David Taylor

I’ve been meaning to write about the concept of the ‘decisive moment’ for some time now. But you know how it is, there’s so much else to do and life just gets in the way. Before you know it another year has scurried past without a backward glance and there are still paper clips to be filed (by colour, naturally) and Eric the cat needs flossing (again) and well, writing does require research and thinking up exciting new combinations of words and…I think I’ll just go and put the kettle on for a hot cup of tea.

But no, today is the day. It is the decisive moment to write about the ‘decisive moment’. Time to grab the bull by the horns. No more procrastination – for procrastination, as we all know, is the thief of time. Don’t put off until tomorrow that which can be done today. I need to get down to the task in hand right now. Get on with it. Get it done. I have, quite frankly, to get this turkey basted.

First though, a small digression.

Have you ever noticed how much fluff collects in a computer keyboard? It’s incredible. Where does it all come from? Well, I have a theory. Just in the same way that Eric grows a thick new winter coat every year, so computer keyboards accumulate fluff to get them through the chillier months. Obviously to prove that this premise is correct I will need to do some extensive testing over a period of time, testing that I will get straight down to once I’ve finished this article. Oh, and make that tea I promised myself a few paragraphs ago.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, the ‘decisive moment’. The ‘decisive moment’. DECISIVE MOMENT. Decisive…moment.

It’s strange isn’t it, how, when you type out something a few times, you begin to realise what a strange thing language actually is. Take the word decisive. Does it really need that ‘e’ at the end? The letter makes no contribution to the sound of the word at all. It doesn’t, as it were, bring anything to the party. Decisive could be spelt ‘decisiv’ and we would all gain precious seconds by no longer needing to type the ‘e’. This is an issue we should all give serious thought to.

Anyway, the ‘decisive moment’.

The word moment is on firmer ground. There are no redundant letters there, though some fun can be had by experimenting with the syllable on which the spoken stress is placed. When you say moment, should it be MOment or moMENT? Obviously, it would be wise not to experiment with the pronunciation of ‘moment’ in strange company, lest you yourself are thought of as strange. Believe me it’s just not worth it.

Right, that’s enough deviation from the topic in question. Or should that be divergence? Departure? I’ve already used digression, so stylistically that would not be a good choice. Deviation it is then. I have deviated long enough.

Except…now I seem to have reached the final few paragraphs. That’s not good. Need to cut down on waffle. Use fewer words.

Henri Cartier-Bresson. Renowned French photographer. 1952 book, ‘Images à la Sauvette’, translated as ‘The Decisive Moment’. Highly influential. Claimed that “There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative”. Or more succinctly “Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever”.

So there you go. The ‘decisive moment’. The art of being aware that the chance to create a satisfying photographic composition is fleeting, and of being alive to every possibility that presents itself. The trick of course is not to get distracted along the way. Something, I am proud to say, I could never be accused of.