[Juan Ramos]

Wide.angle,

Your original question as I understood it, was what street photography and or the "decisive moment" were -. I think that Pascal and Early Gallery’s answer and explanation was perfect. I wish we could have more of that in our forum, after all, we all log into it “to learn” something from other people with similar interests. And I think that your use of the maestro Cartier-Bresson's photograph was justified in looking for an answer.

IMHO, what made and makes the maestro's work a completely different experience is precisely the observance of rules “he” imposed on himself regarding composition and the role it played in “his” view of the world. It is undeniable that he had a natural gift to “sense” a composition coming together which he very diligently and successfully capture on film. He made the statement many times that “he was not” a photographer, that he used the camera as a sketchbook because of his natural impatience, that it was “the extension of his eye”. And he was right (of course), to define himself as not a photographer, he was first an artist, who found through photography a way of “painting” faster, of sketching faster. He proved beyond any doubt, that decisive moments could happen anywhere in the world, the man “traveled” it and the “artist” showed it to us.

I think that the label “street photography” is just a way identifying photographs that are taken of every day life. Not always with a photojournalistic or special motive in mind than to capture a moment.

The maestro’s images always had something in common, his images ask questions, what’s it all about? What is going to happen next? What has just happened? What is happening now? As in the case of his photos of the coronation of the King of England.

I apologized for the lengthy answer… and hope this contributes to your question