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. 

All Things Raj

Finally coming down from an uplifting and overwhelming experience twelve times zones away - two weeks in the Indian state of Rajasthan.  Half the time was spent in the chaos of Pushkar during the Pushkar Mela (camel fair and Hindu pilgrimage); the other half a slower-paced exploration of the amber, blue and pink fort towns of the Raj.  Photo opportunities galore among the coughing, smiles, dust, joyousness, blaring loudspeakers, intimate encounters (no, NOT that kind), crowds, majesty, poverty, bubbas and sadhus, a/c vans, auto rickshaws, dogs and cows that make up just a portion of the experience that is India. You really can't prepare yourself for it; you just plunge in and take it as it comes - and it will come and blow you away. 

Some 2000 photos later, it's clear to me that my photography headed in yet a new direction compared to past journeys.  More people, less landscapes.  And more up-close-and-personal photos.  Personal space is not much of an issue in crowded India; and few mind if you take their photography, even close-up.  It still takes a while for this Westerner to get close and not feel as an intruder.  But that's the luxury of 7 days in one town - overcoming personal resistance and taking photography - and interpersonal interactions - to the next level.