During my teaching at Macworld SF, I was able to sneak away to SF MOMA to view the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit. Cartier-Bresson is credited with the concept of the "decisive moment" in photography.
What I liked about this exhibit, and so many others that I've seen, is that I place myself behind the camera with the artist and think about what he was seeing and reacting to. On thing that I noticed with many of Cartier-Bresson's shots of groups of people, was that there was always one individual that your eye could go to first, as if he were building the composition around this subject. The other people then supported the "main character." It's something that I'm going to keep in the back of my mind as I shoot.
Staying inspired is important to me. And whenever I can, I seek out the work of the masters to help me see the world with fresh eyes.
I saw the show in Chicago & was nearly knocked over. Even taking into account the incredible number of times he clicked the shutter and the range of his opportunities to find great subjects, his images are so engaging. He deserves the reputation. I loved his portraits. I too put myself behind the camera when I look at photos & I realized that I just didn't think fast enough and wasn't open enough to see. He proves you can be deliberate in an instant.
I also found it interesting that he quit process & printing his film quite early. Voja Mitrovic was amazing too. I'd be happy to copy anything he did.
I agree on all counts.