Drying Salmon, Mainapilgino, Siberia, Russia, 2002 photo

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Nine: Composition -- putting it together > Drying Salmon, Mainapilgino, Siberia, Russia, 2002

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07-AUG-2002

Drying Salmon, Mainapilgino, Siberia, Russia, 2002

Mainapilgino is a small Chukchi fishing camp. When I crouched before its racks of drying Salmon, the horizontal poles and vertical fish created horizontal and vertical rhythms reminding me of musical manuscripts. A heavy fog made a perfect backdrop, except for the inevitable wandering tourists. I simply waited for them out to get this picture, which is rhythmic in more ways than one.

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Phil Douglis		10-Nov-2006 19:35
Thanks, Ade --the small fish is the note that makes this musical image complete. It offers not only scale, but scale incongruity.

Guest		10-Nov-2006 19:25
This is not nice but incredible.for me the small fish gives the image scale.

Phil Douglis		12-Aug-2006 17:40
I like your view on the role of the smallest fish, Jeffrey. The Grace Note. You are right. If we put our hand over it, the point and counterpoint of the rhythm vanishes.

Guest		12-Aug-2006 13:21
Just a fantastic photograph! I really like the musical analogy. The little fish is like a grace note on the sforzando big fish... May seem extraneous, but you'd notice it and feel something missing if it weren't there. v.

Phil Douglis		28-Apr-2006 19:32
Droll. I love that word. Curious. Unusual. A dry amusement. I think it fits this image perfectly. Thanks, Niall.

Phil Douglis		15-Oct-2005 21:11
It was only a matter of time until you commented on this one, Lisbeth. Nearly 4,000 page views of it so far, and nearly 20 people have left their observations. Yet somehow you have focused on something that nobody else has yet recognized -- the importance of the small fish. Tim came closest, calling the small fish "punctuation," which you have expanded to a great incongruity -- an extra note after the symphony has ended. Thank you for making us see this image in a new way, Lisbeth. The little fish does indeed add its own touch of vitality to this image -- even though, like the others, it has lost its head. Unlike the others, it displays much of its interior flesh, for which it is so prized.

Lisbeth Landstrøm		15-Oct-2005 20:50
Extraordinary! And the repetition of "1 big 4 small" both vertical and horisontal - makes the last little fish to the left an insisting "out of rythm"-element Like an extra sound from one of the players in an orchestra just after the conductor has given the signal of silence after the final "crescendo and bang" ending. Here it is great incongruity - the little fish adds its own life to the picture.

Wembley Trablant		15-Jun-2005 00:26
i've been looking at the images on pbase for over a year now and this one is still the out of the park home run!

Kimberley Hannaman Taylor		09-Jun-2005 13:01
I also enjoy the natural sepia tones.. This is a wonderful shot. (and who hasn't done the waiting game with those pesky tourists?!) Kimberley

Phil Douglis		01-Apr-2005 19:13
Glad you see this image as child's painting, Benchang. There is a primitive quality to five headless fish hanging on a rack to dry. And children can often bring a primitive charm to their own art as well.

Phil Douglis		01-Apr-2005 19:11
I love your analysis of this image, Benchang. I agree that the small fish plays an important role. But so does the big fish and all of them in between. They look like musical notes to me, and make progressively smaller sounds as you move from left to right. And yes, I agree that the lack of heads add a whimsically incongruous touch that brings to mind the sophisticated cartoons of The New Yorker Magazine. And so, too, do those tails, twitching this way and that. I have indeed "de-fished" and objectified the salmon here, too good effect. I use this image as the "representative" thumbnail for this gallery because it demonstrates four of the most important compositional tools so well -- rhythmic repetition, focal point, diagonal flow, and layers of meaning. It has also received the second most views of any of the images in this gallery, trailing only Copacabana Beach, which, for some unknown reason, is by far the most visited image in any of my galleries.

Benchang Tang		01-Apr-2005 07:37
Another impression is the picture is more like a paint by a child. And the "drying" also helps to bring out the result.

