Assignment 3 -
'The Decisive Moment'
'The decisive moment is not a dramatic climax but a visual one: the result is not a story but a picture.'
-Swarkowski, 2007, p.5
'You know it's funny. You come to some place new, and everything looks the same.'
- Eddie in Stranger Than Paradise, Dir. Jim Jarmusch, 1984
The 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 its a location, event or particular period of time.
Include a written introduction to your work of between 500 and 1000 words outlining your initial idea and subsequent development. You'll need to contextualise your response with photographers that you've looked at, and don't forget to reference the reading that you've done.
Initial Ideas and thoughts...
After having to take a bit of a hiatus from concentrating on Expressing your vision because of writing and directing a pantomime and two Christmas shows, I have tried to pick up where I left off - Just about ready to start working on assignment three. Although I did manage to work on ideas for my series of photos throughout the last few months which has allowed my idea to adapt and change with the time I have had to play around with my camera.
I knew straight away that I didn't want to shoot in the style of street photography as so many other students have for this assignment. At the moment, this is not very me, although I'm sure I will have to conquer this style of photography at some point.
Below is a brainstorm of some of my initial thoughts after reading the brief on what I could focus this assignment around. I also looked a bit more in depth at Henri Cartier-Bresson's work and his discovery of the 'decisive moment'.
Found here.
'indecisive moment'
The decisive moment
People (street photography)
Animals
Relationships
Events
The people I work with
Children I work with (would need photo permission)
Over the last few months I have come to realise something about myself. Especially after having such a busy run up to Christmas, writing and producing shows. I work at my best when I have a passion for something. So I knew from the offset that this assignment needed to be focused around something that I love and keeps me motivated.
Back in April 2019 I took myself up to London to my first ever Photography exhibition. Martin Parr's 'Only Human'. The main theme of this exhibition was people and Parr's observations of their 'Britishness'.
Pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed wandering around the exhibition on my own, taking this new experience in I became more interested in Parr's work. One aspect that caught my attention, was his series of idents that he created for the BBC - a collection of portraits that represent the diverse communities in the UK of groups such as; exercise classes, dance groups, swimmers, skaters and many more.
When beginning to think about this assignment and how I might contextualise my work with other photographers, my mind flipped back to Parr's exhibition and I began to look into Parr's background and work with more extent, thinking that I may get some inspiration from it.
Martin Parr
Martin Parr is a British documentary photographer who is known for projects that take an intimate look at human behaviour and societies. He has a certain way of photographing using a macro lens to get close up shots in overly saturated colours.
Parr has said of his work:
"The fundamental thing I'm exploring constantly is the difference between the mythology of the place and the reality of it. Remember I make serious photographs disguised as entertainment. That's part of my mantra. I make the pictures acceptable to find the audience but deep down there is actually a lot going on that's not sharply written in your face. If you want to read it, you can read it".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Parr [Accessed 16th Jan 2020]
The above statement gave me a lot to think about and relates to my final series of photos and the theme I chose to focus on for this assignment.
My background is in dance and theatre and while at the Only Human exhibition I stumbled across Parr's series 'Everybody dance now'. Naturally, this caught my eye. In my place of work I photograph a lot of school shows, discos and dance lessons so it was a collection of photos I could relate too.
Below are a few images from the 'Everybody dance now' series.
Parr, M. (2019) Silver Swan.s [online image]. Available from:
https://www.martinparr.com/recent-work/ [Accessed 16th Jan 2020].
Parr, M. (2008) Newcastle, Dunston Social Club. [online image]. Available from:
https://www.martinparr.com/recent-work/ [Accessed 16th Jan 2020].
Parr, M. (2017) New York, Bar Mitzvah. [online image]. Available from:
https://www.martinparr.com/recent-work/ [Accessed 16th Jan 2020].
It has been a few decades since Parr began photographing people dancing all around the globe in different communities. The series include; weddings, ballet classes, parties, ballroom events, raves and festivals.
My indecisive moments
Having made the decision that I didn't want to do a street photography series for this assignment, I thought more in depth about my initial ideas that I had brain stormed and how I might be able to contextualise any of these with what had interested me in looking at Martin Parr's work. Part of my feedback for my last assignment was to better contextualise my work with other photographers..
From my initial ideas, I liked the thought of photographing a concept to do with my job. I work in the most amazing school for children with complex needs, these include autism and profound and multiple learning difficulties, where I am part of the performing arts team. I lead dance and drama sessions and write and produce many shows along with my team. I first thought about trying to capture decisive moments with the pupils because every day is different and moments with these children are so very special. After spending many hours researching the course material on the decisive moment and coming to the conclusion that a decisive moment in photography is a fleeting, unique moment captured when the shutter of the camera is released, a moment that may never be captured again in the way it has been, I couldn't think of a better subject for this assignment, even though I hadn't quite settled on a theme yet to link my series. Each pupil being as unique and fleeting in their own way.
