A memória

O fotógrafo francês Henri Cartier-Bresson é considerado o pai do fotojornalismo. Cheio de filosofias (nada baratas), o cara entendia que ele era apenas um instrumento para perpetuar uma imagem qualquer. Bresson considerava o portrait a coisa mais difícil de se fazer dentro do universo fotográfico: "você tem que tentar colocar a sua câmera entre a pele da pessoa e a camisa dela", dizia. A foto é uma memória do que queremos - ou não - lembrar.

A seguir: fotos de alguns momentos decisivos onde a atenção do fotógrafo e seus cliques incansáveis foram fundamentais para obter um resultado satisfatório. Além, é claro, de algumas frases interessantes do sr. Bresson...

"Thinking should be done before and after, not during photographing. Success depends on the extent of one's general culture. one's set of values, one's clarity of mind one's vivacity. The thing to be feared most is the artificially contrived, the contrary to life."

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


 

"Thinking should be done before and after, not during photographing. Success depends on the extent of one's general culture. one's set of values, one's clarity of mind one's vivacity. The thing to be feared most is the artificially contrived, the contrary to life."

  

"I'm not responsible for my photographs. Photography is not documentary, but intuition, a poetic experience. It's drowning yourself, dissolving yourself, and then sniff, sniff, sniff – being sensitive to coincidence. You can't go looking for it; you can't want it, or you want get it. First you must lose your
self. Then it happens."

  

"Memory is very important, the memory of each photo taken, flowing at the same speed as the event. During the work, you have to be sure that you haven’t left any holes, that you’ve captured everything,
 because afterwards it will be too late."

   

"Of all the means of expression, photography is the only one that fixes a precise moment in time. We play with subjects that disappear; and when they’re gone, it’s impossible to bring them back to life. We can’t alter our subject afterward.... Writers can reflect before they put words on paper.... As photographers, we don’t have the luxury of this reflective time....We can’t redo our shoot once we’re back at the hotel. Our job consists of observing reality with help of our camera (which serves as a kind of sketchbook), of fixing reality in a moment, but not manipulating it, neither during the shoot nor in the darkroom later on. These types of manipulation are always noticed by anyone with a good eye."

 

"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. So, if you miss the picture, you've missed it. So what?"

  

"The difference between a good picture and a mediocre picture is a question of millimetres – small, small difference. But it’s essential. I don’t think there’s so much difference between photographers, but it’s that little difference that counts, maybe."

*

"You are asking me what makes a good picture. For me, it is the harmony between subject and form that leads each one of those elements to its maximum of expression and vigor."

  

"In photojournalistic reporting, inevitably, you’re an outsider."

HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON

[1908 – 2004]