ASSIGNMENT 3
THE DECISIVE MOMENT
I have been thinking a lot before
acting and shoot /select a set of photos suited to the assignment. At last I
took the street photography as a starting point, then I located the “street” in
three places/situations full of decisive moments: where they play sport.
Even if it could sound as a
traditional selection, there is nothing more full of peaks and decisive moments
than human being facing nature, machinery and each other in a race. At the same
time it is not easy to express the idea of topical moment, motion, pathos,
strain, drama, who are the essence of a decisive moment, unless you apply different
techniques (i. e. high shutter speed, slow shutter speed with panning, long focals etc).
I tried to use my personal interpretation
of decisive moment adding a concept of “capturing the moment”, that, I believe,
will better fit to the photos I selected.
The first two photos are both
about human being versus nature, but the visual meaning is different. I chose
high shutter speed in order to fix the situation and put together the largeness
of nature and human being.
In the first picture (iso 200,
1/1250, f 8, 350 mm) I freezed the surfer just before he surfed down the wawe;
I could stand on a terrace, so that the point of view was good enough to get
the composition I searched for. I focused the surfer, compared to the wave’s
largeness. It suggests that the nature will prevail, but the small “David” will
use his surf (sling) to win against Goliath. The guideline created by the wave
carries the look to the small figure of the surfer.
In the second picture (iso 800,
1/1000, f 9, 210 mm), the point of view is frontal (the shore): I tried to
freeze the contrast between the two nature’s manifestations and how the human
being relate to them: the photo’s upper part sports a calm sea, clear sky,
where the sailing boat will not, seemingly, face a critical or decisive moment
in the immediate future. On the contrary, in the lower part of the image the
surfer is facing the decisive moment in his contest with the sea. I like to
give to this picture a meaning of “it happens, it will (could) happen”.
The following two photos are about cycle racing:
I spent all afternoon trying to get pictures that express motion, pathos, power
explosion, maximum effort in the decisive moment. For this reason I used the
panning technique (iso 200, 1/8, f 16, 60 mm) for both photos. I achieved the
right movement of the camera and right combination of parameters after several
tries. I believe that I could not obtain the same outcome using fast shutter
speed, freezing racers and background, or using a motor.
The last two photos are about car races: I shot several photos using the same panning technique, but a fast running car does not transmit the same feeling as a “warm” cycle racing finish.
So I chose a photo taken just
after a car accident, where the driver is hurried in order to free up the track
and reach a safe place. My position was paddock-side and a bit elevated, so I
could use a 350 mm ( iso 200 1/1600 f 5.6) and properly frame the picture.
The last photo (iso 400, 1/250, f
9, 150 mm) is about celebration of a decisive moment, the victory. The race is
over and the winner stands on the winning car (human being take the lead over
machinery), savouring victory and jubilant fans.
To sum up, while I am happy with the outcome, I felt a bit “forced” to select photos from events where decisive moments “happens” by definition. My favourite subjects come from traditional street photography, where decisive moments are more related to casualness and more spontaneous. In this case I would need a lot more time, alone with my camera: it is not always possible.
TUTOR REPORT
Student
name
|
Giorgio Colonna
|
Student
number
|
514841
|
Course/Unit
|
EYV
|
Assignment
number
|
3
|
Type
of tutorial
|
Written
|
Formative
|
Overall Comments
.
The images that you have submitted for the decisive moment project
indicate a reaction to this genre of photography. In the context of the work of
Cartier Bresson the concept of the decisive moment is rooted in the recording
of people and their activities. The work that you have submitted could have
perhaps been better described as the frozen moment in that your choice of
subject matter was action sports. The work
that you have produced is static in nature whereas the decisive moment as
practiced by Bresson is about movement.
