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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery One: Travel Abstractions -- Unlimited Thought > Taking a break, Moscow, 2003
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Taking a break, Moscow, 2003

A street performer hides behind his bejeweled hands near Moscow's Red Square. By hiding his face, I try to make his hands speak for him.


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Phil Douglis02-Nov-2012 20:53
Thanks, Chris. Your words are greatly appreciated, coming from one of pbase's most accomplished portraitists. It has been waiting for your kind thought for almost 13 years. Thanks much.
Chris Sofopoulos02-Nov-2012 06:30
Really strong "portrait"!
I like this confrontation.
Phil Douglis21-Aug-2010 18:27
Thanks, River King, for seeing here what I saw as I made this image outside the Kremlin seven years ago this summer. It still works for me, too -- abstraction is always the key to the human imagination.
Guest 21-Aug-2010 17:08
Phil, when I first saw the thumbnail of the picture, I like the overall bright red color, however, it felt a little awkward as the face is blocked by his hands. Once I opened the picture in a large version, this awkwardness turned into curiosity, who is this person? what is face (expression) like? Those colorful rings on his hands really stood out but it makes me even more curious about this guy... I think this is a great photo, technically great color and very sharp picture, but more importantly this picture leaves so much space to wonder and for imagination.
Phil Douglis13-Sep-2006 22:40
You have a knack for summing up a complex image in very few words, Jenene. I agree with every one of them.
Thanks you for adding this incisive comment to this long page. I will treasure it.
JSWaters13-Sep-2006 19:56
I love the contradiction of the modern watch with the traditional dress - a comment on preserving the past while embracing the future? Your abstraction makes him the symbol of 'any man', yet he preserves his identity by hiding it.
Jenene
Phil Douglis21-Jul-2006 04:51
You are right -- he is acting contrary to expectations, which is exactly what makes this picture so special, Annie.
He is on break, and he does not want his picture taken, so he hides behind his hands, an act that gives me exactly what I am looking for -- an abstract image. Thanks, Annie.
Annie J21-Jul-2006 03:29
I love the rich colors in this one. I find it interesting though that he is a street performer yet hiding his face from the camera, kind of contradictory, usually a performer is all about being seen...
Phil Douglis17-Apr-2006 06:14
Thanks, Guest, for this substantive comment. You give us much to consider. And thanks to you, Henk, for coming to this image. Glad you got my message.
oochappan11-Apr-2006 03:52
Most striking attraktive are the colors, a personal sensitivity and then the mysterious hided face that in the end you have to see this hands, an eye apealing and mind wondering shot.
Guest 22-Mar-2006 07:48
A superb picture. Street performers are not recognised by their face. They are seen and remembered by their performance, costumes and other adornments which, however incongruous they may seem initially, are a natural part of what they are. In my humble opinion, this picture epitomises the essense of this gallery on abstraction.
Luc VN05-Dec-2005 23:34
Great capture... well done.
Phil Douglis26-Aug-2005 17:09
A remarkable comment, Ramma. As I said in my caption, I tried to "make his hands speak for him." I left the question of just how they speak up to my viewers. As you can see, his hands have often been discussed here already, but never before in terms of how their positioning implied authority. They grasp the cane in a relaxed, self-confident manner. Because they show five rings, a bracelet and a watch, they seem to symbolize wealth as well. And relaxed wealth brings with it another ring -- the "ring" of authority. I did not notice this as I made the image, and really had not given much thought to it until you brought it up here, Ramma. You are right. Even with the face hidden, the positioning and adornment of the hands create a commanding presence.
Ramma 26-Aug-2005 10:03
Beautiful Image, one of my favourites. Sitting there, having said nothing, eyes hidden, he still commands a certain amount of authority, just by the positioning of his hands
Phil Douglis21-Aug-2005 19:04
Thank you, Jude, for this important comment. The whole purpose of abstraction in expressive imagery is to involve the viewer's imagination and encourage their own interpretation of the photograph. If I can make a picture that asks you questions, and demands that you answer them for yourself, I have made an expressive photograph.
