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.
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.
Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again.
In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little, human detail can become a Leitmotiv.
note: Leitmotiv is German for 'leading motif'. It is a short musical phrase of specific sound effect that signals the appearance of a person, action, or situation.
Books by and about Henri Cartier-Bresson
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