by Editor Lourens Durand
Edited and published by Yvette Depaepe the 4th of May 2022

'Jump, jump!' by janaka

Henri Cartier-Bresson, the father of modern photojournalism wrote of the 'Decisive Moment' in photography – the moment at which everything is exactly right.

* The story

* A particular moment in time

* The background

* The lighting

* The composition

* The message

* The significance of that moment

This doesn’t happen by chance and, to my mind, involves four essential foundations that a photographer needs to apply to capture that decisive moment:

- Preparation

- Practice

- Anticipation

- Timing

It also applies, not only to PJ but to other areas like nature photography, sports, ballet, adventure and even portraiture.

Preparation involves scouting out the location, knowing your subject, its habitat and movements (in nature photography), where the action is best (in sports photography), understanding how the light changes throughout the day, selecting a suitable background, finding the best angle. You need to know when, where, why and how something is going to happen, and then be in the perfect position to capture the action.
Preparation also involves intimate knowledge of your equipment and to intuitively use the best settings for the situation.

The second important aspect is Practice. Do it repeatedly and often (despite the frequent disappointments that will occur) so that, when the decisive moment happens, you are ready for it and are able to act without hesitation.
Having done all your homework and practised ad nauseum, the next critical element to concentrate on is anticipation, building on your subject knowledge and knowing how it is likely to react, move, or respond to any given situation. In bird photography, for example, you often need to anticipate in advance when a bird is likely to take off from its perch and in which direction it is likely to fly, depending on the wind direction and external triggers. In addition to this type of anticipation, capturing the decisive moment also means expecting the unexpected and being able to take the right action instinctively and instantly.

Lastly, timing is the most critical aspect of capturing THAT moment - the decisive moment of significance.

Sometimes it depends on luck but, by doing these conscious acts of preparation, practice, and anticipation, you make your own luck. You get the shot, pack up and go home knowing that it was all worth it.

Enjoy this selection of Decisive Moments caught by 1X.com photographers.

Lourens Durand

'Timing' by Caras Ionut

'Bicycle ride' by Bess Hamiti

'Higher' by Tristan Shu

'Allegro' by Hengki Lee

'Flying' by Nuelle Flipse

'G i a d a D u s t' by Marco Petracci

'To play with the nature' by Claudio Moretti

'Launching' by Rob Li

'A Trail of Dust at Sunset' by Kemal Selimovic

n/t by Hilde Ghesquiere

'Stranded' by Gerard Sexton

'The Racing Cows' by Media Hendriko

'It's mine' by Xavier Ortega

'Cheetah family' by Ken Dyball

'migration to the Maasai River' by Jie Fischer

'The Kingfisher' by Petar Sabol

'ZEBRAS' by Juan Luis Duran

'SPLIT' by The Jar – Geir Jartveit

'Full Speed' by Faisal ALnomas

'Mum, Play together' by Hung Tsui

'Splash' by Joan Gil Raga

GET YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW ;-) by Christopher Schlaf

'Running' by René Heylen

'Look at' by Hamid Mohammad Hossein Zadeh Hashemi

'Vroenhoven Bridge' by Eric Mattheyses

'Curiosity' by Isabel Daniel