Decisive Moment

About Decisive Moment

Your photo should be in the style of Henri Cartier-Bresson:

A common consensus is the photo should depict People in Public Places. This is not limited to the streets (or people) or even restricted to outdoors. Indoor venues can be Bars, Cafes, Malls, Shops, in some cases churches.. etc.

There should be a Background that contributes to the overall composition. In most cases this Background is in focus. There are exceptions. A photo taken in dim light may have a background blurred but still contributing to the overall composition. A photo taken with a shallow DOF to emphasize a central character may essentially be considered a street portrait and could be deleted. A really great photo will get in.

Animals: There are excellent street shots that contain no people but have an animal: Dog, Pigeon, Cat etc that supplies the necessary dynamic. In these shots, the animal should be part of an overall interesting composition in which the Background is an important element. The Background should show a human presence like buildings, dwellings etc. The lack of people in the shot makes it more important to show a human presence because HCB, above all else, depicted human impact on the world. An animal in the woods or on the beach is something foreign to his vision. Nature photography will be deleted.

HCB and Portraits: If you wish to post a portrait in the style of HCB: please do so. You should study his portraits first... The portrait should almost always have a BG in focus and appear casual (not stiffly or clumsily posed). The person should be in context with the Background to create an interesting tableau, a composition more interesting and more complex than a mere portrait or snapshot. The Background on these shots as with animal shots is going to be carefully curated by the administrator. Most street portraits will be deleted.

Street Photography: I believe the entire genre of Street Photography owes much to HCB. This site is not restricted to "Life in the Streets" or purely public places... This site is about a Body of Work. Bresson has been described as one of the top five Artist of the 20th Century. If you are reading this and at all familiar with his work.. then you hold him in high esteem.

I have never seen this statement but I would say: "The photography of Henri Cartier-Bresson depicts and documents a human presence. He depicts our lives, our strife, our buildings, our fashions, our impact on the planet we live on. He depicts common laborers in their daily life as well as the wealthy and talented."

The Decisive Moment... I'll not define it. Your photo should be a composition in which each element is in balance, in context and an essential part of a scene. HCB forbade anyone from cropping his photos. You may crop, rotate and photoshop your image before posting but the photo you submit should be a balanced, thoughtful, realistic scene.

Photorealism: HCB did not have photoshop. If you clone out a power line, a tree branch etc... That is OK. If you paste a large graphic into an otherwise dull photo, that is not in the spirit of this pool. If the Admin suspects this, you may be deleted.

HDR: if you use HDR to the point the image is unrealistic, plastic or phony looking, it should be deleted. This is the 21st Century. I allow color photography and minor editing. I encourage you to depict life as it is today, the gothic fashions and wild hairdos will be interesting to us all down the road. If your image departs from being a realistic photo and looks more like an art experiment... There are other pools for it.

Unsuitable Photos: Cityscapes with no people, Nature Photography, flower studies, studio portraits, sports action shots, family snapshots, stiffly posed images, images with no apparent background quality (includes street portraits), intentionally blurred backgrounds, abstracts, overly blurred images, avant gard experimental art photography... and more. Deliberate jumps, skateboard and BMX Bicycle shots generally belong in another pool.

HCB took a great shot of a spectator at Ascot, a sporting event. At the Cornoation Parade for George VI he took shots in the crowd, not the parade. My point is: You can find Decisive Moments at and around a sporting event, a birthday party, a family reunion. There is an extra burden placed on you to surpass the label of Snapshot.

Poor Quality: If your shot is in the spirit of these rules, it will not be judged or deleted by me for being a poor or boring image.



... WITH ONLY A FEW EXCEPTIONS MADE