marc riboud

Man Painting the Eiffel Tower, 1953: I walked up the tower, maybe one hour of walking. Some people ask me, "Did you ask the painter for permission?" I said, "My goodness, no. To talk with them was to risk slipping and falling down." I've always been shy and I've always been trying to ignore the people I was photographing, so that they ignore me. I'm trying always to take a better picture than the one before but I was not sure of this one. I didn't think after I shot the picture that I shot something interesting. I learned from Cartier-Bresson what's called "geometry in photography." It's not dependent on what you'd call a good photograph, but good geometry.

Antiques Dealer in Old Beijing, China, 1965: This turned out to be my best icon. As a print it has been put at the highest price. It was in 1965 with my first wife who was American. She wanted to visit this antiques shop. Maybe I spent 25 minutes with her there. She was interested in buying some seals to put on letters. I kept saying, "Don't buy. It's too expensive." I wasn't pleased that we spent so much time there. She left after buying nearly half a dozen of these antique seals. We divorced. She got the seals. I got the pictures.

marc riboud
photographer of the golden era, 16.03.2010 sfgate

Marc Riboud Photographs: through May 1 at North Gate Hall, UC Berkeley.

closed sundays. (510) 642-3383. www.journalism.berkeley.edu.