Following the interesting thread in Talking Pictures, I thought it might be fun to open a thread for people to explore what a Decisive Moment could look like and see if they are any different from what they used to be. Must say, my interpretation is something discontinuous happening, which is an instantaneous departure from the way things are normally progressing. Or has that changed too?

A quick few of mine to hand:

_A190356 by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

P4192129 mono by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

P6070037 mono by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

P5042470 mono by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

 

Very decisive in No 4....

 

Haha! Is it a dog?? I do hope so.

 

Decisive moments clearly open for interpretation and I've never really done research or looked through any well known photographers. In general though, I'd agree and describe it as 'the point at which expected becomes unexpected'.

Some very early stuff here, in which the processing, focus and framing are all questionable.

Super Funny! by Tony Evans, on Flickr

Jump! by Tony Evans, on Flickr

Curiosity by Tony Evans, on Flickr

Match Day Selfie with the Lads by Tony Evans, on Flickr

 

And then some later stuff, in which I think I was getting a better understanding of the moments I was trying to capture.

Free by Tony Evans, on Flickr

Does it itch? by Tony Evans, on Flickr

Great news at the Post Office by Tony Evans, on Flickr

Is this a kissing book? by Tony Evans, on Flickr

Who Watches the Watchers by Tony Evans, on Flickr

 

I think expected / unexpected is certainly part of it, but so too is a moment that makes a picture a picture. Two people talking is nothing, but she does this and I think there is a DM there.

P6070228 mono by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

Ditto:

P6230464 mono by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

Tritto:

P7030657 mono by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

 

Today in Exeter...

 

Not as easy as you think, even at 5fps.

How many batsmen? by gray1720, on Flickr

 

I see an interesting picture, but no DM in those. Where do you see it?

 

Fair enough.

 

P5042270 mono by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

DSCF1523 mono by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

P8020776 mono by Mike Longhurst, on Flickr

 

The similarity between image top left and the woman and her cup is uncanny.

 

That's what I thought. We were waiting at a bus stop for a coach (Pitlochry). I just saw this girl drinking and spotted the painted window and so I snapped it.

 

Exeter bus queue...

 

What?!

 

Good one!
Our favourite Weather man (Coastguard) and who has done our local weather forecasting for years now, is moving to Exeter and the Met Office soon. So if you ever see a walker/runner plodding on in all weathers, just yell out are you Richard? He's a nice bloke.
PS He's also a fanatical storm chaser and visits the USA annually to chase tornados.

 

Wish you hadn't deleted the post (I assume that's what's happened) before I had a chance to see them.

 

I'm surprised it could be deleted - I think it was in position #7 - you usually don't have much time to kill a post.

I must admit that I'm still rather unsure at what divides a decisive moment from a well-observed moment. Is it the duration of the moment? If a juxtaposition lasts several seconds does that cease to be decisive? It can't just be duration alone else all action photography would be decisive rather than being mostly boring. I can understand "missing a moment". With bird photography this happens all the time as they don't stand still but is a succesful photo of say a small active bird (without using fast burst) decisive? Or is it all about people? I don't take deliberate pictures of strangers, only family, and if it's the kids (now grand kids) running about I'd say there are pictures that work and pictures that don't, in the same way as I class bird shots. Success does relate to timing (because they are moving) in one respect but I'd struggle to say if something was decisive rather than a pleasing capture of something dynamic.

Memory says the pictures in the deleted post were well observed situations that would not have lasted long but were not fleeting.

 

Here you are.
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/forums/threads/non-decisive-moments.140108/

Kate

 

The point of the post was to explore what DMs were or could be. So deleting any that might cause debate and raise questions is rather defeating the object. Ah well....