Black and white Decisive Moment

After seeing Henri Cartier-Bresson's pictures in Beginning Photography in the Fall of 2008, I decided to do my final project in his style. I was fixated on the idea of using a camera to capture a moment that comes and goes in a flash. I took 10 pictures, but I would have to say that only 4 of them came out truly the way I had intended. All pictures were taken at 1/2000 shutter speeds. I did a picture of spraying Pam cooking sprat through an open flame, a picture of shooting a glass bottle and capturing the image just as the bottle broke, a drop of water as it falls into a large glass of water, and water running over a knife. The bottle and water drop was especially challenging, as my camera was completely manual; I had to advance the film every time I took a picture, so timing was key. I used 3200 speed film for all shots. I thought I would have to since the shutter speeds were so fast, but after developing the film, I could tell it really wasn't necessary, and 400 speed probably would've been fine. In the end it turned out great, and made me feel more confident about what I was capable of doing as a photographer.