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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eight: Light and shadow shape meaning > The Old Yangtze Ferry, Sanxia, China, 2004
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30-JUN-2004

The Old Yangtze Ferry, Sanxia, China, 2004

The key to landscape photography is light, and the best light for photography comes just after dawn or at dusk. The Three Gorges of China’s Yangtze river are as beautiful as any riverscape on earth, but I still needed be able to shoot it in warm, low angled light such as this to get the most out of such a scene. This image reminds me of the 19th Century paintings of New York’s Hudson River Valley – the hills, the mist, smooth water, and an old boat about to touch land. Even small details such as the boat’s shimmering reflection on the water and the tiny figures on the bow of the ferry are dependent upon the angle of the light. The tinge of warm gold, and the four levels of land rising through the frame, complete a timeless vision of a river soon to vanish forever, as it becomes a reservoir for Three Gorges Dam Project.

Leica Digilux 2
1/640s f/9.5 at 22.5mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis27-May-2006 04:28
This image would be just as as effective an example if it was in my "atmosphere and mood" gallery. That is really what it's about. Thanks, Jack, for making this point.
Guest 27-May-2006 03:07
Very nice atmospheric painting!!
Guest 15-Jun-2005 14:39
Looking at this photo makes me feel like i have stepped back in time.
Phil Douglis30-Sep-2004 21:33
I knew you would see it differently, Lara. And this is just the first of many times in the next week that I hope to have the pleasure changing the way you see.
phil
Lara S30-Sep-2004 19:32
oh yes. I totally see what you mean. NOw the picture does have a different feel to it. I guess I was looking at it so one dimensional.
Phil Douglis30-Sep-2004 16:27
I see your point, Lara. But you are looking for a picture that I could not make. There were no clouds. It was a misty, early morning, and I wanted to capture this old Ferry within that mist as an abstraction. In other words, it is there, but not there, at the same time. This, I feel, is what gives this picture its meaning. To me, this image transcends time. It could have been made 100 years ago. Yet, as I say in the caption, this is a sight that will soon vanish forever, when the river becomes a reservoir. So put on new eyes and look again, Lara. Look this time not for what you might expect to see, but rather look at this image for what it expresses -- a trip back into time.
Lara S30-Sep-2004 14:53
I find this photo too one dimentional. If there is a play of light, I would have loved to see it more refined in the clouds, if that makes sense. this just looks to me like a snapshot more than a photograph. Sorry Phil.:)
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