Brief
Create a set of between six and ten finished images on the theme of the decisive 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 by presenting a series of "indecisive" moments. 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, event or particular period of time.
Create a set of between six and ten finished images on the theme of the decisive 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 by presenting a series of "indecisive" moments. 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, event or particular period of time.
Initial thoughts
I believe in the decisive moment, the momentary fragment of a second where the camera and photography are, through serendipity, able to capture the unexpected and unplanned at just the vital moment. The Falling Solider by Robert Capa, Saigon execution: Murder of a Vietcong by Saigon Police Chief by Eddie Adams, this to me is the coming together of the definitive moment and perfect conditions.
Whilst there are examples of photographers creating, manufacturing a situation that gives rise to a decisive moment, for example A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai) by Jeff Wall, there is the danger that the photographer can try too hard, force the environment too much, thereby destroying the je ne sais quoi of what I believe to be the decisive moment, capturing the unexpected at the perfect time. In turn this gives rise to photographs, which as Wells references, insinuate greater meaning purely by their nature of being dislocated moments of time.
I considered several options for this assignment:
1) Decisive moment - the sea
Whilst taking photographs for the Freeze and Trace exercises I thought that waves crashing on the rocks could be a topic. No two waves are the same, once it has crashed the wave disintegrates, gone forever. I did not proceed with this idea as I believed the options were limited in scope, I was unsure if I would sufficiently fulfil the brief.
2) Indecisive moment
Whilst out for a walk I noticed a roof covered in moss and began to mentally explore how this could be the antithesis of the decisive moment. The changes that resulted in the roof becoming like that were so slow and small as to be imperceptible. If I was to take a photo of the roof two days in a row, whilst the weather may be different, the changes in the subject matter itself would impossible to tell. The "moment" in which change would manifest itself would not be the micro-second that Henri Cartier Bresson and Robert Capa perfected at capturing, it would be days, months, years.
Exploring this idea further I arrived at two subsects which could be used.
a) Weathering of buildings
Taking the moss covered roof and viewing all the other ways that nature slowly makes it marks on buildings when it is left unchecked by human intervention.
b) Greenhouses in disrepair
For reasons I have yet to discover, there are a number of industrial greenhouses within my parish that have fallen into complete disrepair and are slowly being reclaimed by nature. The plants conquering that which once contained them, reclaiming the land. The moment from their once commercially successful heyday, to abandoned absorption into the land, is an arc spanning years if not decades.
I revisited the exemplar of Martyn Rainbird who inverted the decisive moment for his assignment. For each image he stated the decisive moment.
For the set of greenhouse images, the decisive moment clearly has happened. Their scale would imply that they were at one time commercially viable, money clearly had been invested into building and manning them, yet some unknown event had occurred to result in their dereliction. It begs the question, what happened, what was the decisive moment that resulted in the destruction of all?
I believe in the decisive moment, the momentary fragment of a second where the camera and photography are, through serendipity, able to capture the unexpected and unplanned at just the vital moment. The Falling Solider by Robert Capa, Saigon execution: Murder of a Vietcong by Saigon Police Chief by Eddie Adams, this to me is the coming together of the definitive moment and perfect conditions.
Whilst there are examples of photographers creating, manufacturing a situation that gives rise to a decisive moment, for example A Sudden Gust of Wind (after Hokusai) by Jeff Wall, there is the danger that the photographer can try too hard, force the environment too much, thereby destroying the je ne sais quoi of what I believe to be the decisive moment, capturing the unexpected at the perfect time. In turn this gives rise to photographs, which as Wells references, insinuate greater meaning purely by their nature of being dislocated moments of time.
I considered several options for this assignment:
1) Decisive moment - the sea
Whilst taking photographs for the Freeze and Trace exercises I thought that waves crashing on the rocks could be a topic. No two waves are the same, once it has crashed the wave disintegrates, gone forever. I did not proceed with this idea as I believed the options were limited in scope, I was unsure if I would sufficiently fulfil the brief.
