by
Julian
Tait
For
most photographers Cartier Bresson’s mantra, ‘the
decisive moment’, is instilled into our photographic
psyche at a very early stage. The ability to freeze a critical
point in time, to capture an image that has significance
and meaning above all other, is what makes a great photographer.
One has to have the foresight and guile to be in the position
to capture the image in the first place and composition
plays no small part in that, but is the very definition
of capturing a moment becoming less relevant?
A recent article in the British Journal of Photography
written by photojournalist Dirck Halstead, predicts the
demise of the still photographer and emergence of photographers
working with video (Videographer). Relatively inexpensive
video cameras can now shoot in high definition, with stills
being grabbed and enlarged using algorithms that can produce
images of up to 67 mega pixels. The economics of having
one person in the field who can capture stills, video and
audio is compelling to many news organisations that dictate
their news gathering policies upon return on investment
and value for money.
With
the advent of globalised distribution and the need for
news outlets to provide ‘content rich’ websites
where consumers can choose to access content in a variety
of formats, the still image is starting to be downgraded
to the position of ‘poster frame’ – an
icon that represents the content of the video.
So,
is the decisive moment a delusional concept? Richard
Drew’s photograph of the ‘Falling Man’ is
a case in point. The iconic image shows a man falling from
one of the towers of the World Trade Center after the attack
on 11th September 2001. It could be said that this image
is a decisive moment, but whose decisive moment? Drew’s
camera took 12 frames as the man fell and only one of those
frames was chosen to represent that moment.
Richard
Drew © 2001 |
It can be argued the camera was used as a surrogate video
camera to document this moment. The image was pulled from
an already stored and endlessly re-playable sequence or
continuum. The critical decisions came in this case both
with the circumstance the photographer found himself in
and at the editorial stage. As technology allows higher
frame rates per second, we are breaking down the iterations
of this continuum. Will the distinction between still imagery
and video inevitably disappear?
Digital
SLR cameras can shoot bursts of still images approaching
the speed of video; if the camera isn’t restricted
by mechanical processes then speeds in excess of 60fps
can be achieved and up to 300 fps, as is the case of the
recently developed Casio
Exilim. These new generations of camera borrow technology
from their video and audio recording cousins. New cameras,
albeit consumer models, are appearing with a pre-shot buffer
constantly recording five seconds of images before the
shutter is pressed. So the decisive moment will always
be there, somewhere – you can find it at your leisure.
Julian
Tait
julian@redeye.org.uk
November,
2007
**
|
Julian
Tait
is
a founding member of Redeye – The Photography
Network and coordinator of The Democratic Image conference
about Photography and Globalisation held in Manchester
in April 2007. He also runs Littlestar Media a media
arts organisation based in the UK. |