To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event, as well as the precise organization of forms that give that event it’s proper expression.” –Henri Cartier Bresson

Bresson considered himself a photojournalist, but he was rarely concerned with what would be considered news events or typical photojournalistic events. He studied painting under a Cubist painter, and you can see the the influence in his work. There is a strong sense of geometry.

He said the camera is a sketchbook, and photography is an immediate sketch done with intuition.

A well-trained eye is needed because events happen too fast to think about them. He believed that there was a precise instant in which all the elements and expressions align in a meaningful geometry that gives the most clarity to the event.

Capturing that moment is a matter of sensitivity and response to what is happening –including the changing expressions on someone’s face when photographing a portrait.

Bresson’s messages provides us with inspiration to view photography as a way to interact with the world.