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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Forty One: Ruins and wrecks: photographing the rusted, busted past > Fender, Lone Pine, California, 2006
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16-OCT-2006

Fender, Lone Pine, California, 2006

This time I go beyond the steering wheel to show more of the same ruin of a car displayed in the previous image. By cropping the car and using a spot meter to expose once more for the highlights only, I am still abstracting the car – showing only the parts I want you to see. The flow of light on the sleek curve of its fender, and globe like headlight speak eloquently of a time when art deco design and streamlining held center stage. It is incongruous to find such beauty in a ruined object, and that is the whole point of this image. The circles created by the hubcap and tire rim echo the curves of the fender and the headlight. I need only show part of the grille as context – it completes the image.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50
1/500s f/8.0 at 42.9mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis24-Jan-2007 05:15
Thanks, Iris, for this metaphor -- this is certainly a blend of past and present, and in so confronting ourselves within the context of the past, it can certainly lead to such questions as you ask.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)23-Jan-2007 23:37
The sensual curves and circles, the dramatic light and shadow, the stark vertical lines of the grill create an image of past beauty and the reflection in the hubcap brings the past into the here and now. This juxtaposition of past and present brings to mind the importance of remembering the past lest we be condemned to repeat its mistakes. Have we learned this lesson????
Phil Douglis06-Nov-2006 17:41
Thanks, Ai Li, for this comment. I liked the way the light sculpts the car, bringing it from out of the darkness into the light. I am glad you suggested that this flow of sunlight makes you feel as if that headlight still glows. When I look at that light now, I see it in a new way.
AL06-Nov-2006 08:27
Very well said by Tim and Carol. The light did give me a feel that the car got its headlights on, cruising under the sun, and the reflection gave a beautiful scene of what's on the road. It's like a great frozen moment. And a classic beauty.
Phil Douglis30-Oct-2006 05:42
Glad you pointed out the reflection in the hubcap. It does indeed bring us back to the present, doesn't it? Thanks, Carol, for this observation.
Carol E Sandgren30-Oct-2006 04:30
The reflection in the hubcap brings us back to the modern day world, reminding us that we are simply looking, not entering the past. A fine old car well photographed!
Phil Douglis27-Oct-2006 21:06
The light as the wind -- a wonderful metaphor. Thanks, Tim, for energizing this image for us. And yes, we are trying to bring light into the past with expressive images such as these.
Tim May27-Oct-2006 20:52
The flow of light leads me to think of the flow of wind that etched across this car as it traveled - It is as if you are bringing "light" to its past.
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