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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixteen: Story-telling street photography > Street portrait, Bisbee, Arizona, 2009
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10-APR-2009

Street portrait, Bisbee, Arizona, 2009

This woman is taking a smoke break on the street in front of her craft shop. Her red dress matches the red building. I went to Bisbee with several other pbase artists, and all of us were enjoyed simultaneously photographing her. She seems to be enjoying posing for us, as well. I catch her here as she exhales a stream of cigarette smoke. I like her confident body language, and the way she makes the street her own.

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Phil Douglis21-Apr-2009 23:49
Life energy -- a wonderful phrase, Rosemarie. Yes, that is what I saw her as well. She was as interested in us as we were in her.
sunlightpix21-Apr-2009 23:19
I find myself drawn to her confident attitude. The window has many wares, but her life energy holds my interest. It's a complex portrait of what I'm guessing is a complex person.
Phil Douglis21-Apr-2009 22:29
Thanks, Carol, for noting the red hearts at upper left. There are several other red objects in the window as well. I was oblivious to the fitness level of this woman, but I was struck by her self confident attitude and the energy she put into smoking that cigarette. She may well be taking health risks, but she also seems to like her work and herself. A portrait is a complex document -- an expressive image can reveal multiple truths simultaneously. That is what I am trying to do here.
Carol E Sandgren21-Apr-2009 20:51
Not to be unkind, but I couldn't help notice that the woman here is overweight as well as a smoker. In a complete about face of a message here, I notice that there are two hearts in the window on the upper left side of your image. In view of her confident body language, she seems to be defying a healthy lifestyle in order to prove something in spite of a possible message conveyed by these. Interesting things in that shop window, but I did notice the hearts first, which I might add, are also red in color.
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