Martine Franck 1938 – 2012

2010: I made this photo of Martine Franck at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on October 27, 2010. As the widow of Henri Cartier-Bresson, she was present at the opening of a retrospective of her late husband's work. I am embarrassed to say that I did not know that she was related to Cartier-Bresson.

I remember spending several minutes arranging the seated Ms. Franck to align her with the photo on the wall behind her, one of her late husband's most recognizable images. Interestingly, she had her Leica in her handbag, so I asked her to hold it for the photo. While I was proud to have thought of the composition, it ultimately didn't run for the reasons I outlined in this earlier post. She did notice the colored gel I taped over my built-in flash, and seemed impressed that I had thought to do so. 

2015: During an idle search, I found that Ms. Franck passed away on August 16, 2012. I found this obituary in Los Tiempos, for which I received credit:

An English web posting from Films Not Dead also used the photo, but since it wasn't part of her portfolio, it was credited to "self".

Jessica Morelli also used the photo on her blog, which you can see here.

Here's another version at this link.

I was surprised to find that this image wound up on four tributes to her life and work. I guess the mere fact that a Bolivian newspaper, a camera store in London, and two bloggers found and used my image is something of a compliment. All the same, it points out the changing views on ownership, fair use, and "borrowing" images, something I've often done myself. But I always gave credit to the photographer, and always included a line to where the original posting could be found.

I don't mind sharing, but only one organization remembered to say "Thank you", or whatever passes for courtesy in this hipster age. 

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Credited June 30, 3015

Update, June 30, 2015. Sean Buckley suggested that I contact the bloggers and let them know they were "borrowing" something, not finding something that was free for the taking. I contacted the three bloggers who hadn't credited the image. blasfotografia.com updated the posting a few hours later.

July 5, 2015: Films Not Dead revised their slideshow presentation, giving credit to Magnum Photography, and to me, at the pane leading to the slide show. I've been monitoring the site since I made the initial post, and I have reason to believe they gave some thought to the best way to handle the multiple credits.