Submit a set of between six and eight high-quality photographic prints on the theme of the ‘decisive moment’. Street photography is the traditional subject of the decisive moment, but it doesn’t have to be. Landscape may also have a decisive moment of weather, season or time of day. A building may have a decisive moment when human activity and light combine to present a ‘peak’ visual moment.
You may choose to create imagery that supports the tradition of the ‘decisive moment’, or you may choose to question or invert the concept. Your aim isn’t to tell a story, but in order to work naturally as a series there should be a linking theme, whether it’s a location, an event or a particular period of time.
Initial Ideas and thoughts.
When I initially looked at the brief for consideration of my next assignment, I thought this would be a lot easier than the last one. I wondered what genre of photography would work well for the ‘decisive moment’, or whether to stick to the traditional concept of street photography. How could I make my images stand out, or be visually different to the norm? How do I ensure they work naturally as a series? What would be the linking theme? I’d never attempted street photography before, so I decided to go into my local town to try it out before making a definite decision. My first taste of street photography was daunting. It isn’t as easy as it looks. I found myself feeling profoundly conscious of the fact that I was pointing the camera at complete strangers, and sometimes couldn’t even take the pictures! So, I need to do some research into how I’m going to get over this hurdle.
I looked online at various street photographers, there were lots of tips on how to address this. Have your camera around your neck and connect it to your smart phone, that way you are shooting from the hip and no one will notice what you are doing. Always smile at anyone you are photographing. Don’t capture people who look like they are drunk or on drugs, unless of course the picture is going to be the finest visionary image you are ever likely to achieve! Carry some cards around with you so if anyone asks you why you took their picture, tell them the truth. Tell them they looked so interesting that you just had to take their picture. Then ask if they would like to have a copy, and give them one of your cards, and the list went on.
Demonstration of technical and visual skills. Demonstration of creativity.
There is a religious festival called Vaisakhi in Hitchin, my home town, which marks the Sikh new year. It is traditionally observed on the 13th or 14th April every year.
To celebrate this event, large processions take place throughout the streets. It is vibrant and colourful, therefore I thought it would be an ideal theme for my assignment, so I diarised the date.
All the images were taken with a Canon EOS 5D mark IV full frame camera set to shutter priority, with a 24-70mm lens apart from the image with the LED lighting.
After receiving feedback from my Tutor, I have amended my final selection of images for this assignment.
I think that these images are better overall, changing them back from black and white to colour makes the images far stronger.
On reflection, I like the first image which I hadn’t used initially, it is obvious that there is an event going on without seeing any part of it, and the lady crossing the road had her finger in her ear trying to drown out the noise of the impending procession.
The next image of the two children in their pushchair caught my attention, what made them look the opposite way to everyone else? The different coloured parts of the pushchair indicating the gender of each child.
The men sweeping the road in the third image, were clearing the way for all the barefooted guards following in the procession, the turbans were so brightly and coloured, worn especially for this occasion.
The line of ladies with the dog caught my attention, the little girl a bit further back couldn’t take her eyes off it. The lady on the right-hand side capturing the moment on her mobile phone was oblivious to this.
For the next image, I wanted to try an alternative technique, I thought I would use small LED lighting as part of the composition. I wanted to make the swords shine brightly and be aesthetically pleasing with beautiful starbursts shining through random areas on the silver blades the guards were holding. To achieve this I had to set the camera to aperture priority as I needed to have a very small aperture with a long shutter speed.
The gentleman walking across the market square looked straight at me as I took the next photograph, he had piercing eyes, his eyebrows and beard were snow white, and the tiny bright orange part of his turban really stood out.
The ladies chatting in the penultimate image shows how different cultures and eras have all combined, they are comfortable wearing their traditional dress whilst using their mobile phones an interesting contrast?
My final image was of the ladies that were too elderly to be able to walk the full length of the procession, so they were driven behind in a coach, they were enjoying themselves immensely waving to the crowds as they passed by.
Bill Brandt said “I am not interested in rules or convictions. Photography is not a sport” Brant B (1904 -83), I’m hoping my final edit works well. The Vaisakhi procession is a particularly colourful parade and I wanted to celebrate this.
On reflection.
Sometimes I needed to get closer to subjects to capture the decisive moment. Using a dash of colour with black and white within an image can sometimes be rather indecorous, but resplendent colours in small sections can sometimes work well. The LED lighting that I used to produce the starbursts didn’t create the effect that I had in mind, I would have preferred them to be whiter and brighter, however I am pleased with the result. On reflection, I could have used the LED lights throughout my series of images to create another linking theme.
What I have learnt.
I have learnt that street photography is a unique concept, as you must have boldness and confidence to take images of complete strangers. Practicing this helps significantly to overcome these hurdles. To capture effective decisive moments, you should be ready, watching and waiting for the moment, selecting the best viewpoint, and then you must shoot extremely quickly. It is far more difficult than I thought.
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