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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Ten: A Walk in the Park – only minutes away > Dream Clean, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2016
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25-APR-2016

Dream Clean, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2016

Restaurants line the perimeter of the park at Scottsdale’s Civic Center Mall. As I passed this one, I noticed a waiter intent on making his establishment’s front door free of all fingerprints. He scrubs away, entirely oblivious to those female legs incongruously hanging over his shoulder in upper right background. Her shoes seem ready to slip from her feet. Our eyes flow through the glass panels marking the boundary of the restaurant’s patio. They all point towards the action of the waiter and those strange legs in the background. He uses a blue rag to polish the door, a perfect color match for the blue edges of the rhythmically repeating glass panels. The incongruity here is at the heart of the image, largely due to those dangling legs. They actually belong to a full- sized sculpture of a woman sitting on a partial wall inside the restaurant. Without the legs, this picture would just be a nice photo of a waiter at work. With them, our imagination sees a scene right out of a dream.

FujiFilm X-T1
1/350s f/13.0 at 84.8mm iso640 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis04-Aug-2016 22:26
Thanks, Gervan, for mentioning the role of the reflection in this image. It provides a layer of foliage that helps merge the interior of the restaurant with the exterior.
Gervan04-Aug-2016 07:35
Well seen and captured reflection. V.
Phil Douglis29-Apr-2016 03:08
Glad those dangling legs carried the message here, Stephanie, Marisa, and Iris. You make a wonderful point, Marisa, about how a part of a picture can be so compelling that our eyes might miss another wonderful detail. The repeating blue colors are what drew me to this image originally. The legs came a bit later, and from that point on, I simply waited to the moment when the body language of the water echoed the curve rhythms of the chairs. And thanks, Iris, for noting that I am continuing to post images here on pbase, even though I am no longer traveling all over the place. There is an abundance of photo opportunities here in the Phoenix area, which should lead to additional posts every now and then.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)29-Apr-2016 02:59
The woman's legs with the dangling shoe provides a whimsical contrast to the seriousness of he waiter so focused on his task. So glad you're posting again, Phil.
Marisa Taddia28-Apr-2016 16:15
Phil, I've commented this image before on Flickr but I came here to read you caption and I discovered a new element: the blue repetition! I was so astonished with both the waiter's concentration and those hanging legs that I missed that wonderful detail..
Stephanie28-Apr-2016 12:56
I just love this image! The statue's legs are a riot! VVV
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