The moment and the decisive moment are working together but
not the same way. Being in the moment or the here and now
leads to the release of the shutter. The release of the
shutter is the decisive moment. At that exact moment in your
life is the realization that you either satisfied your intent
or not. If you feel that you got it, then the rest is a very
tuned, aware process of giving birth to the photo. If not,
then the decision to move on is necessary. Just remember that
not every photo is considered a keeper.
The thing is, even if the photo is not a keeper, does not
mean it fails at intent. Here's the thing about The Moment
and Memory. In the moment making a street photo, that
satisfies your intent, provides a photo that is more about
the making and satisfying yourself. This is the dividing
factor of the Moment and INTENT.
There are a few Decisive Moment scenarios. One is when your
working and something starts to happen. There is no set rule
on Inspiring the Decisive Moment. This can happen in many
ways and that in itself will create some type of masked
confusion or a cloudy Decisive Moment. The normal DM
(Decisive Moment) kinda happens and you make the exposure
because you were so inspired by internal or external stimuli
or a combination of each. This is mostly a conscious
experience.
Hopefully, there is an experience that seems like all the
rest of the DM's but......something happens at exposure or at
processing that marks a real moment. There is a dormant
awakening that comes to light usually at sight of the image
in editing or processing. With this image, wakes the
recollection of the the Decisive Moment but....there is an
awareness of the experience as an observer and participant at
the same time. It's like you're seeing yourself, watching
yourself making the photo. Maybe this is like the deja vu of
photography. It doesn't happen all the time and not everyone
gets to experience this. Not because they are at a level that
prohibits the awareness but because they are not tuned into
the frequency that this experience lives.
"The best images are the ones we don't remember making."
Perhaps there is some truth to this saying. At my age, 67, I
have learned that there are not many truths in life. Even the
ones we tend to hold dear sometimes end up with shades of
gray to them. What's clear to me is that clarity is the
resting place for the eye, heart and mind. We don't often
achieve clarity so we make photos. When we make photos we
have an intent. Our intent is controlled by our knowledge,
our passion and our gear. Yes, the camera is a crucial
element to our work. There is most definitely a difference
between the Moment and The Decisive Moment.