The Decisive Moment is the moment where the composition (shapes and lighting) meet with movement and people. Henri Cartier-Bresson published a photobook in 1952. This book was a collection of his work showing random, spontaneous moments which he called ‘the decisive moment’. These images were constructed by first setting up the frames and then wait for the perfect moment to capture.
Henri Cartier-Bresson views the activity of photography as an ‘extension of the eye’. He would carry his camera to capture uniquely mundane moments as he saw them in the moment. This spontaneity allowed him to capture a period in a sort of time capsule. He would try and take photographs without being noticed to capture a ‘true’ moment. When someone is aware of a camera they act out or at least different which can lead to a ‘fake’ moment. Alternately he would frame up an image and wait for something interesting to happen within the frame.
He was a French artist and photographer well known as a pioneer of street photography. He started with a simple Brownie he’d received as a gift and quickly found his passion for the art. After a year he purchased his first camera which was a simple film camera of the time.
This image shows a man and a cat sat in a rat run. It is black and white with high contrast between the darkest and lightest parts. I believe it is portrait for 2 reasons: the first to show how small the man is. The height makes the walls look much taller and tower over the small hunched man. This could be to show how low and small he feels. The second reason is that it is still sort of a portrait of a man and would make sense to be shot in portrait. I think this image projects a sense of sadness onto the man which otherwise wouldn’t be present. Additionally the frame is completely excluded otherwise to show a sense of loneliness which makes the cat such an important part of the image.
In this image the decisive moment is the reaction between the cat and the man. The man is sat and seemingly observing the cat who is observing the man back. This is the decisive moment because not only would the cat be unexpected but it adds an additional layer to the private moment the man seems to be having. Had these two not been in the frame, the image would simply be a bland alley as its the two figures that add meaning and emotion to the image.
The image is framed with the large building walls. These are dark and draw the eye into the centre both through the lines and light. The brightest part is what draws the eye which is in the centre. This is broken up however by the small cat and the man.