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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Three: Expressing human values > Disoriented elk, Dunhaven Pass, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 2006
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29-SEP-2006

Disoriented elk, Dunhaven Pass, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 2006

We drove behind this male elk for some time as it plodded slowly alongside of the road. It seemed indifferent and disoriented. Later, we talked to a Park Ranger about this behavior – she thought that this male may have been in a mating battle with another elk and had received a blow to the head. On the other hand, it might just be getting old and a bit confused. We drove on ahead of it, parked at a pullout and watched as it approached us. I made this image, using the s-curve of the white line to trace to illuminate its twisting path. Disorientation is a human value – we’ve all been there. We can appreciate what this elk must be going through.

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Phil Douglis01-May-2008 18:25
Thanks, Han. I agree -- this image would have been even more dramatic if we were there in beautiful light. It was a gray morning, however, so the dazed elk and the curvy road will have to suffice on their own.
Guest 01-May-2008 14:34
a space-out elk on a melting country road. it would be even dramatic if in a sunset tone
Phil Douglis30-Jan-2008 00:54
A disoriented elk poses a sad sight, but the way I am composed this image, stressing the twisting white line, lightens the mood a bit and makes the viewer into a participant. Disorientation, whether caused by alcohol or a blow to head, is a dizzying experience and that was what I wanted to say here. Thanks for living it with me, Vera.
Guest 30-Jan-2008 00:50
Ha Ha...my first thought was, "Is the elk drunk or am I?" One of us will not be able to walk the line.
v.
Phil Douglis09-Nov-2006 06:26
We drove behind this elk for a long time -- he paid no attention to us at all. We eventually passed him and drove on up the curvy road, got out, and waited for him to make it up the hlll. I had this shot in mind long before he finally came into my frame. And you are right, Christine -- he does look as if he is trying to follow the white line. He came around that bend and when he reached the spot between the two curves, I made this photograph, a study in disorientation.
Christine P. Newman09-Nov-2006 06:13
I agree with you Phil. Even if you had not told us that he was disoriented, the curved line gave that impression as well. It is almost like if he is trying to follow the line.
Phil Douglis27-Oct-2006 21:46
Thanks, Tim. That's what this image is really about -- a struggle. While the s-curve is often used in composition to carry the eye of the viewer through an image, I am using it here to symbolize human values: disorientation, confusion, and great effort.
Tim May27-Oct-2006 21:01
The s-curve really captures the sense of how that elk was struggling up the hill.
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