[Leica] Re: world press winners 2006 - now HCB, lost in translation

[phong at doan-ltd.com (Phong)]

B.D. wrote:
>  Who coined the phrase ?the decisive moment??
>      A. Susan Sontag
>      B. Mathew Brady
>      C. Henri Cartier-Bresson
>      D. None of the above

I might have flunked the test myself.  My guess
is C., though I am not sure if it was HCB who
actually coined the phrase, or it was his publisher/
or translator / or publicist.

By the way, I first read HCB's book "The Decisive Moment"
in French, and the French title, "Images a la Sauvette", connotes
something quite different and much more than the title
in English.  It is much less about decisiveness, and rather
about "snaps" (quick, even hasty, rushed, without any sense of
carelessness or thoughtlessness), on the run, "get away" (from
the scene of a crime), sneakiness, "under the table", "hot"
(in the sense of stolen), a sense of do-it-quick-
and-get-out-of-there, among others.

The English translation, though a catchy phrase, along
with the famous photo at Gare St Lazarre of the man
jumping over the puddle, unfortunately, unduly and
singularly redirects the public attention to only one of the
many characteristics of Henri Cartier-Bresson's photography.
These's so much more that define HCB's photography than
the infamous "Decisive Moment".

By the way, I also like the "Tete a tete" title of
one of his other books, a phrase that suggests a sense
of engaged intimacy in the portraits in the book.

Sorry for this "couriel a la sauvette" :-) of a message
as I haven't spent much time lately on the LUG, other
than enjoying the photos from various people.

- Phong