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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Seven: Making time count > Watching the wheels, Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet, 2004
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26-JUN-2004

Watching the wheels, Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet, 2004

Only a few minutes before I made the preceding photograph, I photographed a pair of women watching the never-ending march of the prayer-wheel spinners through the Jokhang Temple. I used a slower shutter speed for this shot, about 1/15th of a second, to blur the wheels, a pilgrim passing through the frame, and the hand of one of the watching women. The purpose of this blur is to increase the tempo of the picture, making things feel as if they are spinning, moving, and even watching ever more quickly.

Canon PowerShot G5
1/15s f/2.2 at 9.1mm full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis03-Dec-2005 03:35
I like your reference to the "grand plan" -- as the world spins, so do the lives of those who live in it. The motion of the prayer wheels and the blurred figure contrast strongly to the two women who linger in the temple doorway.
Jude Marion03-Dec-2005 02:47
The first thing that came to mind when I looked at this image is the old adage, "time wait for no one". The prayer wheels and spinner are in motion ... which suggests to me that the Creators 'grand plan' is also in motion ... the two women sit on the step, frozen for that split second, yet caught up in the movement of the grand plan.
Beautiful image ... I really like the comp - the layers, as Tim mentioned ... and the placement of the static vs. the moving figure.
Phil Douglis17-Jul-2004 03:34
Thanks, Tim, for bringing up the layering here. It is a technique that both you are I familiar with -- but it is worth re-defining for those who might read these comments. A picture is "layered" when elements of meaning are related to each other in the foreground, middleground, and background of a picture. In this shot, the row of spinning prayer wheels make up the foreground layer. The blurred pilgrim is the middle ground layer, and the two women sitting on the step, the background layer. Actually, the focus here is quite deep -- constant through all three layers. Yet the wheels are blurred because they have just been spun by the blurred figure leaving the picture. The eye goes to the only layer that is not blurred -- the two women in the background. Could they somehow benefit from this man's prayer, as you seem to suggest here? This image could well ask such a question. It all depends how one reads the picture.
Tim May16-Jul-2004 18:01
I think the layering in combination with the movement in the foreground jumps this image to spectacular. By focusing on the women I sense the human purpose of prayer.
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