2) Indecisive moment
Whilst out for a walk I noticed a roof covered in moss and began to mentally explore how this could be the antithesis of the decisive moment. The changes that resulted in the roof becoming like that were so slow and small as to be imperceptible. If I was to take a photo of the roof two days in a row, whilst the weather may be different, the changes in the subject matter itself would impossible to tell. The "moment" in which change would manifest itself would not be the micro-second that Henri Cartier Bresson and Robert Capa perfected at capturing, it would be days, months, years.
Exploring this idea further I arrived at two subsects which could be used.
a) Weathering of buildings
Taking the moss covered roof and viewing all the other ways that nature slowly makes it marks on buildings when it is left unchecked by human intervention.
b) Greenhouses in disrepair
For reasons I have yet to discover, there are a number of industrial greenhouses within my parish that have fallen into complete disrepair and are slowly being reclaimed by nature. The plants conquering that which once contained them, reclaiming the land. The moment from their once commercially successful heyday, to abandoned absorption into the land, is an arc spanning years if not decades.
I revisited the exemplar of Martyn Rainbird who inverted the decisive moment for his assignment. For each image he stated the decisive moment.
For the set of greenhouse images, the decisive moment clearly has happened. Their scale would imply that they were at one time commercially viable, money clearly had been invested into building and manning them, yet some unknown event had occurred to result in their dereliction. It begs the question, what happened, what was the decisive moment that resulted in the destruction of all?
Research and Planning
[This section is to be updated prior to final submission]
I reviewed the work of Henri Cartier Bresson and Robert Capa. I also studied the exemplars provided.
The images for the subsects I had arrived at for the (In)decisive Moment were taken over the course of four separate outings. The first two outings were of a general nature, going for a walk with my camera to see what fate would provide, this gave rise to the first images of the ivy clad derelict buildings and the depilated greenhouses. The third outing was with the specific purpose of finding further examples of each of these categories. After reviewing the photos taken, I went on a fourth outing to retake and improve on some of the images.
[This section is to be updated prior to final submission]
I reviewed the work of Henri Cartier Bresson and Robert Capa. I also studied the exemplars provided.
The images for the subsects I had arrived at for the (In)decisive Moment were taken over the course of four separate outings. The first two outings were of a general nature, going for a walk with my camera to see what fate would provide, this gave rise to the first images of the ivy clad derelict buildings and the depilated greenhouses. The third outing was with the specific purpose of finding further examples of each of these categories. After reviewing the photos taken, I went on a fourth outing to retake and improve on some of the images.
Contact Sheet
Due to exploring two ideas, I sorted the images taken between each idea and produced a contact sheet for each.
Buildings
Contact sheet - note this will open in a new window
Greenhouses
Contact sheet - note this will open in a new window
Due to exploring two ideas, I sorted the images taken between each idea and produced a contact sheet for each.
Buildings
Contact sheet - note this will open in a new window
Greenhouses
Contact sheet - note this will open in a new window
Selection Process
I reviewed each image in terms of framing, focus and sharpness. I then assessed the remaining images with a view to which combination would make the strongest series and succeed in fulfilling the brief.
I will ask for the thoughts and comments from fellow students as to whether they believe either idea fulfils the brief, which idea they think is strongest and areas/suggestions for improvement ahead of the final submission.
I reviewed each image in terms of framing, focus and sharpness. I then assessed the remaining images with a view to which combination would make the strongest series and succeed in fulfilling the brief.
I will ask for the thoughts and comments from fellow students as to whether they believe either idea fulfils the brief, which idea they think is strongest and areas/suggestions for improvement ahead of the final submission.
Idea 1 - Long time coming
The decisive moment started a long time ago and is still slowly imperceptibly taking place. A decision was made to not clear the tendrils of ivy, to treat the wood, to prevent the moss taking root. If left unchecked what stood firm before will slowly be subsumed, broken down, returned to the earth. Intervention is a possibility, restoration to former glory. This is mid (decisive) moment.
The decisive moment started a long time ago and is still slowly imperceptibly taking place. A decision was made to not clear the tendrils of ivy, to treat the wood, to prevent the moss taking root. If left unchecked what stood firm before will slowly be subsumed, broken down, returned to the earth. Intervention is a possibility, restoration to former glory. This is mid (decisive) moment.
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Idea 2 - What happened Mr Farmer?
