Cartier-Bresson rarely allowed anyone to photograph him, and would often hold a camera up in front of his face when he was photographed. One of the great revelations to me was when they brought in the first of his many, many contact sheets. And I realized that the secret to street photography is you have to throw all those indecisive moments away.
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Carey Winfrey started taking pictures when he was about 10 years old and never stopped. Eventually, he became a journalist, a career that lasted for 45 years. Carey worked for Time Magazine and the New York Times, and even produced a couple of TV shows including “Behind the Lines” and “Assignment America.” During his time working on “Assignment America,” Carey even met and interviewed Henri Cartier-Bresson. Let’s just say it was an interesting experience that involved Carey getting yelled at for touching Cartier-Bresson’s camera. They may not have become fast friends, but Carey says his admiration for Cartier-Bresson’s work never wavered.
Carey also learned an important lesson from the experience. When reviewing Cartier-Bresson’s contact sheets for the project, he had a revelation. Carey noted that Cartier-Bresson’s collection of New Jersey images looked much like his own, or those of this friends. His conclusion? The secret to capturing the “decisive moment” is that you have to shoot a lot of photos and throw out all the “indecisive moments.” But you’ll hear the full story in our interview; there’s much more to it than just this.
Carey also noted that if you love the sound of the camera clicking, you’ll always find something to shoot. There’s always something to shoot. In a similar vein, he says equipment is so much less important than just having a camera with you. To quote one of his personal heros,
“The camera doesn’t make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But you have to see.” – Ernst Haas
Join Bob and Carey as they explore these subjects and many more on the Street Photography Magazine Podcast.
