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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixty Nine: How to make expressive photographs in “bad” light > Alone, Phoenix, Arizona, 2009
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29-APR-2009

Alone, Phoenix, Arizona, 2009

At mid-day, a high sun will create deep shadows that can render a scene harsh and soulless. However there are times where such harsh light can intensify the meaning of a photograph. This is such an image. I noticed a man waiting outside of an office building. He was pacing nervously, and seemed overwhelmed by the scale of the building behind him. I made this image from across the street, zooming back to include gaping shadows on each side of him. I caught many different positions, but the one that spoke most eloquently to me was this one. He turned his back to my camera and walked towards the building, his hands clasped behind his back as if in frustration. Scale incongruity is at work here, but so too is the symbolic meaning of black shadow. In this case, the shadows seem to express the unknown, the face of urban loneliness.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
1/2500s f/11.0 at 84.0mm iso1000 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis01-May-2009 18:46
Thanks, Claudia and Carol, for your comment on this image. The shadow speaks volumes here -- and that is why I chose to makie it so large and the man so small.
Carol E Sandgren01-May-2009 03:42
That dark shadow really "makes" this image. In detailed building surface of bright light, there'd be no story to tell here.
BleuEvanescence01-May-2009 02:01
You said it all, better than i can say it myself but...i do understand the impact of this image. I love the language of your pixels...
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