I did however encounter a problem. If I wanted to use pupils in my assignment, especially as I would be posting their photos online I would need photographic permission from their parents. This would have taken me a lot of time and may not have worked in my favour.
So I had to re think my decision. I still wanted to be able to link my work with Martin Parr's and knew that I wanted to still photograph something to do with my work place.
My thought train looked a little something like this:
Pupils at school Teachers in their natural environment Staff Pantomime rehearsals
I knew I couldn't really photograph pupils so I started to think about the staff instead. A lot of my time was being taken over by writing and directing a staff pantomime that I was creating for our pupils at the school as a lot of them aren't able to go and watch a local pantomime because of difficulties such as accessibility and sensory processing.
I began playing around at rehearsals with my camera but I just didn't feel that what I was doing was right. It didn't feel creative or interesting. Something inside me kept edging towards the pupils.
Decision time
By this point the school was deep into primary Christmas show rehearsals and I was photographing the dress rehearsals and capturing so many lovely shots of the children with staff. Beautiful moments that showed the trust and amazing relationships that the pupils have with the staff members. A spur of the moment thought made me think about how I could capture the relationships without framing the pupils faces in the shot. I started to play around with composition and angles. Shooting from behind, of hands being held, faces blocked by an object or body part. I liked the idea of the challenge of not showing the children's faces but still being able to display that connection and looking for a 'decisive moment' between staff members and pupils and so decided that my theme for this assignment would be RELATIONSHIPS.
Still with Parr's 'Everybody dance now' series in the back of my mind and his aim at capturing communities, I could see how my assignment idea was starting to adapt and grow into something of its own. Although, that is still my starting point and I consider it to be why I am where I am with this assignment today.
Objectives
I had a firm idea in my head for this assignment but also wanted to set myself some aims to make sure I was using everything I have learnt so far while working through 'expressing your vision' and especially part three of the course work.
-
Always keep the theme of showing relationships in the forefront of my mind
-
Think about composition and framing
-
Think about Martin Parr's style of shooting close up
-
Show emotion in the shots (this will come mostly from staff photographed)
-
What does the word 'relationship' mean in a school setting and how can it be shown through a photo?
I looked up synonyms for the word 'relationship'. The above is what I found. Doing this helped me visualise the type of shots I was going to be looking for before I started shooting for the assignment. This small exercise helped me to think about my composition and how to get the best out of my technical skills while looking for the decisive moment.
The Decisive Moment
Above are my selected images for Assignment three.
I thought long and hard about the series being black and white to reflect the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson but more than anything, I wanted to emphasise the emotion in these photos. I wanted to take away any distractions to help the viewer focus on the relationship and the 'decisive moments' between the subjects in the shot and provide an emotional connection to the people in the frame.
Another reason for wanting to edit the series in black and white was I wanted to mirror a sense of how the children in the photos might see the world. Not in black and white as such but I believe a world without colour allows us to see things differently, which is definitely the way children with complex needs do!
After imbedding the collage above as originally in black and white, I felt good about my choice but when it came to re-editing the images back to colour so I could talk about each individual shot below, I started to re think my decision. The vibrancy really brings the images to life and makes them eye catching. I think the colours put soul and emotion into the series. Black and white was a nice touch but the series ended up feeling a bit empty and that was not my aim when creating this assignment. I must state that the lighting here was not staged by me, the photos were taken during Christmas show rehearsals and the lighting was being played around with my the schools technician at the time. This turned out to be a happy coincidence and really worked in my favour as the colours in the shots are so vibrant and beautiful. As a series of images, I think the above work well together.
I also took lots of photos in classrooms and hallways which you will see from my contact sheets below. What I like about the above series is that they were shot under the theatre lighting, this links them together well and gives them a sense of narration. There is a story behind each and every one of these photos, which when shooting the series, helped me to discover the 'decisive moment' at that precise moment in time. Each photo also has a child and an adult featured, where you can only see the adults face. Each adult shows a different kind of emotion in my opinion depending on the relationship they have with the child in the frame with them and what was happening at the time. The use of vibrant colours relates well to Martin Parr's work and again links the series together. I used a similar technique to that of Cartier-Bresson of composing the image and waiting for a 'decisive moment'.
Below I will write about each individual photo technically and in more detail. Each image in the series has been framed as a close up shot either by thinking about composition or in the editing process after.
Where could my photos be used?
The photos very much look like PR shots. They could be used for advertisement for the school - on the school website and social media pages, in a school prospectus and newsletter. Some are on display around the school and have also been sent home to families and some have been used in case studies that support the school.
