J. Clarke
In article <2013120613391770912-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom>, savageduck1@{REMOVESPAM}me.com says...

Savageduck
On 2013-12-06 20:11:47 +0000, Tony Cooper <tonycooper214@gmail.com>said:

Tony Cooper
On Fri, 6 Dec 2013 08:17:18 -0800, Savageduck <savageduck1@{REMOVESPAM}me.com>wrote:

Savageduck
How did Capa pre-visualize these 11 shots? < http://www.skylighters.org/photos/robertcapa.html >

Pre-visualization can work as a technique for static shots such as landscapes, studio portraits, fashion photography, etc. we have learned that from Adams. However, when it comes to action shots, it is a matter of documenting that action by capturing the moment. That applies to war/combat photography, sports photography & Cartier-Bresson style street. Those photographers might be able to predict an action as the subjects pass through a particular target area, but they are not likely to predict or pre-visualize the result. ...and yet they are photographers.

Tony Cooper
Expand you're thinking there, Duck. While "action" shots require instant reaction, the good action shooter knows how to anticipate where the action will be. That qualifies as "pre-visualization" to me.

A sports photographer capturing that finger-tip pass reception in the end zone cannot not visualize the actual scene, but he positions himself and follows the receiver in his viewfinder in such a way that the action shot can be captured. He's visualizing what can happen.

The foreign correspondent photographer following a street riot tries to anticipate where the action will be and when. He's visualizing a shot where rioters are throwing rocks or Molotov cocktails, not just a static scene of a crowd, so he follows certain rioters with his lens and watches body English to anticipate who will throw something.

Street photography involves visualization. In this shot, I wanted to show a player with dominoes in his hand, and not just some people sitting around a table with dominoes on it. I got lucky the facial expression, but that's because I waited until the visualization of what I wanted to shoot worked out.

http://tonycooper.smugmug.com/Current-Shots/i-VgssR8K/0/X2/2013-11-20-103b-X2.jpg

of my shots are "grab" shots, but the better ones are where I've seen in my mind what I wanted to capture, and positioned myself in such a way that I could capture that scene. I have something in mind. Maybe a particular object in the background, an action of some sort, or even an angle.

"Visualization" and "anticipation" are not synonyms, but the concept is synonymous in that a photographer visualizes what he wants to capture and anticipating where that scene will materialize. You can't really anticipate what will develop unless you have some scene pre-visualized.

Savageduck
I know, I know, there is always a degree of planning for those shots. The famous Cartier-Bresson puddle shot is one such where pedestrians had been negotiating that puddle all day. His keeper, or money shot was the one with the guy making the stretched leap-step.

I have positioned myself at spots on a race track, knowing the type of shot I might get, but longing for that moment which makes for a special capture. For my Triathlon bike shots I positioned myself at the top of a 2 mile climb up a canyon road knowing that the competitors were at the peak of the most stressful part of the course. Some of those riders reaching that point are drained, others are exultant at having surmounted that particular barrier, and the faces show it. < https://db.tt/4oekRM8i > < https://db.tt/V6pvuRFh > < https://db.tt/9PoWkaNT >

J. Clarke
If you're dealing with a regular activity then a certain amout of planning is certainly reasonable. While the details of a football game or a bicycle race or an air show differ, one after seeing a few has a good idea what opportunities will present themselves.

But how do you "visualize and anticipate" somthing like this:

<http://www.digitalfilmtree.com/blog/wp- content/uploads/2012/05/hindenburg.gif>

or this:

<http://padresteve.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/space-shuttle- challengerjpg-ff9375e2f0d3b75c.jpg>

or this:

<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/NASA-Apollo8-Dec24- Earthrise.jpg>