Jude Marion21-Aug-2005 15:43
I find there is a lot left up to the viewers interpretation and imagination here. When I first looked at this image, I wasn't sure where this person might have been from ... but your comment tells us Russia. I wasn't sure if this was a villager, but there are tell tale signs to suggest this is a special costume and this person is not a villager - the jewellrey (esp. the watch) suggest some wealth, the manicured hands (not a labourer) the freshness of the fabric (no soiled marks or tattered ends). I'm not sure I would have guessed he was a street performer unless you had told us ...
Phil Douglis15-Dec-2004 23:36
Truth, Mikel, is what photojournalism should be all about. As you know, it is impossible to be objective as a photojournalist -- your own point of view is always present in your images. But these are truths as you see them, which can, in turn, stimulate others to recognize their own version of the truth. We can have multiple truths in given image. As you point out, even in this one. I tell you this fellow is a street performer, and you can see him as just that. Or, you can choose to think of your truth -- that you are looking someone who is very much a figure out of the past, stuck, as you say, in a village in the middle of nowhere. And both truths are acceptable. As long as the image is an accurate representation of the facts, and as long as the caption is an accurate representation of the context, the rest is left to the viewer to decide.
Guest 15-Dec-2004 10:04
I could not say that eather Phil, you know that I am a photojournalist and as such I wold find unethincall to hide the truth of it too. But the truth is that I could think perfectly that he is in a village in middle of nowere, that's on the other hand the nice trick of this photo.
Phil Douglis15-Dec-2004 00:10
I see what you tried to express here, Mikel, and I agree with your point. You meant to say that until you read my text, which you read AFTER you saw my photo, you would have never taken him for a street performer. Which is to be expected.


(I thought you were trying to tell me that if this were your picture, you would never reveal the fact that he was actually a street performer, implying that you photographed this guy in some isolated village where they still wore this kind of traditional clothing. And that would be, in my view, unethical.)
Guest 14-Dec-2004 23:35
It was just an appointment since sometimes I write my impressions of the photo and then I read the text. A photo if it impresses me directly and makes my imagination flow sometimes I just forget about text.
Phil Douglis14-Dec-2004 22:56
It is important to be truthful. Why would you hide the facts behind the picture?
Phil Douglis14-Dec-2004 22:54
I am honored by your comment, Mikel. I consider your picture of that Afghan woman to be one of the most powerful journalistic images I've ever seen. (http://www.pbase.com/laburu/image/36703513 ).
The hands tell a story in both images, and that too is a function of abstraction. Your image takes away, through frame and focus, all but the grasping hands and fence. And my image, by hiding the face altogether, changes the emphasis to the hands. In both images the hands tell the story, albeit different ones.
Guest 14-Dec-2004 22:45
By the way, only with the photo I wold never have said he was a street performer.
Guest 14-Dec-2004 22:44
I love this photo, it makes me thing about my photo of the burqa though in a directly opposite way. His hands don't determinate a hard life but a tranquile one, the ostentosety of the rings and the watch together with the decorated hand stick and clothing make him an important person in his comunity. Probably the face wold not say nearly as much as his hands and the stick he's waring. Beautifull, one of my favorite ones.
Guest 01-Dec-2004 17:50
yes, the 70's watch, the rings, talk of him as someone very different than the original culture he represents and performs. A journalist shoot. Nice.
AMP19-Nov-2004 17:43
Self-contradict. Is self-contradict.....

Whole appearance is filled with the antinomy.
nut 11-Nov-2004 17:14
Deeply thought. I got it.
Phil Douglis09-Nov-2004 19:32
Do you see how, by hiding his face, I put your own imagination to work. That is the role of abstraction, Nut.
nut 09-Nov-2004 07:25
Privacy is a human value. Yes, you are right.
Hiding his face : Hiding his face (take away information), leaving only the most important
"Yes" this is an abstract.
And it's an incongruous between traditional jewerlry and model wristwatch. Yeap, three in one, but the most strong is an abstract. I can see an abstract here very well. It's highlight.
