This fascinating set of four cinematic photographs captures a split second during a stick-dance duel in Trinidad. Stick fighting, or Calinda, is a type of war dance and martial art that takes place during Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago. It is a marriage of Trinidad’s two great historic influences: the African combat dances brought in during the transatlantic slave trade and the Spanish Catholic colonial period during the 1700s. Two sharply dressed men in collared shirts and belted trousers are seen positioned to spar amongst a crowd of spectators. The sequence of photographs show the men, frame by frame, delivering a single blow with their sticks at full force. The expressions of the crowd range from excitement to sympathy when the sticks meet, hilt to hilt, in the affray. These images were likely taken in 1964, when the renowned British documentary photographer and cinematographer, Wolfgang Suschitzky, was on set for a documentary about Trinidad and Tobago.

Wolfgang Suschitzky was born in Vienna, Austria on August 29, 1912. His most notable work is likely his camerawork in films such as Get Carter (1971) and The Bespoke Overcoat (1956). He studied at the Höhere Graphische Bundes-Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt for photography and moved to London in 1934 to escape the fascist ruling of Austria of the time. Suschitzky began his work in film when he became a cameraman for Paul Rotha throughout the 40s and 50s for multiple film projects. Suschitzky died in London at age 104 on October 7, 2016. His photographs are in the collections of major photography institutions and his work has been exhibited internationally.