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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Forty-Nine: Creating an echo with rhythm and pattern > Worshippers, The Great Mosque, Sousse, Tunisia, 2008
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08-NOV-2008

Worshippers, The Great Mosque, Sousse, Tunisia, 2008

Three worshippers are already at the gate of this 9th century mosque, waiting for it to open for prayer. I originally saw only the two men at the right, and made the image because of the rhythmic repetition of their legs. When editing the image later, I noticed the third man, seated at the edge of the entrance itself. His raised knees echo the raised knees of the men at right.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/400s f/8.0 at 68.8mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis16-Jun-2010 00:29
Thanks, Jen, for your gracious and thoughtful observations on how and why I make photographs as I do. Please do not feel that you are at any disadvantage. Remember that I had a 40 year head start on you. I am sure that you will be just as thoughtful a photographer as I may be when you are my age. And I am sure you will have a wonderful body of work to demonstrate that thoughtfulness. It is a joy to help, as always, Jen.
Jennifer Zhou15-Jun-2010 16:55
It is really to my surprise that nobody had commented on this image! There are always gems hidden in the corner and in your gallery I can find gems everywhere I look. I always wonder what makes you so great a photographer. We were side by side taking pictures few years ago in Shanghai, and when I saw those images you made of this city and its people, I realized that you possess so many qualities to be a great photographer which I lack. You are so focused on what you are doing and always remain confident. You always care about people and everything around you, you take their pictures with great passion and a calm mind. I feel being a great photographer, we need to have a whole package of qualities. But I know the distance now, and that's what I am gonna work on! Thank you so much Phil for always being our great example and inspiration!
Phil Douglis14-Jun-2010 20:22
Thank you, Jen, as always, for your thoughtful ideas. You always manage to bring new insights to my photographs, and of course to the learning they may provide you and others. I did not mention the play and meaning of the shadows in my own commentary, and your mention of them adds a new dimension to the story here. I was thinking so much about the posture of the people that I neglected to talk about how that shadow on the wall might bring additional understanding to the image. You noticed it, and I thank you for thinking about it. I also thank you for thinking about how this image appeals to the imagination, and for those important thoughts about the meaning of religion in the lives of these people. This image has been posted here for nineteen months, and you are the first to comment on its meaning.
Jennifer Zhou14-Jun-2010 07:08
Phil, This image is so beautifully organized! As photographers we react to what we see, and the world has its own mysterious way to present itself to us! Sometimes it is so magical!

Not only their legs echoes to each other, their shadows also work to reveal secrets here. The shadow of the young man look a lot more determined and calm to me while the expression of the real person is kind of worried and lost, and here he is to look for the answers to life. The other thing I notice is the shaddow casted by the old man's leg, it is like a mysterious figure of someone's head, maybe it is the presence of their God that nobody really noticed.

The old man with traditional hat makes a comparison with the young man with more fashionable Jeans. Would they also think differently toward their religion? This picture really stimulate our imagination!
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