I previously mentioned the purpose of taking a photo, where I distinguished the difference between “recording” the moment and “capturing” the moment. Some may argue that I am being pedantic about the use of words, but I believe that to “capture” the moment, a higher level of thought needs to be exercised before the shutter is released. This is not to minimise the need to actually record something for posterity or evidence.
For some, this “level of thought” happens in a mere instant and for some, it requires a certain amount of time and planning. One photographer who seemed to be able to “capture the moment” repeatedly, but gives the appearance that he is just “recording” what is before him, is the famous French photographer and photo-journalist, Henri Cartier-Bresson. If you look at some of his images, you will see the essence of the moment, captured with what seems like either “good luck” or precise timing. Indeed, Cartier-Bresson spoke about “the decisive moment” in a book of the same name, published in 1952.
How can we capture this elusive moment, where the image conveys more than the sum of the subjects? I’m sure some of us have captured these moments either by sheer luck or perhaps, with an intuition that we don’t recognise. I certainly have a few photographs where I have captured these moments but I can’t recall being conscious of it at the time. Can we “learn” this skill? Perhaps the following article will help.
So, before you take your next photo, have a think about WHY you are taking it and WHAT it is you are trying to capture. Look beyond the confines of the frame. Scan the scene in front of you. Anticipate what might occur. You may just capture that “moment” that will reward you with an image to cherish.
“For me the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which, in visual terms, questions and decides simultaneously. In order to “give a meaning” to the world, one has to feel involved in what one frames through the viewfinder. This attitude requires concentration, discipline of mind, sensitivity, and a sense of geometry. It is by economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression.
To take a photograph is to hold one’s breath when all faculties converge in a face of fleeing reality. It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.
To take a photograph means to recognize – simultaneously and within a fraction of a second– both the fact itself and the rigorous organisation of visually perceived forms that give it meaning.
It is putting one’s head, one’s eye, and one’s heart on the same axis.”
Henri Cartier-Bresson
