I recently came across a photograph by a very renowned photographer and filmmaker, Henri Cartier-Bresson. This French photographer very cleverly captures a man hopping in a flooded area in front of the bustling Paris station of Saint Lazare. Normally one would not find this description very amusing or noticeable, but the true essence of the photograph lies in a minute detail captured so very artistically.
Cartier-Bresson documents the moment right before a man’s foot touches the ground and seeing that captured so skilfully, raised so much anticipation within me.
The photograph depicts the bustling of the area of the Place de l’Europe and the stillness of this particular moment. We, the audience, knows what will happen next, but this man is forever captured in this moment in this famous photograph. It was also not very surprising to learn that Cartier-Bresson coined the term ‘decisive moment’!
I could not help but wonder about the decisive moments in my life. A particular day or event might not have seemed very important at the moment but could have had a considerable effect on my life. This particular photograph made me sit back and wonder, “Am I truly appreciating the film that is life which is made up of quite a few ‘decisive moments’ that might have gone unnoticed?”
Place de l'Europe- Henri Cartier-Bresson.
(Photograph taken from Google Images)
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