The Photograph Considered number fifty two – Ian Raabe

The Decisive Moment

Can street photography be done using a large format camera ? From the 1940’s till the early 1970’s , the 4 x 5 Graflex press camera was often used by newspaper photographers. However, a 4 x 5 camera on a tripod needs a certain strategy. Rather than chase your subject, select a suitable location and wait in ambush.

In an old canvas bag I had a 4 x 5 Wanderlust Travelwide camera with a 90mm Linhof lens, a Reveni Lightmeter, a loupe and two dark slides (4 sheets of film). With a Carbon Feisol tripod, this kit weighed about 3 kg. Composing is done by viewing through 2 rectangles mounted on the camera, so no need for a darkcloth. This also means that at shutter speeds of 1/25 s or faster, it can be hand held.

One morning, I had gone to the State Library in Melbourne to view a photographic exhibition. Outside, in the forecourt it was getting busy with students and people in general. I noticed people playing chess on marked squares and very large playing pieces.

After viewing the exhibition I had a heightened sense of photographic awareness, and stepping outside an interesting composition unfolded. Quickly setting up the camera I noticed two persons playing chess. A figure in a white shirt playing the white pieces, while a black suited figure was playing black. Everything seemed to revolve around the white figure.In the lower left a boy was intently using his phone while ignoring the conversations of his three friends. A young man reaching for food, a massive statue on a plinth as a backdrop, a couple in conversation on a bench, and a group of seagulls approaching for scraps.

There is the decisive moment of the suited chess player contemplating his next move, the player in white seems more confident with his hands in his pockets, and of course there is the moment that St George impales the Dragon.

The new York photographer, Joel Meyerowitz has said, “ Only the camera can tear out of the moving hall of life, this fraction of a second that has some kind of meaning”.

As for the result of the match, I did not stay long enough to witness the ending.

The previous fifty-one articles in this series can be seen here.