The original phrase used by Bresson in 1952 was” image a la sauvette”
meaning an image taken on the run. This moment encapsulates not only the
subject but also the meaning inherent in the image. As such the viewer is
invited to contemplate the social, cultural and environmental symbols within
the image. I feel that in your work there is perhaps a barrier or a direction
that you are not fully engaging with in this piece and that the very nature of
the subject matter is working against you. The genre of sports photography can
of course produce many decisive moments and these are usually represented by
the struggle of the individual within the context of the activity. The
limitations in this genre from the photographers point of view is that they are
not always able to be close to the subject and the lack of intimacy leads to
the recording of an event rather than any effort to interpret it.
I would like to have seen you
research in depth the decisive moment concept that could have led you into a
questioning mode and to reconsider
Bresson’s influence within the context of contemporary practice and the cult of
personality that has grown up around him. It
is worth bearing in mind that photography is prone to fads and fashions just as
any other medium and that ultimately you must find the direction that is true
for you. There are reassessments of this practice and its relevance within
contemporary photography. The writing of Zouhair Ghazzal is worth
looking at for an alternative point of view and a quote
from the American
photographer Les Krims that may be more apt to a lot of contemporary practice.
“ I am
not a Historian, I create History. These images are anti-decisive moment. It is
possible to create any image one thinks of; this possibility, of course, is
contingent on being able to think and create. The greatest potential source of
photographic imagery is the mind.”
Assignment 1 Assessment
potential
I
understand your aim is to go for the Photography Degree and that you plan to
submit your work for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you
have shown in this assignment, providing you commit yourself to the course, I
believe you have the potential to succeed at assessment. In order to meet all the assessment criteria,
there are certain areas you will need to focus on, which I will outline in my
feedback.
Feedback
on assignment and supporting work
The images
submitted for this assignment are straightforward shots of sporting activity.
They suffer from distancing the viewer from the subject due to the fact that
the photographer is not close to the subject. As records of sporting moments
they perhaps have to be consider more within that genre and as such some of
them fit their purpose. The surfing image with the figure to the left being the
best composition. In the racetrack images the surrounding cars crowd out the
driver standing on top of the car and the incident on the track is unclear due
to the overlapping of the figures. The cyclists create a blur of colour however
this lacks an intensity and perhaps a tighter cropping of the group would have
improved the dynamic image.
Overall a fairly
basic and somewhat undeveloped submission for this assignment.
Learning Logs or
Blogs/Critical essays
There is a need to engage fully with research and critical reading to
underpin your work. This is particularly relevant when concepts such as the
decisive moment are being considered as alternative viewpoints can be brought
to bear in formulating your ideas and approach to the work. The informed
question can take you on a road of exploration that can open up possibilities
that stimulate and engage fully with your work.
Suggested
reading/viewing
Henri Cartier-Bresson "Pen, Brush
and Camera"
Pointers for the next
assignment
Continue to develop and consolidate technical skills
Apply critical reading to own work and reflect this in the learning log
to allow for in depth exploration of ideas
Continue to develop your learning log and illustrate with your own work
and that of other practitioners
Include contact sheets in learning log and reflect upon selection
process
Proceed with assignment 4
Tutor name
|
Matthew Winterlich
|
Date
|
28/06/2016
|
Next assignment due
|
11/09/2016
|
After reading the Tutor Report, I came back to the Henry Cartier-Bresson's Videos, changed my notes and, at the end, realized that my photo selection was not the set who represented what I really think of the "Decisive Moment". I realized that my idea of decisive moment is closer to HCB idea than I thought. This is definitely what I want to refine of my photography and is related to what I like more : street photography.
 |
| f5,0 iso100 1/1250 66mm*1,6=105mm |
 |
| f4,0 iso640 1/1000 70mm*1,6=112mm |
 |
| f2,8 iso400 1/2000 50mm*1,6=80mm |
 |
| f5,6 iso800 1/400 176mm*1,6=281mm |
 |
| f7,1 iso800 1/320 106mm*1,6=170mm |
 |
| f8,0 iso200 1/400 8mm*1,6=12,8mm |
 |
| f5,0 iso400 1/250 66mm*1,6=105mm |
 |
| f6,3 iso400 1/500 153mm*1,6=244mm |
 |
| f5,0 iso2500 1/30 66mm*1,6=105mm |
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