Foundation HCB

Bresson's first Leica camera

One of my favourite galleries in Paris is the Henry Cartier Bresson Foundation in the 14eme. I suspect that everyone knows or has heard of Bresson, if not by name then by his photography. Anyway tucked down a little Parisian side street is the Foundation HCB. There they hold regular exhibitions of photography that possesses the same spirit as Bresson's work, usually street photography in black and white.

They also hold conversations on the first Wednesday of each month on various topics on and around photography and are free. The next is to be held on Wednesday, October 13th, from 6.30 PM to 8 PM and it is on the subject of New places for photography: Le Bal (Paris) and Le Point du Jour (Cherbourg-Octeville). If your free pop down, I  can't recommend them strongly enough, as much for the audiences questions afterward as for the talks themselves. For more info click here.

 I was fortunate enough to meet him by chance at the National Portrait Gallery in London when I was working there. He was pretty frail (I think it was around 2001) and was supported on either side by a couple of his entourage who seemed in need of support themselves. Anyway I built up enough courage to say hello to him in bad French, while he politely replied I remember looking at his eyes and  wondered about all the things those eyes had seen.