Decisive Moment, Slow Photography

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Very Large Array in Soccorro NM Jim Austin 2013.

 

"Photography is nothing, it's life that interests me" 

~Henri Cartier-Bresson


We live. We photograph. In living, we find moments of joy. We do Slow Photography in celebration of life. In case we forget, the work of French photographer Cartier-Bresson reminds us that life itself is more valuable than photography.

It may seem contradictory to explore Slow Photography alongside the work of the father of the Decisive Moment. Isn't it a fact that Bresson's pictures were entirely about fast- paced, trapped, split second moments in time?

Dock in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Jim Austin 2013.

 No. It goes much deeper than that.  Bresson painted. He sketched. Encouraged by his uncle, an artist, he studied painting, immersing himself in a Surrealist philosophy of art. 

Later, as he photographed, Bresson's work emerged from his early concepts of what fine art can express. His frame was his canvas, and his images show us how he attended to the geometry and spatial arrangement within the frame. Although he traveled worldwide on assignment, many of his most famous photographs were often made for himself. 
Pelican diving the Banana River, Florida, Jim Austin 2013.
Looking carefully, we see that Bresson's photographic thought is as much about clarity and composition as time. Henri Cartier-Bresson was one of the first to ponder the process of selection on a higher, plane-that of time. Although time is always a part of all photographic work, to make these pictures, Cartier-Bresson did not work in haste. He waited patiently and watched, observing the image space. Often, he methodically waited for the image to come to him that he previously selected, framed, and conceived within his mind's eye.


August rain in Lake City, Colorado, Jim Austin, 1979.
Slow Photography is also patient. With it, we celebrate life more than photography itself, following Bresson's example. Immersing ourselves in the Slow Photo Rebellion, we can hoist any camera. Patiently, deliberately, we can choose our compositions without rushing or snapping away. We can think about the moment to expose the image, crafting the final print at our leisure. The joy of Slow Photography is less about the photography, than our mindful attention to our being here, now. It is the joy of being present. 
Spider, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Jim Austin 2013.

Coosaw River near Beaufort, South Carolina, Jim Austin 2013.

 Links: For Myths about Henri Cartier Bresson, see
Thanks for visiting.  JIM AUSTIN JIMAGES.
Chicago Tribune Article Feb 22 1988 

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