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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Fifty One: Using diagonals for guidance, energy, and meaning > Clouds and crest, Phoenix Mountains Preserve, Phoenix, Arizona, 2008
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25-DEC-2008

Clouds and crest, Phoenix Mountains Preserve, Phoenix, Arizona, 2008

An edge of late evening backlight defines the abstracted diagonal crest of a mountain ridge just behind my home. The setting sun adds a pinkish glow to the fragmented rain clouds hanging over an otherwise monochromatic scene. The image is anchored by the diagonal silhouette of the mountain, which features a curving bump that is echoed in kind by the rhythmic curves of light and cloud just above it. Ultimately, this image tells the story of how two natural forms – land and cloud – relate to each other in size, space, shape, and color. The diagonal thrust of land here adds energy to the clouds that drift above it.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
1/500s f/5.2 at 155.0mm iso200 full exif

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Phil Douglis06-Feb-2009 05:06
You imagination soars as high as these clouds, Claudia. Fiery eye, indeed! The image is all about contrasts: tone, mass, texture, and colors stand in opposition to each other. Yet all here is part of the natural world.
BleuEvanescence06-Feb-2009 03:34
Looking up is something i love to do...obviously you too.
Clouds are fascinating and this "fire" touch in them here is just enough
to make me think of a dragon in the sky, i see a fiery eye in the left cloud.
I love the stunning contrast with the black of the mountain.
Phil Douglis26-Jan-2009 04:01
The devil is in the details, Christian. Thanks for your take on this image.
Guest 25-Jan-2009 05:52
Waow.....A devil sky !!!!Well done.
Phil Douglis24-Jan-2009 19:24
Thanks, Anna -- good to hear from you again, as always. And yes, the diagonal element in the sky is really the slit of sky that remains between the clouds, and that orange color pulls us into it.
Anna Yu24-Jan-2009 16:32
The clouds are also diagonal. And the splash of orange wonderful.
Phil Douglis18-Jan-2009 06:28
The elements, indeed, Linda. They are all here, too -- light and dark, solid and vaporous, threat and beauty, earth, sky, moisture, and sun. You see nature itself at work, and that was my intention.
Linda Willets18-Jan-2009 02:03
shows the elements at work.
Phil Douglis30-Dec-2008 19:33
Thanks, Paul, for seeing the contrasting relationship of the soft edged clouds to the hard edged ridge, as well as the impact of the black silhouette on the soft gray and orange clouds.
Paul L-R30-Dec-2008 01:29
Superb work, Phil. I love the soft, gentle curves of the clouds against the sharply defined foreground. The silhouette effect enhances this even more against the colour of the sky.
Phil Douglis29-Dec-2008 18:16
Thanks, Nancy, for pointing out the contrast between the fluidity of the clouds and the stability of the ridge, and how that contrast stimulates your imagination. That is what expressive photography is meant to do, and I am glad this image can make you feel what is happening here at this moment in light, time, and space.
Nancy Good29-Dec-2008 17:52
Striking shot, Phil ... the juxtaposition of tumultuous clouds against the "fixed" earth certainly helps us "feel" the movement that is taking place - and then lets us anticipate the beautiful changes in the sky in our own minds.
Phil Douglis27-Dec-2008 20:52
That thin edge of glowing sky that weaves its way between the clouds and the mountain ridge is at the heart of this image, Andre. It creates tension, and supports the energy of the diagonal thrust of the ridge as it slices through the image. Thanks for noticing.
endre novak27-Dec-2008 19:26
indeed, the egde of the mountain and the edge of the clouds letting more light through work nicely.
Phil Douglis27-Dec-2008 03:10
Thanks, Rose Marie, for your comment. When we shoot for rhythmic repetition, or juxtapose one element against another in an image, duality -- opposition or contrast between two concepts or aspects -- always is present.
sunlightpix26-Dec-2008 23:46
Great sense of duality!
Phil Douglis26-Dec-2008 19:08
Thanks, Gary, for seeing the beauty in a scene that some might see as ominous.
gary becker26-Dec-2008 16:53
Gorgeous ! !
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