phrase is roughly translated as "images on the run".

Fortunately, or perhaps otherwise, the English publishers of the collection, considered one of the most important photographic collections ever published, decided against using the translation for the English editions, instead, in America and England, Cartier-Bresson's collection was known as The Decisive Moment.

That phrase stuck and became synonymous with the photographer.

In his preface to the book, Cartier-Bresson wrote a 5,000-word essay in which he used the phrase: "There is nothing in the world that does not have a decisive moment.", and his photography demonstrated this over and over again, his camera capturing the decisive moments of people's lives, social changes and world events.

All of his work was taken in the instant, in the decisive moment. His images appear to be one-shot, he takes the photograph in a moment and is gone, relying on the instincts of the hunter, sharpened during his time in Africa. And yet, it turns out that this was perhaps not always the case.

This new exhibition provides a fascinating glimpse into the world and work of the photographer and reveals that the decisive moment might have arrived, but Cartier-Bresson did not always capture it perfectly – it was not always apparently a clean, one-shot kill.

Bradford's National Media Museum exhibition of the photographer's work which reveals a look behind the scenes and reveals the secrets of Cartier-Bresson's working methods and runs from the 7th March until the 1st June 2008.
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