Final Analysis

Damien Demolder considers... ‘Swimming Pool designed by Alain Capeillères, Le Brusc, South of France, 1976’, by Martine Franck

When I hear mention of the ‘decisive moment’ it isn’t Henri Cartier-Bresson’s rather blurry figure leaping a Parisian puddle that is called to my mind, but rather this astonishing picture taken by his wife. If you aren’t familiar with Cartier-Bresson’s defining ‘Derriere La Gare De Saint-Lazare’ you might look it up. I wish he’d used a slightly shorter shutter and had worked a little harder in the darkroom to increase the contrast between the figure and his background. Martine Franck’s picture of holiday-makers by the pool might be somewhat less action-packed but to me it demonstrates a much more sophisticated example of a picture in which the subjects have arrived in their optimal positions. It has the added benefits of being skilfully composed in a beautifully designed frame, which makes it a finer inspiration for our artistic ambitions.