Photo Assignment #6: Decisive Moments

Maybe just plain old photo journalism would be a better title, a picture that tells a story that you can see, no words needed - in the style of Henri Cartier Bresson

RosieA100 wrote: Maybe just plain old photo journalism would be a better title, a picture that tells a story that you can see, no words needed - in the style of Henri Cartier Bresson

Hummm...I think photo journalism and Cartier-Bresson are pretty different; CB shot nearly "the beginning of something" (=Decisive Moments, as he called them) and let watcher's mind make story from picture. The picture isn't so important than the images it makes to watcher's mind.
You can easily see differences if you look great photo journalism (e.g. Eugene Smith's picture stories)...

I think this is a decisive moment shot if you are looking for an example. Its a fairly famous shot by Elliot Erwitt.



Here is another by him.


There are more here:
Several
URL=http://www.portlandart.net/archives/2007/03/an_interview_wi_1.html]http://www.portlandart.net/archives/2007/03/an_interview_wi_1.html[/URL]


Edited by FineArt - 05 November 2007 at 06:32

lol:) thats a good one:)

bob, have you done #5?

hmm.. then you are officially the leader of assignments:P if there is such title..

Since I don't do street photography, I'll see if I can get away with this one (posted previously in the birds 8 thread):



The 'decisive moment' aspect comes from capturing him just as he was singing with beak wide open. Does this count?

IMHO, I'd say that Falcon75's entries do not qualify for this assignment. While the specific position/action of the surfer is perhaps not totally expected at this specific moment, we are in a case where you tracked the sport action. By tracking such sport action, you knew that the surfer will eventually (and more than eventually) jump and fall at some point.
They are good sport photos, with a proper composition, but to me they do not qualify for this assignment. (and as mipr already pointed, you first have to complete the previous assignments).

dilettante's case:
I had to think about it, was not totally sure. I think, IMHO, that it does not qualify. You knew that this bird was eventually going to sing, and for sure singing is part of regular behavior of this birds (even more during early spring). I think that this assignment could be fulfilled with some birds, but this would require something "less usual" than singing.
Btw, I'm impressed by how you perfectly nailed the focus on just the right part on such a tiny bird.