Benchang Tang		01-Apr-2005 07:32
On my first look on this picture as thumbnail on the front page I did find something diffeirent. After reading you caption and all the discussion I have these feelings. In composition the smallest fish plays an important role. The headlessness in the fish is vital for this picture, it cartoonizes(I am not sure of this word)the fish so that they are more defished and objectized( not sure of the word again). To me this is more like a cartoon in the Newyorker Magazine. Special.

Phil Douglis		31-Mar-2005 16:49
Thanks, Kevin, for pointing out the role of texture in this image. The way the light and shadow falls on the large salmon at left helps, along with scale, to create a focal point. As for the headlessness, it does add a touch of surprising incongruity.

Guest		31-Mar-2005 09:05
I really love this image. I was half expecting the salmon to be dried with their heads on, but the "headlessness" creates a contrast to the tails on the top of the picture. The silvery texture of the salmon in the foreground to the left makes a very good visual impact.

Phil Douglis		12-Nov-2004 18:18
Thanks, Lim, for this comment. I agree that technique should be subordinate to content in pictures. Composition is the process of organizing content for meaning. Glad you like this example. Everything in this picture has a function, including the supporting poles, which create diagonals that pull the eye into the picture. I will check out your galleries and leave some comments for you. Thanks again for coming.

Lim Yaohui		12-Nov-2004 09:28
i have just started on photography and have been focussing a lot on composition for my photos rather than the technical aspects of it. to me, this photo looks good because of the especially large fish on the left which is balanced by the smaller fish by its side. there is also a pattern of the poles from top to bottom, wet to dry. First impressions... the supporting poles on the ground seemed a little distracting, but come to think of it, it sorts of balances the whole photo too. anyway, thanks for showcasing the different aspects of photography through your galleries. hope you can give me some critqiues on my photos if you have the time.

Phil Douglis		09-Sep-2004 04:05
Thanks, Bryan, for your kind comment on this, one of my most fortunate images. One stumbles upon a photographic opportunity such this only a few times in a career. And I had to travel to one of the earth's most remote fishing villages to find it, at that. Once I found it, I was not about to squander my opportunity. I put this picture together with great care and conscious intention. What you see, is exactly what I perceived.

Guest		02-Sep-2004 19:29
Just simply a TERRIFIC foto! For this one, I can use no other description Phil. Bryan

Phil Douglis		16-Aug-2004 02:47
You are a master of the pun, Bruce. Glad you like this is shot. It has become one of my most popular images here on pbase, no doubt because of that unusual and incongruously accidental musical motif.

Guest		15-Aug-2004 03:20
This is one of my favorites - the fish look like a series of musical notes. "The Sound of Salmon"

Phil Douglis		03-Aug-2004 19:52
Thanks, Henk, for your comment on this image. As for viewing size, I uploaded my pictures at much larger sizes when I started my galleries last year, and a number of people found them too large to comfortably view. So I began uploading them a bit smaller -- they automatically are posted as "Large" and viewers can click on "Original" to see them even larger -- but not as large as they once were. I think this works the best for most of my viewers. I don't agree that Pbase has hurt the reproduction quality of my images. On the whole, I am quite pleased with how my images are displayed here.

oochappan		03-Aug-2004 19:07
This photo is really an eye-catcher and very properly used as a sign-board of this gallery. On top of the nice rythmes in clear contrast of the cold hazy background you got a very clear texture of the fish with an warm extended color palet. One thing I noticed as many are viewing your photos at large it would be maybe better to upload them as such because the reduction done by Pbase is not good enough for your photos.

Guest		17-Dec-2003 21:34
truly awesome. the composition, color and subject.

Phil Douglis		11-Dec-2003 05:01
Sree, No doubt they are used to such indignities by now. Phil

Sree Nagisetty		11-Dec-2003 03:34
I can't help wondering what a Salmon would say about this image. Good composition.

Phil Douglis		10-Dec-2003 00:06
Tim, thanks for the wonderful observation. I have never looked at this shot as surreal, probably because I saw the reality of it with my own eyes. You are right about the blood red fish drawing the eye -- butchery, even in the name of survival -- is a harsh reality ((even in what you see as a surreal image).

Tim May		09-Dec-2003 23:22
Many people have said fine things about this image. For me, it feels like a Dali painting, surreal. I, as usual, am drawn to the punctuation in the left, the small fish so close to the large one and the red, which reminds me of the blood that must have been spilled.

