Photography is not like painting. There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera.
That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.
the decisive moment
A phrase coined by Henri Cartier-Bresson to describe that creative fraction of a second that captures the essence of a person or moment in time.
And to me, being able to capture that decisive moment is such a powerful thing.
Being able to create images that show who someone is. Real life images that capture a slice of what was going on in that one split second.
decisive moments with my boy and his dog
I remember a time when my Little Man was terrified of all animals, big and small. And now, it is not uncommon to find him laying on the mat next to the dog, communing in silence through scratches under the ear and huffs and puffs of breath.
It’s these moments that I love to capture. Moments that may seem trivial and meaningless, but that are packed full of emotion and memory.
Though I am on the other side of the lens, the act of looking through the viewfinder and seeing those moments, slow me down and connect me with the present.
And the experience of noticing what is happening around me, and the love the images invoke in me, is my greatest inspiration for photography of all.
In the comments, I’d love if you would:
Tell me why photography is important to you.