My ideal use for these photos is for them to be on display and used on the school website to show those beautiful relationships that staff have with pupils.
ISO 1600 ~ 42mm ~ f/5.0 ~ 1/100sec
A cheeky moment of fun. The staff member here was making funny noises during a quick break in rehearsing for our primary Christmas show. The pupil featured found it hilarious to cover up the staff members mouth repeatedly resulting in the 'decisive moment' you see captured here.
ISO 3200 ~ 36mm ~ f/8.0 ~ 1/100sec
A teacher and her pupil having a bounce about to the song playing. The teacher looking directly into the eyes of her pupil with who she has a lovely bond. You can see in the teachers face that a lot of fun was being had. I wanted to capture this moment as it was one of pure joy.
ISO 3200 ~ 23mm ~ f/3.8 ~ 1/100sec
The child in this shot clearly trusts the staff member. With her arms wrapped around them a special friendship is shown from their closeness.
ISO 4000 ~ 18mm ~ f/3.5 ~ 1/125sec
The pupil in this shot is putting all his faith and trust in the staff member who is practicing a 'flying' pose with them. The position of the two subjects hands holding was the perfect way to hide the pupils face in this shot without removing the fun and exploration being shown.
ISO 3200 ~ 38mm ~ f/5.6 ~ 1/100sec
The pupil in this image is unable to sit up on her own and so needs support from an adult. Here, they share a special moment. Not knowing each other that well, they have a moment of quiet and start to form a bond quite naturally.
ISO 1600 ~ 35mm ~ f/4.5 ~ 1/125sec
A moment of curiosity and exploration is happening in this image. The staff member was gently playing his guitar when the pupil approached and sat down in front of him to listen. He slowly edged forward toward the staff member who willed the pupil to investigate the guitar.
Contact sheets
Reflection in line with assessment criteria
Demonstration of technical skills and visual skills - Materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills.
I used my Nikon D3400 for this assignment with a 18-55mm lens. I have recently purchased a 70-300mm lens which I have been having a play with. I didn't feel the need to use a tripod because when thinking about composition, I wanted these shots to be close and tightly in the frame to show an air of intimacy.
I think with each assignment I am bettering my photography techniques and creating my own way of doing things too. I definitely can see how my observational skills and visual awareness is improving with each photo I take. For this assignment I spent a lot of time observing the situations in front of me, looking for that 'decisive moment'. When composing the shots in this assignment I thought about what I find visually pleasing and put that into my practice. I didn't want any distractions away from what my focus was, so chose to get up close but not enough to invade their personal space and distract from what was happening with my subjects.
I used shutter priority mode and chose to use a fast shutter speed to capture my images. Our pupils also tend to move extremely fast a lot of the time. The ISO settings differ in each photo depending on what the lighting state was in the theatre but they are all at a high ISO to allow for correct exposure in the artificial lighting.
Quality of outcome - Content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas.
It took me a while to make a proper decision on what I wanted to focus on for this assignment but I always think trial by error is a good way to learn and I am happy with my final images. I think they sit well as a series as I said above in my write up. They were all shot under theatre lighting so look similar in colour and each feature one adult and one child, of which you cannot see their face.
When thinking about communicating my ideas and getting my thoughts across clearly I tend to get a bit overwhelmed. I always worry about what I am going to write and if it will make sense or if it just sounds like I'm babbling but once I get going it gets a lot easier. If anything, for this assignment I have probably written too much but I have chosen a subject that I feel very passionate about. I think each image displays a sense of relationship and each have captured a unique 'decisive moment'. A fleeting second and in the words of Bresson, "a poetic experience".
Demonstration of creativity - Imagination, experimentation, invention.
I really did have to experiment for this assignment to find something that would work more so than I thought I would. Without that experimentation I wouldn't have got this assignment to where it is. When thinking about imagination and invention, I had to creatively create a way that I could photograph pupils without their faces being show in the frame. I feel that I executed this well and it also played a big part in capturing a 'decisive moment' in each shot.
Context - Reflection, research, critical thinking.
Research is something I don't really enjoy as of yet. I know how important it is for this course but I am yet to find an enjoyment in it. Looking into Martin Parr did aid me in my critical thinking for this assignment as he is a photographer who I find intriguing because of his aesthetic and the techniques he uses. I have tried to echo his work inspirationally as much as possible in this assignment with the use of bright colours and shooting close up along with his photographing of people and that underlying meaning behind each photo that the viewer can decide to de code if they choose too.
I recently purchased 'Behind the Image' by Anna fox and Natasha Caruana which I am hoping will help me to better analyse other photographers work.