Phil Douglis		04-Nov-2003 20:50
Thanks, James, for your comment. Photos can indeed work on many different levels. It all depends upon the context a viewer brings to it, the context that is displayed with the picture, and the intentions of the photographer. In this case, I present it in a dual role -- both as a visual experience as you call it, as well as documentation from a Siberian fishing village.

Guest		04-Nov-2003 20:38
This image is captivating, illustrative, and well composed. It offers information on many different levels as a documentary photograph, but as an artistic expression, it offers an interestingly visual experience. Nice.

Phil Douglis		02-Nov-2003 18:55
Thanks, John. Poetry and photography are both mediums of expression. Most people can write a series of sentences and paragraphs to convey specific meaning. But poets go beyond the specific -- their words convey expression that can mean many things to many people. Poets are artists, using language as their medium. Likewise, most people can point a camera at a subject and describe the subject photographically. But some photographers are able to use their cameras to go beyond description, and instead express ideas with their cameras that can also mean many things to many people. They, too, are artists, using images as their medium. You are right -- both poetry and photography can stir the human intellect, imagination, and even emotions. I am delighted that my image reads like poetry to you. I was not just taking a picture of some dead fish here. As Dirk has noted below, for him, this photograph went beyond the specific subject to express thoughts as large as life itself. I made this image very carefully and deliberately. Nothing was left to chance. I saw music before me, not fish. And that's what I was trying to say. Others might see other things, which makes this picture all the more worthwhile.

Guest		02-Nov-2003 16:12
Phil, You made me hungry! Love the composition and the lines; it's kinda like poetry. Maybe it makes one think, I hope. John Connor

Phil Douglis		22-Oct-2003 03:30
Dirk, we are talking here about the value of art -- if a photograph can provoke the thoughts, ideas, and emotions of those who look at them, it is doing its job. That's what I try to do with my images, and that's what you try to do with yours. And it's not as easy to do as it sounds! Thanks, as always, for your perceptive comments. Phil

Guest		18-Oct-2003 23:54
Hi Phil, yes I agree, many images lead to other interpretations but that is I think the strong factor of images which have more in them than simply showing objects or a situation etc.. Thought provoking images will stand much longer then simply beatiful images. Also because as each person changes in his life he could see other things in the same picture. This is the same for paintings in my opinion. Excuse me my bad English (it's only my third language). Kind regards.

Phil Douglis		18-Oct-2003 20:16
Dirk, thanks for your thoughtful comment on this photograph. I made it because of what it originally said to me. But this photograph obviously says other things to other people as well, which is one of the great strengths of photography. And as I continue to look at it, additional meanings come to mind. It's a never ending process. Phil

Guest		15-Oct-2003 10:38
Hi Phil, THis is an amazing picture on different levels, I love it. It is a world on is own, a kind of illustration of the world or even life on this planet. I love the perfect composition and the play of lines. Also the light is exactly what was needed to come to this wonderful result. Not only a very beautiful image but also a very thoughtful. With regards. Dirk

Phil Douglis		19-Sep-2003 02:16
The world is indeed a small place. I traveled from the USA to remote Siberia to make this picture of six dead fish for you to enjoy in Portugal! It's one of my favorites as well, Antonio. Thanks for your comment.

Guest		18-Sep-2003 11:10
My favorite, so unusual and so meaningfull!

Phil Douglis		04-Sep-2003 20:03
Once again, Rebecca, your response is insightful. The dead fish and drying rack are static, as you say. But the variation in the size of the fish, from left to right, playing against the variation in size of those horizontal white lines that run between the drying poles, create contrasting sets of rhythms that turn a static scene into a dynamic image, a picture that seems almost musical in its patterns. Thanks so much for your comment.

Guest		04-Sep-2003 10:18
I am impressed by how you have managed to create a dynamic image from something so static! The large fish to the far left of the image is what makes the composition work for me.

Phil Douglis		01-Sep-2003 19:56
I love it too, Denise. I have a print of this 'musical' picture over my desk, and every time I see it, it brings me back to that Siberian village and the smell of drying salmon. Phil

Denise Dee		01-Sep-2003 15:22
love, love, love this one. thanks, denise

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