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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Fifteen: Making travel portraits that define personality and character. > Souvenir shop, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia, 2008
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05-NOV-2008

Souvenir shop, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia, 2008

We can often make effective portraits of people who are not looking at the camera. In this case, my subject is utterly absorbed by what he is doing at the moment – reading a newspaper. He is completely surrounded by the things he sells, which add important context to the portrait. Meanwhile, the advertisement on the back page of the paper he is reading features a portrait of a person who is smiling at the camera, lending an incongruous touch.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/200s f/5.6 at 34.5mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time05-Nov-2008 02:45:25
MakeLeica
ModelV-LUX 1
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length34.5 mm
Exposure Time1/200 sec
Aperturef/5.6
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias-0.33
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis21-Jan-2010 15:23
The key to this image, Zandra, is that he does not see me. He is too busy reading the paper.
Guest 30-Dec-2009 20:27
I made a failed attempt at this type of portrait when I was in Seville, Spain earlier this year. One of the bigger errors I made was to feel rushed. Hence I did not come close enough to capture the essence of the character portrayed and the picture ended up in the garbage. One of the reasons why I felt rushed was simply because we were rushed around on a tour that left little time for candid pictures of the street life. Another reason was my own insecurity in approaching my subject. This is something I need to practice. I feel more comfortable portraying people I know or a person who knows and accepts my presence. I saw this as a valuable lesson as it very vividly pointed out one of my weak points when it comes to street photography. This image brought that memory back as it has captured what I intended but failed to capture. Sometimes we learn more from our mistakes rather than from the times we make it right without planning or thinking ahead.
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