Decisive Moment

Henri Cartier-Bresson is credited with coining the term "decisive moment." "I suddenly understood that a photograph could fix eternity in an instant." The challenge that photographers face is being ready for that decisive moment and following through - taking the photograph at just the right moment. 

The women were walking down a side lane toward me, approaching the sacred Lake Pushkar. Ranging in age from pre-teens to grandmothers, for some, many, most, it would be there first journey to the Lake, second only in holiness to the Ganges, corresponding to the November full moon.  I could see that there may be a photograph and quickly positioned myself head-on.  And just as I got ready to take my first shot, Lake Pushkar came into their view.  Their expressions say it all -reverence, awe, and excitement - the decisive moment.  Did I know that their expressions would take on such meaning?  No.  But I was ready for whatever came. 

And, honestly, I didn't know what I had frozen in time for quite some time.  The photograph was not shot as a panorama.  It was not until much later that, as I kept coming back to the photo, I really mentally zoomed in on the image and their expressions - and cropped the photo into the resulting panorama, focusing on the women's faces. It has subsequently become one of my favorite images - full of meaning and having the ability to convey meaning.