Henry Cartier-Bresson

The father of all of us that believe that there is magic in a little light trapping box called a "camera" died today and we are poorer for his passing.

To capture an image on film, or now on a digital sensor, is too defy physics and common sense, it is to stop time, to freeze an 'instant' for an 'eternity.' It is to reach into the void and contemplate why we are here. Oh, you may not think so as you click away at the birthday party, or as you tell your friends "get closer" at the road-side tourist stop, but think about it for just a moment and you begin to see how deep a photo really is, you begin to see how time is fleeting and life is short, you begin to see.

We are all destined to die, we don't like it, but that's our lot. When we look at our photos we see who we were, where we were, who we were with and we temporarily leave our 'here' and travel back to our 'then.'

The masters of photography can take us not only back in time but can help us touch eternity itself. They show us the universal in mankind. They introduce us to each other's humanity. They tell us each other's stories. They excite us. They sadden us. They educate us and challenge us. With each successive picture Homer, Joyce, god, love, war, birth, death, fire, sex and passion come roaring to life and in a 60th of second we, the viewers, are left changed forever.

Thank you Henry Cartier-Bresson.

Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson

http://www.photology.com/bresson/