Money, time and energy were evidently spent to build and establish these commercially sized greenhouses. They were the work place for more than one person. Something extreme must have occurred for them to be abandoned to nature, for the decision to made to not restore or salvage, to just walk away. What was that decisive moment?
Money, time and energy were evidently spent to build and establish these commercially sized greenhouses. They were the work place for more than one person. Something extreme must have occurred for them to be abandoned to nature, for the decision to made to not restore or salvage, to just walk away. What was that decisive moment?
Image 7
Image 8
Image 9
Image 10
Image 11
Image 12
Image 13
Image 14
Back to the drawing board...for quite some time
I requested feedback on the OCA forum on my ideas for this assignment and it became quickly apparent that I had totally missed the brief. My tutor kindly provided further guidance and clarification:
"The decisive moment being shown should be apparent, it should not require explaining...The decisive moment is about a fleeting visual relationship between elements in an image...There simply needs to be a reason, which is visually evidenced, for pressing the shutter at that particular moment, rather than before it or after it and the more narrative interest you can pack in to that moment the better."
I quickly became entangled in a quagmire. I (now) understood what I had to achieve, however I continually struggled as to a linking theme. I was unable to find/create the unique, interesting, concept as demonstrated in the exemplars. I felt that I was able to take the one off photo that fulfilled the criteria, however I was unable to see how I could expand on these individual images to present a series.
I requested feedback on the OCA forum on my ideas for this assignment and it became quickly apparent that I had totally missed the brief. My tutor kindly provided further guidance and clarification:
"The decisive moment being shown should be apparent, it should not require explaining...The decisive moment is about a fleeting visual relationship between elements in an image...There simply needs to be a reason, which is visually evidenced, for pressing the shutter at that particular moment, rather than before it or after it and the more narrative interest you can pack in to that moment the better."
I quickly became entangled in a quagmire. I (now) understood what I had to achieve, however I continually struggled as to a linking theme. I was unable to find/create the unique, interesting, concept as demonstrated in the exemplars. I felt that I was able to take the one off photo that fulfilled the criteria, however I was unable to see how I could expand on these individual images to present a series.
I am aware that the demonstration of creativity counts for 20% of the assessment criteria and for a long time I found myself unable to proceed with the assignment due to the lack of a suitable "creative" idea. On pragmatic reflection, to help move forward, I focussed on what was the key teaching element of the section - shutter speed and my tutors advice that "There simply needs to be a reason, which is visually evidenced, for pressing the shutter at that particular moment".
I decided to take photographs of an event of some sort, during which I would hopefully capture some images of fleeting moments which would fulfil the criteria, whilst also providing an overarching theme and helping provide a commonality between the images. I had considered a motocross trial (didn't happen due to being unable to find a suitable vantage point) and a colour fun run (I was not on island when it took place) before I found myself at horse games in Kyrgyzstan, which I decided would be an interesting theme.
I decided to take photographs of an event of some sort, during which I would hopefully capture some images of fleeting moments which would fulfil the criteria, whilst also providing an overarching theme and helping provide a commonality between the images. I had considered a motocross trial (didn't happen due to being unable to find a suitable vantage point) and a colour fun run (I was not on island when it took place) before I found myself at horse games in Kyrgyzstan, which I decided would be an interesting theme.
Concept
Sometimes described informally as horse rugby, Kok Boru, is a game in which horse mounted players attempt to place a goat carcass in a goal.
History
An extract from the World Nomad Games website describing the origins of the game is below:
"Kok Boru, which translates to English as gray wolf, has its origins in the distant past, from a time when men went to go hunt for prey to feed their families and cattle remained under the supervision of elders, women and youth. Wolves often attacked livestock and caused many problems. After returning from the hunt, angry men would go to chase after the wolf pack. Having caught up with the pack, they would pick up running wolves from the ground, throwing them between each other almost playfully. The game today requires teams to throw a dead sheep or goat into their opponent’s well on the playing field.
The main goal of the game in the past was training for fighting. While playing kok-boru, men and horses were taught to be fearless. The game trained men to be courageous, brave, and daring, qualities needed by warriors."
Sometimes described informally as horse rugby, Kok Boru, is a game in which horse mounted players attempt to place a goat carcass in a goal.
