photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Three: Expressing human values > Bus stop, Kusadasi, Turkey, 2011
previous | next
22-NOV-2011

Bus stop, Kusadasi, Turkey, 2011

I made this shot from a moving bus. The early morning light illuminates the edges of the bus shelter to create a glowing frame around the lone woman who waits patiently within. The light also catches the tops of her shoes and one knee – she seems suspended in in time and space. She ignores the large advertisement that stares at us from within the shelter. The light draws the eye beyond the shelter as well – leading to another large advertisement, well outside the shelter. While indistinct, it still echoes the shape of the poster within the shelter. Patience is a human value, and it is well defined by this image.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2
1/320s f/5.6 at 45.0mm iso160 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
share
Phil Douglis09-Feb-2012 23:09
We all ignore them, Iris. Yet they still dominate this scene, like them or not. They represent the reality in which she lives, even if their content is based utterly on fantasy.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)08-Feb-2012 04:38
Although surrounded by billboards, she appears oblivious to the commercialism that envelopes her. She seems to have much more on her mind than the promises offered in these advertisements. I can relate to this. I hate the billboards that invade our space and pollute our environment and I, too, pay them no attention.
Phil Douglis02-Jan-2012 20:26
Thanks, Tim, for seeing this image as the continuum of life itself. I saw the woman in the shelter as being oblivious to the advertisement along side of her. Yet you stand back, and see it from the viewer's point of view. One could also read this image as a contrast between reality and idealism. The woman leads an actual life -- one that entails loneliness or boredom. Meanwhile, the people in the ads represent life as a series of idealized states of being.
Tim May01-Jan-2012 23:42
I'm intrigued with the three collections of humans as the march through the image. The wedding couple, the working woman and the woman alone - like the stages of life in a way.
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment