It's about time

That which is done with time, time respects."
~Henri Cartier-Bresson, photographer




I'm late posting this, which is funny since the quote is about time. I must admit this post was not done with time, unless of course you count the time I spent noodling this quote.


When I was in New York earlier this year, on one of my wandering around Manhattan days, I happened upon this museum, at the International Center of Photography. It wasn't on my list. I just ended up there. And it looked interesting, so I pluncked down the ten dollar admission fee and wandered. It was a quiet little museum. Not packed like the Met or the Guggenheim. Not a big tourist draw. Which is a shame because the exhibits were terrific. This is the kind of place where I would hang out, take classes, attend events, if I lived in New York.



The exhibit for Henri Cartier-Bresson included a mini documentary with the artist talking about his work. This quote struck a chord with me so I wrote it down in my notebook.

It bears repeating. "That which is done with time, time respects."

Don't rush. Take the time to do a thing right, and it will last.

Another interesting thing about Cartier-Bresson is that he was a patient man. He would set up his camera and wait. He didn't stage the scene, but rather waited for the scene to happen. Sometimes he waited for a long time. His pictures show the care with which he took them. And they are as relevant and beautiful now as they were 70 years ago.