“I prowled the streets all day, feeling very strung-up and ready to
pounce, determined to ‘trap’ life – to preserve life in the act of
living. Above all, I craved to seize the whole essence, in the confines
of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of
unrolling itself before my eyes.”
---Henri Cartier-Bresson
Perhaps an inevitable side effect of trying, late in life, to step up my gait on the path to a stable and secure career, but I have stopped trying to prowl the streets, as Cartier-Bresson puts it. The photo above was from a visit to Paris in 2000. I stayed alone at the first cheap hotel I saw after getting off the train at the Northern Station. I was tired and just wanted to get a room. I remember being pleased with the price and the simple bed and sink were all I needed. It was up on the 3rd or 4th floor and I had a great view of the action outside the station.
That night, a wonderful rain poured down on the city. I leaned out the window and took this image. Cartier-Bresson fans will certainly see the figure crossing the street and be reminded of one of the master's most celebrated works.
This was the last summer that I was single and after this I stopped getting lost in Europe each August to try to trap life.