Street Market, Lima, Peru, 2003 by Phil Douglis

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Four: Finding meaning in details > Street Market, Lima, Peru, 2003


23-DEC-2003

Street Market, Lima, Peru, 2003

As our tour bus rolled through the colorful streets of the Peruvian capital, I saw the colors in this scene, pressed the lens to the window, and took this picture. As I reviewed it, I was struck by the wealth of story telling details. The table is full of food for sale – we are looking at all or part of a local street market. The walls and old door are covered with the remains of posters. One of them carries the name of the city, and gives this picture an instant sense of place. But these details merely confirm the setting. The real meaning is in other details. A woman holds a child on her lap as he drinks from a bottle. Another woman sits behind the market table, holding her head in her hand. Are they related? The woman with the child wears bright red. Is she a customer? Or does she help run the enterprise? I would like to be able to say that I was conscious of all of these details before I took the picture. But I wasn’t. I sensed that the situation was worth shooting, and made the picture before I had time to think about why I was doing it. It was purely a matter of intuition. The details came later.

Canon PowerShot G5
1/1000s f/4.0 at 12.7mm full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		29-Nov-2007 23:23
Do just that, Vera. Snap away. This image was made from the window of the bus. I did it as a matter of intuition. Because I wanted to do it. Later, I would have time to think more about its meaning and its potential value to others as a learning example. I am glad that you found value in it yourself, Vera.

Guest		29-Nov-2007 16:42
Your comments on this picture have helped me the most today in my thought process. Reassurance that it is ok to just snap pictures that for some reason call out to you. Then later, think about what it was and have fun figuring it all out. Sometimes it is not something that can, or needs to be put into words. It simply is. Perhaps we don't need to have an explanation for everything but rather just go with the feeling it leaves us with. The freedom to not have to put into words, rather to put into pictures, is liberating for those of us who don't articulate our feelings very well through the written word. Sometimes I can't explain, or choose not to explain, why something moves me. It is enough to say, "It moves me." So, I will snap away.... Vera

Phil Douglis		26-Dec-2004 00:05
Thanks, Nut. Now you know what a "grab shot" is -- that's an excellent definition. It's an instinct -- you see and shoot in split second. Of course you have to be ready for what you are likely to see so you don't have to fiddle with focus or exposure.

nut		25-Dec-2004 09:18
Not only market, but transportation centre too. I understand why you said this is "a "grab shot". It's automatic reaction of yourself to what you see throught your eyes.

Phil Douglis		10-Dec-2004 22:12
Thanks, Clara, for bringing an artist's eye to this image. I try to make photographs that will ask questions of the viewer. Let them provide the answers. You are right. No matter what their answers might be, this image is still so rich in details that anyone can learn something about everyday life in urban Peru by studying them. And thanks, too, for responding to the way I put this image together. It was one of those photographs that basically composed itself. But I had to recognize the value of that composition and the detail within, in order to make this picture. As I mentioned to you earlier, it was basically instinctive. The bus was moving, and this is what they call in the trade, a "grab shot."

Guest		10-Dec-2004 19:43
Regardless of the answers to your questions, Phil, this is a very rich human shot that tells a lot on how is life around there. It is a beautiful composition too.

Phil Douglis		01-Dec-2004 16:58
Hi, Clara. Yes, there was ample available light for me to shoot at 1/1000 of a second. In fact, the camera set the lens opening at f/4, which was not even its largest opening, meaning that there was more than enough to use that fast a shutter speed.

Guest		01-Dec-2004 15:07
so very well done! besides, what an amount of available light for your camera set itself to 1/1000!

Phil Douglis		30-Nov-2004 23:38
Yes, Clara -- whenever I am shooting from a moving bus, I try to use a fast shutter speed. Sometimes I set it myself, and sometimes I just see what the "Program" mode is giving me as a shutter speed. On this day, the G5's programmed exposure was coming up at 1/000th at f/4, which would work perfectly. And it did! Please note, however, that this is one of the few images that did work. Most did not because of the shutter lag problem. When you are shooting from a side window on a moving bus, it is hard to know what picture opportunity is just ahead. You just have to keep the lens on that window and see what you can see. I think I got two evocative images out of 50 on that bus ride. I was happy with that. Normally, a moving bus is not the best way to find expressive images, but when you are on a tour, you sometimes must make the best out of a bad photographic situation. And that's what I tried to do here.

Guest		24-Nov-2004 17:35
wonderfully composed/framed even at such speed (you moving on bus) how could you set the speed of the shoot so quickly? or the camera was already set at 1/1000? regards. Clara

Phil Douglis		10-May-2004 17:07
Thanks, Jill -- I am glad you can respond emotionally to this image. Our subjects often have stories to tell us, and it is our privilege to help them tell those stories by making viewers enter our pictures and put their own imaginations to work. The image itself becomes a starting point, triggering thoughts. The most important part of the photographic process is what goes inside of viewer's minds as they look at our pictures.

Jill		10-May-2004 12:34
This affects me I suppose "emotionally" I would like to step into the picture and sit with these two ladies and listen to their stories.

Lara S		10-Feb-2004 18:53
Good to know. Good to know. :)

Phil Douglis		07-Feb-2004 20:26
Yes, Lara, it is OK to capture details intuitively, rather than deliberately. What is important is that those details are there, and that they carry symbolic meaning that helps the picture speak.

Lara S		07-Feb-2004 04:20
and that's ok right? Seeing the details after you've taken the shot? I know I have to work on concentrating on "seeing" my photo beforehand, I always feel that I could be a better photographer if I saw the details I was shooting as I was shooting. Instead I rush to take the photo because I'm afraid the opportunity will slip by and then realize afterwards the details, etc.. maybe I'm being too hard on myself?

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