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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Four: The Workplace -- essence of a culture > Dry dock, Gloucester, Massachusetts, 2009
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22-JUL-2009

Dry dock, Gloucester, Massachusetts, 2009

I only show the arm and hand of the dry dock worker here, yet the tension in the fingers and taut muscles in the arm tell a story of skill, strength and experience. There is also tension crackling in the space between the back of the rudder and the front of the stern. Will it fit? And will it work? I want this image to ask such questions of my viewers.

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Phil Douglis09-Oct-2010 23:25
Good to hear from you, Oochappan. Thanks for these observations. I agree with you -- abstraction and incongruity are wonderful, but are nothing without the most essential principle of expressive photography: the ability to express the nature of human values themselves.
oochappan09-Oct-2010 08:24
The hand is the real suggestive eyepuller in this shot and the surroundings stay well structured and fine colored to enhance it, the watermark, diagonal structuture enduces eyetravelling, a well catched moment.
Phil Douglis01-Sep-2009 18:33
Thanks, Dan, for adding important context to this image. When I made it, I simply took the wooden boat at face value. And now I see how much it really represents, given the revolution in maritime building materials. The abstracted arm and hand of the man now symbolize more than just skill, strength, and experience to me. Your valuable comment gives it a new sense of poignancy -- making it into a symbol of keeping hand crafted effort alive in an age where automated machines now dominate the scene.
Dan Kehlenbach01-Sep-2009 01:31
Hello Phil,
As an admirer of nautical photography, I was immediately drawn to this particular image. You said it perfectly in that the tension in the fingers and the taut muscles in the arm tell a story of skill, strength and experience. Yet, we are in danger of perhaps losing this aspect of maritime history. Wooden boats are being replaced with fiberglass and other composite materials that although may stand the test of time, jeopardizes a valuable tradition that has been a part of so many coastal communities. To me, seeing only his arm is symbolic of this impending loss. This image truly symbolizes the essence of a culture that I hope is preserved. Thank you for sharing.
Phil Douglis17-Aug-2009 19:32
Thanks, Chris, for appreciating the role that abstraction plays here. Can an image be both abstracted and descriptive at the same time? Generally abstraction and description are opposites: abstraction merely suggests, while description goes beyond suggestion to actually reproduce the subject. However, in this case you most likely use the word "descriptive" to mean that the abstracted arm describes not the man himself, but instead describes the effort the man is applying to his work. So the answer is yes -- an image can indeed be both abstracted and descriptive at the same time.
Chris Sofopoulos17-Aug-2009 10:48
So abstractive and so well descriptive!
The perfect example here Phil.
Phil Douglis13-Aug-2009 21:14
Thanks, Tim, for expressing so well the effect abstraction can have on the imagination. We don't see who he is, but we know how he feels at this moment, and we have a sense of the skills and knowledge he brings to his task.
Tim May13-Aug-2009 20:22
Such a great example of less saying more. the hand and the worn rudder speak loudly of skill, energy and strength - yet those exist in my imagination.
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