For me this image is absolutely extraordinary. The bargeman, not far from Henri's 50mm lens, is out-of-focus, yet he occupies a big chunk of the frame. Not at the side as maybe other photographers would have done, but bang in the centre. In contrast, the bargeman's World we see sharply on all sides. We have the wonderful diagonals and shapes of the roof, the mother's foot, the dog's ear and the soft-focus elbow. It's such a dynamic image, our eyes constantly moving about... the cherub, the dog in mid-wag, and so on.
How could anyone have grabbed such a whimsical picture ? Surely, the family would have shown at least some interest in a wandering man with a camera. After all, not too many folks carried cameras in 1957. But their attention is on the baby, the bargeman. Even the nearby wagging dog isn't interested in Henri. Just maybe the other dog is.
So how on earth did Henri make this image before the whole pattern collapsed. Maybe he just saw it with his eyes, instantly raised the camera and clicked. But then he would have risked a parallax problem caused by the close figure, and omitting vital details. Surely he had to spend at least a moment or two composing... didn't he ? !
