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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Three: Stirring emotions through atmosphere and mood. > Early Morning in Manhattan, New York City, New York, 2008
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04-SEP-2008

Early Morning in Manhattan, New York City, New York, 2008

I am always looking for “Hopper Light” – the play of morning light and shadow upon old buildings, street scenes filled with the color and geometry that enrich so many of the wonderful oil paintings created by Edward Hopper. I found it here on a Manhattan side street. I stand across the street from this scene, and use a 28mm lens, which allows me to get close enough for detail, yet still retain the scope and scale of the street scene itself. I anchor the scene around a single man who stands alone under an orange awning of his place of work, waiting for admittance. The silent, nostalgic mood that I try to express here is also incongruous – just out of camera range, thousands of people are scurrying to work along Third Avenue. But this man stands here alone, in “Hopper Light.” Only the contemporary design of the awning places him in the 21st century. Everything else – the rhythmic window placement, the green and red colors, the flow of shadows upon the street, could look just as it might have appeared to Edward Hopper himself when he painted “Early Sunday Morning” in 1930 ( http://www.alledwardhopper.com/58/early-sunday-morning-by-edward-hopper )

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Phil Douglis09-Feb-2009 20:25
Thanks, Cyndy -- photographic "seeing" comes with knowledge and experience. I have been studying photography, making images, and teaching photographic expression for the last 40 years, and I try to learn something from every shoot and from every student, and then pour back what I learn into this site and into my one on one tutorials here in Phoenix. I am thrilled that you are learning new things from me all the time -- and I enjoy seeing how you apply them to your vision, which improves by leaps and bounds.
Guest 09-Feb-2009 19:39
Wow, I checked out the Hopper painting and the similarities are astounding. You see things that others sometimes miss, Phil. I'm always learning new things from you. Thanks.
Phil Douglis09-Sep-2008 18:37
Good point, Tim. I think every photographer should look at the work of other artists and take from it whatever inspiration they can. I have been moved by the melancholy warmth of Hopper's work for more years than I can remember. His 'Night Hawks" was my very favorite painting as a child -- and I've always noted his influence in my work. His influence is just as important to me as the work of my own photographic heroes, Henri Cartier Bresson, W. Eugene Smith, Andre Kertesz and Elliott Erwitt.
Tim May09-Sep-2008 00:10
As photographic artists we can open our spirits to be influenced by other visual artists. Chiura Obata and Georgia O'Keefe have done that for me. Here you remind us to continue to look at the work of others.
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