YOUR Decisive Moment

Before I ever heard about Henri Cartier Bresson, I had already heard the phrase "The Decisive Moment."  It is a phrase that my first photography professor used time and time again.  Little did I know that my professor was copying Cartier every time that he said this.  After hearing the phrase so many times, it began to stick in my mind and I really contemplated what this "Decisive Moment" meant.  To the best of my ability, I would define this "Decisive Moment" as the one and only time that a specific photograph is meant to be taken.

Let me explain myself.  When I walk around each day and see things and places and people and objects,  I have this tendency of seeing photographs that are meant to be taken.  The moment that I walk away from that place, person, thing, etc. without taking a photograph, I have missed my "Decisive Moment."  Unfortunately, there are many photographs still in my mind that I neglected to capture, and now regret it.

Cartier explained photography as "A very quiet anxiety," and I completely agree.  Knowing what to place in a photograph and what to leave out of a photograph are decisions that must be made, even if they are very difficult decisions.  Beside having to determine what stays and what goes in a photograph, one must also determine how each thing is arranged in each photo, in other words, designing the photograph.  Cartier was a master of design and it is evident in all of his photographs.  His knowledge of an aesthetically pleasing design made Cartier the photographer that everyone recognizes to this day.

Next time you're walking down the street and you just so happen to be carrying your camera, (this is a very good idea) try to find the photographs that you were born to take.  Do not miss your "Decisive Moment"

.....this is my favorite Cartier photograph.....