the decisive moment

"Photography is not like painting. There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever."  -Henri Cartier Bresson

I was standing on the fourth floor of the High Museum of Art when this moment unfolded. I had one eye on my son in a neighboring room, one eye on my daughter a few steps away. I was fiddling with my scarf, with my braids, fiddling with the contents of my purse, fiddling with my camera. My mind was in a dozen different places but when I looked up, I saw it. The painting, the woman on the bench, the light in between. It was, by very definition, a decisive moment. If I'd hesitated at all, I would have missed it.

Instead, I reached for my SX-70, looked through the viewfinder, adjusted the focus. Steadied my hands and hit that little red button. Two seconds later, the woman walked away. The space filled with people, the light shifted. The whole scene evaporated. The only proof of its existence, this photograph. It doesn't happen like that for me very often but when it does, it's a thrill. Which is why I am always sharpening my brain, training my eyes to see this way, to seek out these moments, these fractions of seconds, whether I have my camera with me or not.

What decisive moments have you captured lately? Please do share a few with us today.

(The image above was shot with a polaroid sx-70 using Impossible Project PX 600 Silver Shade UV+ film)

Comments

[Ana Eugenio]

my mother at the grocery store :) for that split of second she was all alone, the minute I shoot a couple of people came to the same spot. http://www.anasofiaeugenio.com/2012/01/scavenger-hunt.html

[Caryn]

I love this post and photo! That it is a Polaroid (I can't help but wonder if she heard the whir of the camera?) makes it that much more magical. My most recent decisive moment was triggered by a ray of light that disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared: http://instamaticgratification.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/21366/

[Marcie]

A 'moment' - when all was frozen and perfectly still:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/home/2012/1/23/winters-love.html

[Gotta Run]

So love the feel of your photo. Yesterday I was driving home from work just about to cross a bridge. It'd been raining and grey all day but right at that moment the sun came below the clouds and cast a beautiful glow that combined with the fog and drizzle looked so pretty . . .
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gottarun2009/6758243017/in/photostream/lightbox/

[Siobhan Wolf]

I was riding with a friend in the evening wanting to capture some of the lights and curves that so fascinate me when I am driving the freeway loop around the city. I was snapping here and there, capturing taillights, looking for flowing patterns when I glanced ahead and saw the bridge coming up. We were traveling at 65 mph. I raised my lens and clicked. The balance in this photo astonished me. Decisive moment indeed.

http://flic.kr/p/b8LaCc

[Dezra Despain]

I like to pretend that I missed the decisive moment and caught an ordinary one instead, but there was a ghost floating about who had a much better understanding of the moment and, without me knowing it, pressed the shutter release. This is one of my favorite photos!

http://dezradespain.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/the-seance-parlor/

[Kimberly]

Out to dinner with friends this weekend for my birthday. Everyone gets a little irritated with me spending our time together with my camera stuck to my face so I tried really hard not to take a ton of pictures at the dinner table. But when one of my girlfriends started cracking up so hard she had to cover her face with her napkin I had pull the viewfinder up and capture it. It's my favorite shot of the night.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/junebugphotography/6750034375/in/photostream

[Patty]

Love that quote - I just ran across it yesterday in "God is at Eye Level" as well. Love your dreamy moment!

Normally I'm not much for action shots, but wen I was visiting relatives in Michigan last fall, I happened to catch this moment as a kite-surfer melded with the sunset over Lake Michigan:

http://nomadicnotebook-patty.blogspot.com/2011/10/passions.html

[Jennifer M.]

Love love love that quote!

[Laine]

Beautifully done! Love those elusive decisive moments. Love that quote. So very true!!!

[WorthIt!]

Wonderful quote and serene image - so tranquil. This shot is anything but tranquil. Shooting dogs is quite like shooting children, act fast or lose the moment. Here's one snapped during a walk on the beach in December.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52055227@N07/6761623383/in/photostream

[nicole]

beautiful quote!

<a href="http://www.psimoduloquadro.blogspot.com/">PsiModuloQuadro</a>

[Helene]

Wonderful post! I caught Bresson's exhibit at MOMA about 2 years ago and will never forget it.

[Caroline Martin]

I would just like to thank you. sincerely, from the bottom of my heart. it is because of this image, and your link to the impossible project, that i will soon be the proud owner of some film that i will once again be able to load into my beloved sx-70. i had, sadly, forgotten about that little gem of a camera when polaroid went away. i knew it was just a matter of time before someone else made the film, but i had gotten so wrapped up in life that i forgot to look into it. until now. i can hardly contain my excitement! i can't wait to play. so, thank you for inspiring a return to my artistic heyday.