Weekly Challenge 153: The Decisive Moment

In 1952, Henri Cartier-Bresson publishes what probably becomes his most famous photo book: The Decisive Moment. For his 4,500-word philosophical preface, Cartier-Bresson took his keynote text from the 17th century Cardinal de Retz: "Il n'y a rien dans ce monde qui n'ait un moment decisif" ("There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment"). "Photographier: c'est dans un même instant et en une fraction de seconde reconnaître un fait et l'organisation rigoureuse de formes perçues visuellement qui expriment et signifient ce fait" ("Photography is simultaneously and instantaneously the recognition of a fact and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that express and signify that fact").

In an interview with the Washington Post in 1957 he told the reporter: "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," he said. "Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever".

For this 153rd Weekly Challenge at PF.com we want to pay our tribute to Henri Cartier-Bresson (for the Wiki link see here, but there is much more to find on the net!) with our own photos depicting "The Decisive Moment". Note: this does not (I say NOT) imply only street shots are eligible!

Challenge ends next Sunday 12 December at midnight

The fine print....
1. Post ONE photo (max 1024x1024).
2. The photo must portray an interpretation of the theme.
3. Post your single picture in this thread, and explain what motivated you to take the picture and/or how you feel it represents the weekly theme (especially if it's not obvious).
4. The challenge is interactive. Any response is welcome.
5. The judge will pick the WINNERS and choose 1 of them to be the judge for the next week.
6. This challenge runs for 7 days plus a day for the judge to choose the winners.
7. Any Pentax camera will do or a Samsung DSLR.
8. Pictures can be from any time frame, not just within the week of the current theme.

Previous Challenge Subjects:
1-Statues, 2-Wheels, 3-Speed, 4-Peace, 5-Survival, 6-Macro, 7-Mountains, 8-Children, 9-Post Processing, 10- Windows & Doors, 11-Sport, 12-Urban Landscape, 13-Wisdom, 14-Power, 15-Music, 16-Pathways, 17-Lines, 18-Storm, 19-Boats, 20-Water, 21 - Golden Hour, 22 - Natural Lighting, Portraits, 23-Motion Blur, 24-Simplicity, 25-Color, 26-Cars, 27-Repetition, 28-Wildlife, 29-Epiphany, 30-Contrast, 31-Pets, 32-Landscapes, 33-Coastal, 34-Churches, 35-Bridges, 36-Creation, 37-Still Life: Food, 38-At the Zoo, 39-Wide Aperture, 40-Merry Christmas, 41- Sunsets, 42-Action, 43-Fireworks, 44-Manipulated Light Portraits, 45- Advertising/Product Shot, 46- B&W Street Shooting, people/buildings, 47-Vanishing Point, 48-Reflection, 49-Tranquility, 50-Expressions, 51-S Curve, 52-Hands, 53-Shadows, 54-Your Favorite Beverage, 55-Barriers, 56-Perspective, 57-Night Scenes, 58-Zen-like...Water and Stone 59-Modern architecture, 60-Sunrises, 61-Red, 62-Action on water, 63-Bodies in Motion, 64-Ruins, 65-Blue and green, 66-Iridescence, 67-Anthropomorpha, 68–Sound, 69-Backlight, 70-Group Shot, 71-Railway Scenes, 72-Technology, 73-Color on Color, 74-History, 75-Autumn/Harvest 76-working men and women, 77-Silhouettes, 78 Stranger Portrait, 79-Transportation, 80 - Lonely, 81 - Holidays, 82 - Toys 'n Games, 83 - Machines, 84 - Ice, 85 - Cats, 86 - Stories, 87 - Cultures, 88 - Absence, 89 - Weather, 90 - Old roads, 91 - The River, 92 - The Seventies, 93 - Beautiful Bokeh, 94 - Balance, 95 - Crop a miniature landscape, 96 - Opposing gravity, 97- Feet, 98 - Sacred Grounds, 99 - Extraordinarily Ordinary, 100-added textures, 101-still life, 102-bicycles, 103 - Broken, 104- Flowers (B&W), 105 Backlighting, 106-Water. 107-Wind, 108-Parent/Child candids, 109-Passion, 110-Events, 111-Streets, 112-The Aged, 113-Fire and Heat, 114-Nature vs. Culture, 115 - Letters or Numbers, 116 - Self-Portrait, 117 - The Tree, 118 - Minimalism, 119 - Rust, 120 - Before & After, 121 - Negative Space, 122 - Decay & Dereliction, 123 - Cold, 124 - Melancholy, 125 - The Element of Time, 126 - Public Transportation, 127 - Yin Yang, 128 - Sepia or Dual Tone, 129 - Hand Coloring, 130 - Light Trails, 131-Once in a lifetime, 132 - Moms & Motherhood, 133 - Beautiful Blur, 134 - B&W Abstract, 135 - History, 136 - In and around the kitchen, 137 - Habit, 138 - Perspective: From the Ground Up, 139- Mist/fog, 140 – No faces, 141-Bubbly, 142- The 'hood, 143-Green, 144-Garbage, 145-Emotion, 146 - Events, 147-Seasons. 148-Building and/or Construction 149-Chiarouscuro, 150-A Day In The Life, 151 - Religion, 152 - Home, 153 - The Decisive Moment

[xjjohnno]

Ssoggy Saturday sprint might be in order.
[IMGWIDELEFT]http://www.xjgarage.org/photos/october2010/slides/PICT3054.JPG[/IMGWIDELEFT]

[Ash]

I had fun capturing this one earlier on in the year, not a street shot :

Scream:

[casil403]

2 male Chinese Ringneck Pheasants fighting in a farmer's field. After watching them for a bit how they fight, I was waiting for this exact moment:

[Rense]

Wow, great shots so far! Excellent examples of what I meant!!!

[Tamia]

This fall when I was hiking along the portage trail overlooking several waterfalls I came upon a pod of kayakers diving over the drops. I hoped to catch at least one in a dramatic shot, and got this one. A challenge because the spot was not optimal. Very bright highlights and very dark shadows.

Submerged!

[Clou]

I took this picture a few days ago in a church. The woman was approaching the candles and I anticipated her looking over the candles. She stayed like this for about one second before moving away. The room was dark and though the post-processing I wanted to emphasize the ghost-like appearance of her face above the candles.

[Rense]

Oh...... if it continues like this, I don't know how to judge it.....

[Oldschool]

The decisive moment for this young chap taken at a local Renaissance Faire.....

[bbluesman]

[ramseybuckeye]

I liked the scene of the lady sitting in the bowels of the Ohio Statehouse, but when the man walked into the scene it just added something. I was testing out the new 35/2.4.

[bbluesman]

I liked the scene of the lady sitting in the bowels of the Ohio Statehouse, but when the man walked into the scene it just added something. I was testing out the new 35/2.4.

Tom am I the only one that feels your caption is very wrong? "I liked the scene of the lady sitting in the bowels of the Ohio Statehouse"

[casil403]

Tom am I the only one that feels your caption is very wrong? "I liked the scene of the lady sitting in the bowels of the Ohio Statehouse"

LOLOLOLOL!
Who's a clever lad????

[bbluesman]

LOLOLOLOL!
Who's a clever lad????

OK I'll admit to being a wise guy-I grew up in Brooklyn so it's kind of environmental...

[ramseybuckeye]

Tom am I the only one that feels your caption is very wrong? "I liked the scene of the lady sitting in the bowels of the Ohio Statehouse"

Mark, Maybe I should have written "lower extremities".