A brief explanation of the idea behind "The Decisive Moment"

[ebino]

This is solely based on my own opinion, so take it as you will.


The problem with photographing life in general is the "so what factor". Let me explain, I stand on the side walk and photograph people passing by, the picture shows people walking as they would and going about their business. I show the picture to someone and they say "so what?"

There is the problem of photographing life as it is. HCB realized this and came up with the ingenious idea of the decisive moment, basically photographing life but capturing the moment where something that might not be "perceivable" to normal human eye is captured and then it makes one become "conscious of a higher reality", and hence it makes the picture interesting. His inspiration came from the surrealist movement but it was his biggest contribution to photography. And that alone puts him up there as one of the great masters.

So, next time you wish to photograph something, or when you edit, ask yourself "so what?" before making a selection.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Isn't all good photography about either "capturing the moment where something that might not be "perceivable" to normal human eye is captured" or presenting either the familiar in an unfamiliar way or the unfamiliar in a familiar way? Consider Weegee, Eisenstadt, Rodchenko, Brandt, Sutcliffe...

To be sure, HCB gave a name to a particular style of photography, as well as being one of its leading exponents, though the key is 'one of', as the list above argues. And of course, 'the decisive moment' is an English phrase which is rather more concise and memorable than Images à la sauvette.

Cheers,

R.

 

[ebino]

Isn't all good photography about either "capturing the moment where something that might not be "perceivable" to normal human eye is captured" or presenting either the familiar in an unfamiliar way or the unfamiliar in a familiar way? Consider Weegee, Eisenstadt, Rodchenko, Brandt, Sutcliffe...

To be sure, HCB gave a name to a particular style of photography, as well as being one of its leading exponents, though the key is 'one of', as the list above argues. And of course, 'the decisive moment' is an English phrase which is rather more concise and memorable than Images à la sauvette.

Cheers,

R.

HCB was perhaps the one who deliberately and consciously begun to shoot for the decisive moment. IMO the true originator was Andre Kartez.

"The moment" can be any moment, the decisive moment is peculiar in the sense as if the world is organized to "look" a certain way that one feels could be the result of a "higher reality".

I cannot explain higher reality, except that it makes one get the same reaction as one gets looking at a HCB shot. Even people who don't know photography get the same "feel" and hence turn to photography in most cases.

 

[Roger Hicks]

IMO the true originator was Andre Kertesz.

Kertesz is certainly a strong candidate: I'd not argue. But this supports my point to a considerable extent. That particular way-of-seeing (I hyphenate it because it's close to a single concept) was a part of the zeitgeist of post-WW1 photography, and even (I'd argue) of 'detective' or candid photography of the 19th century.

This is where I fell out with the University of Bath when applying to do a Ph.D. in the history of technology in the early 80s. We should give all due praise to the 'early adopters' of new technologies, who thereby expand and deepen the medium; but there's always an artistic precursor (for HCB cf Chusseau-Flaviens, or even Auguste Sander, and of course Jacques-Henri Lartigue) and besides, without the technology, the photographers would lack the means to express themselves.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Paul Luscher]

Well, I'll just keep shooting moments and situations I find interesting. If it's a "so what?" moment as far as others are concerned, c'est la vie....

 

[Andy Kibber]

A nice concise description of the phrase. I prefer the ubiquidous "Nice capture!"

 

[jsrockit]

Some of my favorite photographs (of my own and from famous photographers) do not have any decisive moments involved (or people involved). I think the decisive moment is just one aspect of photography, not the be all end all.

 

[gdmcclintock]

Let us not reinvent history by romanticizing the actors. The "decisive moment" is (was) a marketing term, not an aesthetic concept, that someone successfully attributed to HCB's style of photojournalism. The French expression à la sauvette means "at great speed" or "rapidly" and does not refer to any instant décisif. HCB wrote of photographs as sketches which is in keeping with the French title of his book.

 

[RayPA]

I understand the concept, but I just saw the HCB exhibit at the San Francisco MoMA (really good, btw), and--aside from the handful of photos that are commonly used to exemplify the Decisive Moments--it seems as if HCB himself didn't understand it. I've never revered HCB, primarily because the whole decisive moment marketing surrounding his work. It seemed to me to be an attempt to set him above his contemporaries, and obviously it has worked. Seeing the exhibit didn't change a thing for me. I still come away with the simple fact that he is a street photographer and PJ, a master yes, but on par with his contemporaries.

 

[DougFord]

Let us not reinvent history by romanticizing the actors. The "decisive moment" is (was) a marketing term, not an aesthetic concept, that someone successfully attributed to HCB's style of photojournalism. The French expression à la sauvette means "at great speed" or "rapidly" and does not refer to any instant décisif. HCB wrote of photographs as sketches which is in keeping with the French title of his book.

+1

IMO, so called decisive moments have been captured on transducers since the advent of photography.
Fashion, marketing and ‘shtick’ create personalities.

