6 Most photography, but especially this kind, bas a tenuous réputation
for truth-telling largely because of the camera's, if not always the
photographer's, ability to record events objectively. In fact photography
is unique among the visual arts, not only because a photograph
cannot be created from (sometimes clouded and prejudiced) memory,
but because the subject of the photograph - and not really the
photographier - détermines absolutely what that depiction will be.
7 This seemingly miraculous confluence of expression, gesture,
lighting and composition is what makes so much of Cartier-Bresson's
work exceptional, especially since most of it happened on the fly, in
the real world and not in the studio.
8 Part of being able to capture the décisive moment is practice and
just as in fishing, it requires great patience and flawless reflexes. Fve
learned that sometimes the best moments happen before or after an
actual event. The first instance that cornes to mind is trying to make
a telling picture of a child blowing out birthday candies. You wait for
the child to perform and most often youTl get a passable snap of a kid
with billowing cheeks blowing out candies. But with more experience
you wait for the instant just after the candies go out, when the child
looks up from the cake, his or her face flush with excitement and
achievement amid a wreath of candie smoke.
9 One of my favourite shots during my time as a children's
photographer was of twin toddler boys sitting side by side on a couch
in their parents' living room. During the shoot I asked the mother
to place her older son's electric guitar - something they were never
allowed to touch - in their lap. The ecstatic looks of the boys' facesthe décisive moment, to be sure - was the best picture of the session.
The smallest thing, the little human détail, can be a great subject
and when you capture it and everything else falls together, it is a
wonderful feeling.
10 "Photography shows us things that lie beyond our imagination and
compel our amazement because they really happened/ said writer
►
for truth-telling largely because of the camera's, if not always the
photographer's, ability to record events objectively. In fact photography
is unique among the visual arts, not only because a photograph
cannot be created from (sometimes clouded and prejudiced) memory,
but because the subject of the photograph - and not really the
photographier - détermines absolutely what that depiction will be.
7 This seemingly miraculous confluence of expression, gesture,
lighting and composition is what makes so much of Cartier-Bresson's
work exceptional, especially since most of it happened on the fly, in
the real world and not in the studio.
8 Part of being able to capture the décisive moment is practice and
just as in fishing, it requires great patience and flawless reflexes. Fve
learned that sometimes the best moments happen before or after an
actual event. The first instance that cornes to mind is trying to make
a telling picture of a child blowing out birthday candies. You wait for
the child to perform and most often youTl get a passable snap of a kid
with billowing cheeks blowing out candies. But with more experience
you wait for the instant just after the candies go out, when the child
looks up from the cake, his or her face flush with excitement and
achievement amid a wreath of candie smoke.
9 One of my favourite shots during my time as a children's
photographer was of twin toddler boys sitting side by side on a couch
in their parents' living room. During the shoot I asked the mother
to place her older son's electric guitar - something they were never
allowed to touch - in their lap. The ecstatic looks of the boys' facesthe décisive moment, to be sure - was the best picture of the session.
The smallest thing, the little human détail, can be a great subject
and when you capture it and everything else falls together, it is a
wonderful feeling.
10 "Photography shows us things that lie beyond our imagination and
compel our amazement because they really happened/ said writer
►