"In photography, creation is a quick business -- an instant, a gush, a response -- putting the camera up to the eye's line of fire, snatching with that economical little box whatever it was that surprised you, catching it in midair, without tricks, without letting it get away. You make a painting at the same time that you take a photo.

"That moment, that fraction of a second, is valuable for the freshness of its impression -- but does it preclude a more studied experience? Is it possible to find that same freshness if you stay for a long time in one spot? Whether you are on the move or in one place, in order to show a country or a situation, somehow you need to have established close working relationships, to be supported by a human community; living takes time, roots form slowly. Thus that fraction of a moment can be the fruit of a long acquaintance, or one of surprise."
-Henri Cartier-Bresson