 

[Fawley]

The problem with photographing life in general is the "so what factor". Let me explain, I stand on the side walk and photograph people passing by, the picture shows people walking as they would and going about their business. I show the picture to someone and they say "so what?"

There is the problem of photographing life as it is. HCB realized this and came up with the ingenious idea of the decisive moment, basically photographing life but capturing the moment where something that might not be "perceivable" to normal human eye is captured and then it makes one become "conscious of a higher reality", and hence it makes the picture interesting.

A good thread ebino. Not everyone may agree with your explanation but thats one of the things that makes it a good thread. I'm looking forward to see where it goes. I don't know about the "conscious of a higher reality" part myself. I simply think of it as trying to look for the relationships between people or things in the potential image. Big emphasis on the word "try".

 

[Leigh Youdale]

I think for me, the 'decisive moment' implies that something is happening that is captured in the image at a critical time and thus the image becomes something more interesting than a similar one taken a moment before or a moment after, when it might just become a "so-what" picture. If nothing is happening then you may have a nice scene but there will be no decisive moment as such. (I do include changing light as "something happening").
The advent of the Leica in the 30's provided the equipment that made this type of quick, candid shot possible and people like HCB exploited it well. Nevertheless, some of his images are pretty ordinary and attract attention only because of the aura surrounding his name and reputation. So he was no magician - but he had a great eye for a photographic opportunity and great anticipation.
To use the phrase "higher reality" sounds pretentious to me, but it may just be the way different people use and perceive words.

 

[jsrockit]

Nevertheless, some of his images are pretty ordinary and attract attention only because of the aura surrounding his name and reputation. So he was no magician - but he had a great eye for a photographic opportunity and great anticipation.

Well, in all fairness, he was one of the originators and now that 70 years has passed, it is easy to forget that you really have to view his seemingly ordinary photos within the context of his contemporaries / history.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Well, in all fairness, he was one of the originators and now that 70 years has passed, it is easy to forget that you really have to view his seemingly ordinary photos within the context of his contemporaries / history.

That's very true.

 

[Vilk]

This is solely based on my own opinion, so take it as you will. [...] So, next time you wish to photograph something, or when you edit, ask yourself "so what?" before making a selection.

i think cartier-bresson explained quite well what he meant: an aspect of form expressing the significance of the scene. form is every artist's answer to "so what?"

of course, we may look for other answers, but why bring him into the discourse?

😎

 

[RayPA]

Well, in all fairness, he was one of the originators and now that 70 years has passed, it is easy to forget that you really have to view his seemingly ordinary photos within the context of his contemporaries / history.

But that's easy enough to do. The work of his contemporaries is just as available to us as his work.

I'm not sure what you mean by "originators". Originator of what?



/

 

[ebino]

form is every artist's answer to "so what?"

😎

Very interesting.

But, is photography art? that's one Pandora's box, but as far as i'm concerned it could be, but intrinsically its not.

 

[Nikkor AIS]

Nikkor 24 2.8 AIS on Nikon FM2 Tri-X, taken over 20 years ago

There are an infinite number of moments in any given place and time, but there is only "one" decisive moment. And you either get it or you don't.

In a broader context, the decisive moment goes beyond photography. There are decisive moments in all aspects of life. You can see and experience decisive moments in the simplest things like swallowing and breathing, crossing the street or the decisive moment of conception.

I'm not sure who coined the term "decisive moment" but the concept relates to the hunter when he decides to release a projectile to hit a target. But first he has to get in the right position and be at the proper distance.
An ad man who has to launch a campaign.
The drummer - when to start the song.

Decisive moments are all around us. And happening inside us. Without us even being aware that they exist.

Photographically, the decisive moment has always been an important part of the photographic image chain. At least for me. From the beginning, taking my first photos with my mom's Olympus Trip of whales beaching in Maui, I knew there was a decisive moment.

When you shoot with an SLR and you see the moment through the viewfinder, you know you missed it in the camera.
For me, the single greatest thing about rangefinders is the ability to see directly what is happening in the viewfinder the moment the shutter is released.

 

[Vilk]

Very interesting.

But, is photography art? that's one Pandora's box, but as far as i'm concerned it could be, but intrinsically its not.

please observe that for my post to be relevant it is enough that cartier-bresson be an artist... which he was regardless of the medium used

😎

 

[Nikkor AIS]

Nikkor 135 2.0 AIS on F2AS














Nikkor 300 2.8 IF-ED AIS on F3/T MD4 on Tri-X 1600 ASA





Nikkor 135 2.0 AIS on F2AS on Tri-X

Photographically, these are about as "decisive" as it gets for me.
Well, I've got lots more like them, only totally different (in boxes) 😛😎😉.
I grew up in a bubble. While I had seen HBC's work, I didn't ever associate him with the decisive moment. Sorry, I just didn't know. I was shooting lots of sports and doing street work. There is a decisive moment in the smallest gesture of human beings, animals and nature that I have tried to capture over the years.

It's funny, since I joined the RangeFinderForum, the term "decisive moment" gets thrown around my circle of friends and students quite a bit. We use it in very broad way/context.