History
An extract from the World Nomad Games website describing the origins of the game is below:
"Kok Boru, which translates to English as gray wolf, has its origins in the distant past, from a time when men went to go hunt for prey to feed their families and cattle remained under the supervision of elders, women and youth. Wolves often attacked livestock and caused many problems. After returning from the hunt, angry men would go to chase after the wolf pack. Having caught up with the pack, they would pick up running wolves from the ground, throwing them between each other almost playfully. The game today requires teams to throw a dead sheep or goat into their opponent’s well on the playing field.
The main goal of the game in the past was training for fighting. While playing kok-boru, men and horses were taught to be fearless. The game trained men to be courageous, brave, and daring, qualities needed by warriors."
Contact sheets
Due to a limitation in the size of the images that can be uploaded to this website, the contact sheet has been split into three:
Kok boru game
Contact sheet part 1 - note this will open in a new window
Contact sheet part 2 - note this will open in a new window
Contact sheet part 3 - note this will open in a new window
Due to a limitation in the size of the images that can be uploaded to this website, the contact sheet has been split into three:
Kok boru game
Contact sheet part 1 - note this will open in a new window
Contact sheet part 2 - note this will open in a new window
Contact sheet part 3 - note this will open in a new window
Selection
235 photographs were taken. The key criteria for choosing images for this assignment was my tutor's advice:
"The image should have all the information to decode the idea, without reading captions or concept, in order for it to be recognised as compositionally decisive"
Shortlist
235 photographs were taken. The key criteria for choosing images for this assignment was my tutor's advice:
"The image should have all the information to decode the idea, without reading captions or concept, in order for it to be recognised as compositionally decisive"
Shortlist
Final Selection
Image 1
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
Image 8
Image 9
Image 10
Pre-Assessment Reflection
The biggest take away's for me from this assignment, is to go back to basics and persevere. What concept is being taught and how can I apply it. Others may be able to creatively interpret the concept in a unique manner, however just because I cannot, does not mean I am in some way failing. This is a course, I am not expected to produce flawless work, however to progress I have to submit something, to allow constructive feedback and guidance to be provided. I just hope I have not completely missed the brief a second time, that I have progressed forward regardless of how small the distance.
Areas which could be worked on for this assignment:
Research - I am a little at a loss. I reviewed HBC and Robert Capa, along with the exemplars. I am sure there is more specific/appropriate research, however short of typing in "decisive moment" into Google/the online library, I don't know how to locate more specific, appropriate, beneficial articles and sources. I need a cold towel and an analytical approach.
Editing - the only editing techniques used were cropping, auto contrast and auto tone, I need to learn the intricacies and interplay of the various editing techniques.
Peer review - I am aware that I would get beneficial feedback by submitting this for peer review by my fellow course colleagues. What has stopped me is fear and that I will end up in a complete permanent quagmire in respect of this assignment and this course. Once I have heard back from the tutor and with more confident knowledge as to what I need to do to go forward, I will ask for the thoughts of others.
The biggest take away's for me from this assignment, is to go back to basics and persevere. What concept is being taught and how can I apply it. Others may be able to creatively interpret the concept in a unique manner, however just because I cannot, does not mean I am in some way failing. This is a course, I am not expected to produce flawless work, however to progress I have to submit something, to allow constructive feedback and guidance to be provided. I just hope I have not completely missed the brief a second time, that I have progressed forward regardless of how small the distance.
Areas which could be worked on for this assignment:
Research - I am a little at a loss. I reviewed HBC and Robert Capa, along with the exemplars. I am sure there is more specific/appropriate research, however short of typing in "decisive moment" into Google/the online library, I don't know how to locate more specific, appropriate, beneficial articles and sources. I need a cold towel and an analytical approach.
Editing - the only editing techniques used were cropping, auto contrast and auto tone, I need to learn the intricacies and interplay of the various editing techniques.
Peer review - I am aware that I would get beneficial feedback by submitting this for peer review by my fellow course colleagues. What has stopped me is fear and that I will end up in a complete permanent quagmire in respect of this assignment and this course. Once I have heard back from the tutor and with more confident knowledge as to what I need to do to go forward, I will ask for the thoughts of others.