Phil Douglis09-Nov-2004 05:44
Privacy is a human value, isn't it? And by hiding his face, he abstracts himself, right. And by wearing all that traditional jewelry and costume along with a modern wristwatch, we have incongruity. So all three principles are present in this image, right Nut.
nut 09-Nov-2004 04:51
I got what he said from his hands. "Privacy"
Phil Douglis06-Nov-2004 04:21
As always, a thoughtful and substantive response from Maureen. You are very observant, as I've noted before. I never noticed the gold jingle bell attached to his garment before. Perhaps he does want to be heard, and his costume suggests he wants to seen as well. But at this moment, he is off duty and prefers to be neither seen nor heard. The hands came up to shut me out, but he wound up actually making my picture work.
Guest 06-Nov-2004 03:37
I've looked at this photo several times, and while I wouldn't call it a beautiful image, it's a fascinating one. We see a street performer hiding behind the glitz. Someone who wishes to be heard, but not necessarily seen. Go down to the bottom of the photo and in the center, about an inch up, you'll see what appears to be one jingle bell attached to his garment. Another way to be heard, I suppose. And he's dressed in beautiful attire, very colorful and rich looking. It's as though he wants to be viewed as being beautiful, but doesn't want anyone to look any further. Very interesting capture, Phil.
Phil Douglis30-Oct-2004 22:59
You are not blind, Nut. You are entitled to see anything you want to see in my image. Just as when listening to piece of music or looking at painting or watching a dance or reading a poem or enjoying any other interpretive work. If you see this man as tired, then he tired, even if he really was just hiding from my probing lens.
nut 30-Oct-2004 16:07
Well, I was blind. But I can see now. His face turn a bit to the right side. He was tired and
want to be himself just for a while.
Phil Douglis29-Oct-2004 22:09
He is not sleeping, Nut. He is hiding his face from the camera. But if you want him to take a nap, its fine with me. My photographs are always open to interpretation.
nut 29-Oct-2004 18:36
Nap time for one man.
Phil Douglis11-Oct-2004 00:04
Thanks, Rodney, for this comment. It is ironic, isn't it, that in hiding his face from me, he shows me something that defines him even more! His hands.
Guest 10-Oct-2004 20:53
I find the hands, with all of the glitter, in place of the face is more outstanding a subject. It is as if "these define me" thus "this is what I am" He uses the jewelry as a definition of what he is (or what he wants us to see him as).
Phil Douglis04-Jun-2004 16:12
Thanks, Jim, for your comment. The hands (and the eyes) are the keys to revealing human feelings. In this case, I was able to strengthen the "hand language" by capturing a moment that removed the eyes from the image.
Jim Chiesa04-Jun-2004 15:23
I think that hands speak a universal language accross all bounderies. This is a striking image of contrasts and colours. The close cropping adds dynamics. Another great image, Mr Douglis.
Phil Douglis04-Feb-2004 20:36
Hi, Dennis. Glad you like this shot -- it's one of my favorites. I don't know what became of the EXIF data here-- I'll try to re-post it and maybe it will show up. I made it with my five megapixel Canon G-5. I don't know what you mean by "mid-format camera" -- the G5 is Canon's top of the line "prosumer" fixed lens digital camera. It uses a smaller sensor than Canon puts into its line of digital SLRs, but its resolution is excellent and the quality of the lens is remarkable. Amazingly, this image is only fifty per cent of the original picture. I cropped out a person's back (she was talking with him) -- removing the entire right hand half of the picture. Yet the remaining half -- even when enlarged as it is here -- is very clean and detailed.
Guest 04-Feb-2004 14:15
Yes, the watch is an interesting part.
The skin tone is very good. Is it take by mid-format camera ?
Guest 21-Nov-2003 10:57
A wonderful and colorful "portrait".
Phil Douglis02-Oct-2003 18:30
Francis -- you have a wonderful eye for detail. That fancy watch was one of the reasons I made this photograph. It presents an incongruous counterpoint to his traditional Russian costume.
Francis Toussaint02-Oct-2003 14:02
Nice... Incidentally, the Cartier watch seems a little odd on the wrist of this traditional street performer
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