Welcome to this month's Adventures in Photography! This month is all about pictures of people who aren't posed and are in a world all their own. It's always been my favorite genre of photography because of its unpredictability, limited control, and the resulting magic of a successful image that tells a unique story. The Arc of Engagement From my very first assignments as a student in college, I was fascinated with taking pictures of people without dictation concerning pose or intent. When people become aware of a camera, there is an arc to their reactions. The person will examine the camera, and perhaps the photographer, and decide what kind of face to present. When the photographer presses the shutter, the face's expression is then documented, and it begins to tell its own story-perhaps apart from the reality of what was actually happening at that moment. The time before the face is fully prepared and the pose struck is often the least sterilized moment of expression. Before a person has prepared to smile, smirk, or otherwise stylize his or her features, is when one is probably broadcasting the truest state of affairs concerning his/her emotions and mindset at the time. To my mind spring three significant photographers who were known to be masterful at capturing these moments: Weegee, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Brassai. (By the way: if you click on any of the following images, you should be able to see a much larger version with detail that your email version may not be able to provide.)
 Masters of the Moment On the far left, Weegee has photographed two ladies who emit opulence, juxtaposed with a contrasting 'bag lady' dressed in a masculine looking hat and overcoat. I have interpreted her expression as that of envy, and the subjects of her gaze seem disengaged from her, but are aware of us, the audience. If we cut the lady out on the right then the image says much less, and becomes just another red carpet celebrity portrait. In the middle, Cartier-Bresson has caught the attention of three seemingly unguarded people involved in the practice of vanity maintenance. Ironically, this photograph is probably the apex of their fame, when their presentation is unguarded. The circuitous wave-shaped arrangement of arms and untended facial expressions seem credible, remarkable, and perhaps even cartoonish. On the right, Brassai has captured a moment of passion. The couple has tuned the audience out and seems to be interested only in each other. They have created a secret world in a public place, and despite the conflict, age, and the other forces that await them in the days to come, their apparent bliss pervades. Mimicry In the same curious spirit, exercising faith that there are millions of moments that tell stories still waiting to be captured, I have ventured into parties from time to time to make my own catalog of meaningfully pregnant images, i.e. images that have a plot embedded in them and reward a patient viewer.
 Engagement These two images indicate effectively the arc of how a person looks towards the camera before deciding on a sociable expression. The subjects' gaze seems alarmed. The image on the left is one of my all-time favorites, because of the gentleman's brilliant expression and the fiery background that compliments it. His wonderful hand gripping the cane was icing on the cake. The picture on the right seems to make a proper compliment.
Partyscape Nightlife can be both energetic and disorienting. The ape can come out of a man, as on the left, and the environment can become very alien, as on the right.
Politico These two images, although not as energetic or epic as the previous two, present a political commentary that's worth noting. I sent the image on the right to the lab and had the man's shirt blown up, just like Columbo would do. Note his resemblance to William Ayers.
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