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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Forty-Two: Adding meaning to scenic vistas > Point Reyes National Seashore, California, 2007
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13-JUN-2007

Point Reyes National Seashore, California, 2007

Point Reyes National Seashore is a 70,000-acre nature preserve in Marin County, 30 miles north of San Francisco. It is home to whales, elephant seals, elk, raptors and shorebirds. This view is from the Point Reyes lighthouse. This sweeping vista vanishes into nothingness as the distant fog obscures both land and sea in the far distance. The repeating horizontal thrusts of the waves energize the image. They play against the vertical thrust of the beach and the hills at right. The beach becomes negative space filled with tension. Meanwhile, the blue and white of the sea contrasts to the dull brown and green beach and hills.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/800s f/8.0 at 30.3mm iso100 full exif

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Phil Douglis27-Nov-2007 00:00
Nature itself does much of the abstraction here, Patricia. The magic of mist and spray makes us see less of this vista and perhaps more of the idea.
Patricia Lay-Dorsey26-Nov-2007 23:32
Now, this to me is a perfect example of abstracting a scene to give it meaning. Each band has a different color, sense of motion or stillness, and texture. And the vanishing perspective gives it power. Well done, Phil!
Phil Douglis03-Jul-2007 17:03
Thank you, Aloha, for seeing and feeling the echoes, rhythms, patterns, curves and tensions that draw you into and through this image. We can't look at just some of these compositional forces -- we must consider them all, as well as how they work together, in order to experience this photograph at its full value.
Aloha Diao Lavina03-Jul-2007 02:29
I like the echoing of the land and the water, the patterns of lines they create always in a mirrored dance from the beginning of the line to where the lines vanish in fog. Also adding to the tension is the irregular curves of the shoreline and the dunes, against the soft curve of the shoreline as it is flitered through the fog.
Phil Douglis02-Jul-2007 21:13
What a treat to hear from you again, Lara. Hope all is well. And yes, tension can produce a calming effect. Like the calm before the storm, right?
Lara S02-Jul-2007 20:57
Tension. Yes. Yes somehow calming.
Phil Douglis27-Jun-2007 18:19
Thanks, Ai Li, for pointing out the way this image draws the viewer into it and on down through it. When photographing vistas, implying depth and perspective is critical. A photograph of a vista must have layers and must be composed so that the viewer is drawn into them and through them. Both the waves and the landforms become progressively smaller as they recede into the dim background, carrying us along with them.
AL27-Jun-2007 13:51
What attracted me are the layers, both vertically and horizontally, and the contrast in color and form between the sea and the land. You added depth and allowed our eyes to take a walk down the beach to whatever it may lead us to.
Phil Douglis24-Jun-2007 19:05
Good to hear from you, Theodore. And glad you see and feel the same tension I felt in this scene.
Guest 24-Jun-2007 14:33
Hi Phil, it's been awhile. You've described it perfectly: "The beach becomes negative space filled with tension." I felt that way too.
Phil Douglis23-Jun-2007 23:34
Thanks -- the composition really is the whole story here. The sea and the land are merely components. We already know what they look like. This vantage point allows me to bring them together in a thought-provoking way.
pep23-Jun-2007 21:57
Outstanding composition!
Phil Douglis21-Jun-2007 19:11
Thanks, Mo, Tomasz, Veraferia, and Jenene, for coming to this image. The interrelationship between sea and land is at the core of my concept. As you note, Jenene -- the long beach is at the margin of energy. It is where the water has beaten against the earth for thousands of years, and where science tells us that life itself first appeared. The repetition of this natural process is indeed stressed throughout the image, both visibly, and ultimately invisibly.
JSWaters21-Jun-2007 17:38
I'm drawn to the balance of earth and water here and how the energy of the waves is echoed by the static shapes of the land mass. As the vista fades from view it reminds us that this cooperative effort in nature is repeated endlessly.
Jenene
veraferia21-Jun-2007 14:33
Wonderful perspective! I am always learning a different point of view with you! Thank you!
Tomasz Dziubinski - Photography21-Jun-2007 14:01
Very nice indeed.
monique jansen21-Jun-2007 08:09
and the horizontal waves are reflected in the horizontal patterns of the land
Phil Douglis20-Jun-2007 20:36
Thanks, Alexeig -- and welcome back to my galleries.
alexeig20-Jun-2007 20:28
Nice perspective. Great to see your image again
Phil Douglis20-Jun-2007 17:51
Yes, the path here divides sea from land. But it gets ever smaller, and more obscure as we move back into the depths of the image. And that is where the imagination comes into play.
flowsnow20-Jun-2007 15:27
One glimpse w/o reading the text and just looking at the shot, I imagined it to be The Parting Of The Red Sea. I suppose the pathway divides the sea from the land.
Phil Douglis19-Jun-2007 23:40
Yes, Carol, this was taken at the beginning of the pathway to the light house. Thanks.
Carol E Sandgren19-Jun-2007 22:24
Wonderful use of layers in this shot! Was this taken from the pathway to the lighthouse? looks very familiar.
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