Henri Cartier-Bresson

We photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing, and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth can make them come back again. We cannot develop and print a memory. ↗

— Henri Cartier-Bresson

#back #cannot #come #continually #contrivance

Photography is an immediate reaction, drawing is a meditation. ↗

— Henri Cartier-Bresson

#immediate #immediate reaction #meditation #photography #reaction

Think about the photo before and after, never during. The secret is to take your time. You mustn't go too fast. The subject must forget about you. Then, however, you must be very quick. ↗

— Henri Cartier-Bresson

#after #before #during #fast #forget

The photograph itself doesn't interest me. I want only to capture a minute part of reality. ↗

— Henri Cartier-Bresson

#i #interest #itself #me #minute

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. ↗

— Henri Cartier-Bresson

#act #box #brief #brief moment #camera

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. ↗

— Henri Cartier-Bresson

#after #box #cooks #happens #hunters

In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little, human detail can become a Leitmotiv. ↗

— Henri Cartier-Bresson

#detail #great #human #little #photography