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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Thirty: When walls speak and we listen > Hand Railing, Rectors Palace, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2005
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12-SEP-2005

Hand Railing, Rectors Palace, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 2005

The old walled city of Dubrovnik was once known as The Republic of Ragusa. It ranked among the world's great trading powers in the 15th Century, when it built this palace for its rulers. This staircase is one of its more memorable sights. I was astounded to see a huge hand coming out of the wall to support the hand railing I was using to haul myself upwards. It seems as if the strength of the past is sealed within that very wall, extending a small part of itself into the present to help us ascend the stairs to view the rooms from which this place was once governed. Talk about a wall that speaks! My image is very simple – built on a series of interlocking diagonals. The hand railing is the dominant diagonal, complemented by the diagonal flow of the steps and the rows of old stones in the wall. The incongruity of the exaggerated hand coming out of the wall is the force that makes the wall speak and the viewer listen. I originally posted this image in color, but later took a look at it in black and white. In monochrome, it becomes more surrealistic and timeless.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
1/125s f/3.7 at 8.9mm iso80 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time12-Sep-2005 12:05:15
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-FZ20
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length8.9 mm
Exposure Time1/125 sec
Aperturef/3.7
ISO Equivalent80
Exposure Bias
White Balance (10)
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis25-May-2006 17:41
It is fascinating how Ana sees the huge hand as a symbol of friendship, Dandan sees a trapped soul sending a message to us, Echo sees it offering us help if needed, Jen sees the hand of a tormented slave, you view it as oversized humor, while I interpret it as representing the strength of the past. There can be no right or wrong interpretation. Each of us sees what we see because of who we are. This photo is the catalyst that brings out our differences here.
Guest 25-May-2006 12:26
Thanks for catching a wonderfully funny detail!!
Phil Douglis21-Dec-2005 20:13
Thank you, Jen, for coming back to this image to comment on its lessons. Yes, I could have just as well placed it my gallery on black and white imagery, because of what it teaches us in terms of the differences in meaning of monochromatic presentation vs. color. But it is here in this gallery on speaking walls because it offers a striking example of an evocatively expressive wall. You are right -- there is always more to learn. I look at every image I make as a lesson in itself. This is how I both learn and teach. I am glad you feel as if you've learned something from it as well.
Jennifer Zhou21-Dec-2005 15:07
Thank you Phil for the long response. This image could be a great example to explain the differences between color and B&W, even I studied that long ago but with every image, there are still more to learn. Thanks, I am really glad you made this image and taught a great lesson here!
Phil Douglis20-Dec-2005 22:30
You are the first viewer to see the grim side of this image, Jen. It is definitely there -- my black and white version takes the image out of the present (color) and brings it back into time. It is positively medieval in black and white, making the image timeless. The medieval world of Dubrovnik was not a pleasant place, and it is entirely possible that the scale of these hands was originally intended to intimidate those who climbed these stairs to the halls of power. The black and white abstraction also makes this image more surrealistic than the color version, and that may also be part of what you find so terrifying here. The scale of the enormous hands suggests that an equally enormous person must be inside of that wall! Ultimately, the color version seemed to me to be more of a travel brochure image, while the black and white version is more abstract and as a result, enters the imagination more quickly and plays with the mind rather than the eye. The surrealism of those giant hands have triggered a frightening reaction in your case -- I did not intend to strike fear in the hearts of my viewers here, but if I have done so to you, the issue rests as much in the context you bring to it and in your own imagination, as it does in the image itself.
Jennifer Zhou20-Dec-2005 12:03
Comparing the B&W with the color one, I feel they are delivering totally two different messages here. The picture in color is full of humanity. It does look like those hands are helping us and leading us to walk back to the old time, a world full of love and care. But the B&W makes the picture look grim. It is as if we were brought to Hell, where, is a place full of suffer and pain... Those hands are no longer helpers, but like the hands of slaves, I don't see the faces of them, but I can hear the terrified screaming, it is now too painful to look at. I wanted to walk in to the color picture, but here I just want to turn back and leave...
Phil Douglis18-Dec-2005 20:23
Thanks, Echo for this comment. Yes, the hand coming out of the wall to hold that railing is "weird" but such weirdness is often the essence of incongruity. I am glad you found meaning here -- the hand is there to help you, just as the rail is. And glad, too, that you are learning something from this shot about choosing your own vantage point. I have an entire gallery devoted to choosing vantage points to express ideas athttp://www.pbase.com/pnd1/vantage_point
Guest 18-Dec-2005 12:49
at the first sight,the hands looked weird to me. but then from the pic i could see more: feeling safe if i walk up stairs. just like if you need help, somebody there will put out their hands to you at the right time...
this shot gave me some idea on how to choose the view for a shot.
thanks for sharing, Phil.
Phil Douglis11-Dec-2005 20:03
The mystery here is created through abstraction. The medieval architects who designed this railing want you to wonder whose hands those are. And by photographing them from this spot, in black and white, I tried to intensify that sense of mystery. Glad you feel it, Dandan. And thanks for the comment.
Guest 11-Dec-2005 11:00
For some reasons, this image looks very mysterious to me. The hands come out the old wall that holding the railing, it almost looked like some trapped soul try to pass on some messages through the railing. I just want to touch the railing, feel the energy, and receive the messages…
Phil Douglis18-Oct-2005 18:43
Thanks for being the first to comment on this image, Ana. It was one of my favorites from this trip. In fact, I now use it on my desktop. You can see the color version in my travel article on this trip posted athttp://www.worldisround.com/articles/220816/photo52.html I think you hit upon an important concept here, regarding the uniformity of a black and white image. Note the prominence of the old wooden handrail itself in the color version -- it is a different color than everything else in the picture, and thus dominates the image. Yet in the black and white version, the handrail is the same color as the steps, and this causes the huge hand to dominate the image instead of the rail it holds. As I pointed out in my caption, the black and white version is also less real than color, which makes the picture speak more of the past and less of the present. The monochromatic rendering also increases the incongruous, surreal aspects of the image. Thanks so much for your thoughts about that hand as symbolizing the human values of friendship, support, and reassurance. You have added so much to this image for me, and for others as well.
Ana Carloto O'Shea18-Oct-2005 15:24
I like this image a lot actually. It is a simple composition, but the symbolic value of the hands that hold the railling is indeed quite impressive.
I think it can be a like a sybolic image of the values of true friendship... the hands that will always hold us and take us up the stairway of life even when we feel about to give up... Those oversized and sturdy hands are very special and they invite us up the steps indeed, they are reassuring even and yes! to me they speak of that supreme human value, of friendship, of lending a hand...
I have no idea how it would look in colour, but I think the b&w will surely gain even because it makes all the image uniform.
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