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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixty Three: Dimensions of grandeur – larger than life travel imagery > Camels at dusk, Wadi Rum, Jordan, 2011
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13-NOV-2011

Camels at dusk, Wadi Rum, Jordan, 2011

A distant line of camels bearing tourists plods through the Wadi Rum desert at dusk. The last light of day warms the rocky face of mountain that fills the background, while horizontal rows of scrub provide a desert context. The richly colored desert light provides a mood that is both mysterious and nostalgic. I made this image from a great distance, using a 300mm telephoto focal length, creating an incongruous scale relationship between the diminutive line of camels and the vast backdrop. It is this relationship that gives this image its sense of grandeur

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2
1/500s f/5.2 at 144.0mm iso160 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time13-Nov-2011 07:14:15
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-GH2
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length144 mm
Exposure Time1/500 sec
Aperturef/5.2
ISO Equivalent160
Exposure Bias-0.66
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis06-Jul-2012 04:52
The place is magical at dusk, Alina, but the riding camels will make you use muscles that you never knew you had.
Alina30-Jun-2012 19:44
Wonderful shot Phil, beautiful composition and light. I would love to have a ride on one of these camels.
Phil Douglis17-Apr-2012 19:56
Thanks, Mary, for this comment. Since you were sitting right behind me as I made this photograph, you bring a very special context to bear up on it. You saw the sight with your own eyes, and now you see it, again and again, as a photographic image. One of the most important contributions of photography is that it helps us to overcome the limitations of our own memories. This image thereby allows you to experience the scene twice -- once in your memory, and now once again as a frozen moment in time, preserved electronically, to view again and again. Each time you see it, your memory of that evening in the desert is enhanced. I have the same reaction. And yes, it does seem as if I made it many years ago, when actually we were at Wadi Rum together less than six months ago. I think the fact that the image seems timeless makes it seem to be older than it actually is.
Guest 17-Apr-2012 17:32
Phil, no matter how many times I look at this photo I am amazed. It seems like ages ago that you took it but it was only a few shorts months

Kind regards
Mary
Phil Douglis16-Mar-2012 21:13
Thanks, Dov. It should remind you of that film. Several desert scenes and views of these red cliffs appearing in "Lawrence of Arabia" were filmed at Wadi Rum.
Dov16-Mar-2012 03:52
This picture reminds me David Lean's scene from Laurence of Arabia. Well Done!
Phil Douglis04-Mar-2012 21:37
Thanks, Jude -- this picture is what defines travel photography for me. It expresses the essence of a place, characterizing its mood, personality, scale, and ethnicity. And all due to being in the right place at the right time in the right light.
Jude Marion03-Mar-2012 23:08
This is stunning, Phil. The light and colours create such a wonderful mood. I like the play with scale.
Phil Douglis09-Feb-2012 22:51
It would have cost a small fortune to stage a scene such as this for a movie, Iris. As you note, it is a very theatrical image. I simply took advance of what I was given -- It was one of those moments when every element comes together to play its own role. The light, mood, color, backdrop, and most important, the long distant line of camels and the attendant walkers creating the scale incongruity to define the grandeur of the scene.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)06-Feb-2012 04:29
The wonderful light creates the mood; the scale incongruity of the "caravan" vis-a-vis the rocky cliffs enhances the grandeur.
Phil Douglis27-Jan-2012 19:54
Great to hear from you, Chris -- and thanks for enjoying this image. Splendor is a perfect word to complement Grandeur.
Chris Sofopoulos24-Jan-2012 21:12
You give the beauty, the splendor and the wildness of the nature in an exceptional way Phil.
Love it.
Phil Douglis05-Jan-2012 19:00
Good to hear from you, Vera, and thanks for the good wishes. I send my best to you, as well. This image is one of my favorites, too -- it certainly expressed the grandeur of this historic place.
veraferia05-Jan-2012 15:00
Fantastic image! Perfect composition and great processing.
I wish you and your family a wonderful 2012!
Phil Douglis03-Jan-2012 17:07
I was wondering the same thing, Tim. I know, from personal experience early on the same day, that an extended camel ride can be a painful ordeal, particularly for the muscles running down the inside of the upper thigh. Perhaps the sole person would much rather limp along than writhe in pain in the saddle. Or maybe the lone walker is a tour guide? No answers, of course -- just interesting questions.
Tim May02-Jan-2012 23:33
I love the one single person in between the camels - I wonder how he or she feels not being in the group.
Phil Douglis19-Dec-2011 03:31
Thanks, Robert for your observation. Branch Rickey, the baseball executive who broke the Major League's color barrier when he signed Jackie Robinson, once famously said "Luck is the residue of design." In expressive photography, that translates to a some careful planning well before the camera is ever raised. In this case, I knew that our ship's tour would not take us to Wadi Rum at this time of day. In order to shoot desert scenes at sunset, I had to instead book a private tour, with our own guide, starting in the late afternoon and running through sunset. It was more expensive, and it took time to plan. The Internet made it easy to arrange such a special tour in Jordan. ( I found another couple who were taking our cruise who shared the tour with us, and reduced the cost accordingly. The tour also included an earlier visit to Petra.) You are correct -- I still had to "see" the potential image and then capture it. I had to ask our driver, who was very cooperative, to stop the 4x4 truck in which we were riding -- and he did. The other three people in the truck also had to wait while I composed the picture, and shot it again and again and still again, to get the right moment and framing. Such was the "design" -- the "luck" part was coming upon such a scene at such a time as this.
Robert Strachan18-Dec-2011 22:49
A very nice atmospheric image. You may have been lucky to be in the right place at the right time but you still have to see the image and capture it.
Phil Douglis18-Dec-2011 02:09
Thanks, eye2see, for your comment. I was presented here with an opportunity to make a very special picture, and I'm happy that I was able to make everything -- the light, camels, backdrop, foreground and moment -- come together from this particular spot.
Guest 18-Dec-2011 00:44
My compliments, pleasure to see your creativity and your photography skills! ~V
Phil Douglis17-Dec-2011 04:10
Thanks, Kal, Lisa, Alex, and Carol for coming to this image. I was there at the right time of day, and fortunately at the right moment as well --had we arrived a minute or so earlier or later, and that line of tourist-bearing camels would not have been there for me. And yes -- the fragmentation of the camel caravan makes it work even better. The scale incongruity in this image is accentuated by that lone figure you mention, Kal. As for the processing, Alex, I apply a very light touch. I make my images in the camera, and generally deepen contrast and darken my images slightly to intensify the richness of their color. As for your guess that these are tourists, Carol, you are certainly right. Where would Bedouins be going at this hour?
Carol E Sandgren16-Dec-2011 23:28
The rosy tones of this image paint a calm, very quiet and almost romantic feeling to this image. The grandeur of the desert rock really adds a lot of power to this....with such small little subjects riding the camels in contrast. The balance of the composition is perfect as well with the tiny person on foot between the two groups of camels. I am guessing these are tourists...
alexeig16-Dec-2011 23:13
Amazing ... Another planet ... I wonder what processing have you applied
lisamidi16-Dec-2011 22:57
Fantastic shot , the colours, the compo, the mood... the place.v
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