The Decisive Moment: An Introduction to Candid Photography

Date  |  Thursday March 14, Saturday March 16 and Sunday March 17, 2019

Time  |   Thursday 6PM-8PM, Saturday and Sunday 10AM – 2PM

Location |  Colorado Photographic Arts Center (CPAC)

1070 Bannock St.,  Denver, CO 80204

Cost  |  $320 Non-Member   $290 Members

Instructor  |  Preston Utley

Skill Level  |  All Levels

The French humanist and master of candid photography Henri Cartier Bresson coined the phrase “The Decisive Moment.” In this workshop, photographer Preston Utley will share how this term has shaped his own photography as well as generations of other photographers. Preston will share the importance of the term and how keeping the phrase in your mind can improve your own photography. Whether you photograph professionally or simply enjoy documenting your personal life, this workshop will open your mind to the potential of candid photography and will bring you a new level of awareness while photographing.

In this workshop, we will look at photographers throughout history to present day who have displayed great competency in candid photography, and how to anticipate moments before they happen so that you can achieve more dynamic, energetic compositions.

Participants will bring 5-10 images of their personal work to share with the class on Thursday. This will not be a critique. It will just be an opportunity for everyone to see what your photographic interests are as well as your style and approach. After reviewing images we will look at photographers throughout history who have applied the Decisive Moment to their practice.

On Saturday, we will meet in the morning to photograph the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. During the afternoon/early evening, we will meet briefly to discuss how the day went.

Sunday participants are asked to bring 5-10 images from the parade to share with the class. This will be followed by answering any questions and another short lecture by Preston discussing how he applies the decisive moment to his personal and paid work.

Materials needed

• Bring any camera preferably digital because we will be reviewing images on Sunday after photographing on Saturday. Whether you shoot DSLR, Mirrorless, or iPhone you will learn how to read a scene and anticipate moments before they happen and this can be achieved with any format and any camera.
• Participants are asked to bring 5-10 images of their personal work to share with the class on Thursday.