Caviar, Siberia, Russia, 2002 by Phil Douglis

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Four: Finding meaning in details > Caviar, Siberia, Russia, 2002


07-AUG-2002

Caviar, Siberia, Russia, 2002

The residents of a small Siberian fishing village welcomed us with tables laden with caviar, served on slices of white bread. Caviar is very small, and when photographed from any distance, it appears very much like jam. Only by moving in as close as my lens allowed could I capture details such as the coloration, texture, and shape of the tiny fish eggs known as caviar. I made these eggs as large as possible, however I also made sure to retain some context for scale. The slices of bread tell us how small caviar really is.

Canon PowerShot G2
1/320s f/4.5 at 14.6mm hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	07-Aug-2002 01:44:34
Make	Canon
Model	PowerShot G2
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	14.6 mm
Exposure Time	1/320 sec
Aperture	f/4.5
ISO Equivalent
Exposure Bias	0.33
White Balance	(-1)
Metering Mode	matrix (5)
JPEG Quality	(6)
Exposure Program
Focus Distance	0.390 m

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		27-Aug-2005 18:01
This image becomes more delicious with time, Lori. As you can see, it has inspired thoughts ranging from culinary experiences to social commentary to your own metaphor for life itself. Thanks so much for adding a new dimension to this image for me.

Lori Rosen		27-Aug-2005 11:45
Phil, This reminds me of the best abstract paintings, you have gotten such detail I can see the shadings on the individual eggs. To me this image says: dont make things in life too precious to enjoy, take the best of the best and indulge every chance you get. LIVE!!

Phil Douglis		17-Apr-2005 22:02
Your thoughts and feelings, Ruth, are more than just welcome. They are worth their weight in learning!

ruthemily		17-Apr-2005 20:21
you will never be in my debt! i am glad to be able to express my thoughts and feelings so freely here. i am pleased that i was able to add another layer of meaning to your photograph.

Phil Douglis		17-Apr-2005 18:41
Your comment extends the meaning of this image considerably, Ruth. It takes the eye of a social anthropology student to alert me to it -- I am in your debt. I was not thinking about inverting the power structure here, but you are right -- that is exactly what has happened as I moved my camera in to reveal gobs of caviar slapped over ordinary white bread and butter. It becomes, as you say, a social comment, satirizing all who would measure their status in terms of extravagance. Seen in this context, caviar indeed becomes incongruous. I thank you for pointing this out, Ruth -- and I am delighted that this image kept you awake last night.

ruthemily		17-Apr-2005 09:07
i will try and remember the essence of what i was rambling about! i was talking about the juxtaposition of a convenience food with a food that is regarded, as you said previously, as a food for the rich and wealthy. caviar is a food, at least in my own society, that represents high status. this photograph, for me, inverts those power structures. sliced bread and butter is for fish and chips! or jam sandwiches....as you have alluded to already. here, you would see caviar served on those tiny little canope things that would barely feed a sparrow. in this image, it is dished out seemingly with abandon. i laugh at the thought of being at a posh function and seeing caviar almost "slopped" out in this way. the photo is refreshing, and it is real. it laughs in the face of those who see wealth and status as the be all and end all of life. life is for living and enjoying. i see this photo and my mind has already conjured up an image of a big table laid out with "party food". it makes me smile. i couldn't sleep last night for trying to figure out the essence of "incongruity" in photos. i come back to this image this morning, and it slots into place. i've been on this site for barely even a couple of days, and already my mind has been unravelled and totally excited. thank you for keeping me up at night!!

Phil Douglis		17-Apr-2005 03:18
You are not going mad, Ruth. And I don't think you ate too much caviar, either. As your wrote your comment, pbase was changing its messaging system format. Your comment probably never registered. Can you post it again? Thanks.

ruthemily		16-Apr-2005 17:53
Phil, i commented on this photograph about 15 minutes ago, but since then the format has changed and i can no longer see my comment! am i going mad?! not sure what's happening there...

ruthemily		16-Apr-2005 17:37
i find this so refreshing and real. i say that, because i have only ever seen caviar served on tiny canopes that wouldn't even feed a sparrow. i have an image of it as food for the rich, a symbol of wealth and status in society. well, in my society, at least. that's what i love about this. why NOT serve caviar with bread and butter? here, it would almost be a scandal to do so, as though you are inverting some sort of status structure. bread and butter is no-hassle convenience food for chips or jam sandwiches...as you have in a way alluded to already! this to me portrays a laid back, almost rebellious attitude to life. i appreciate that in that village they might not have the same pre-conceived ideas as i do regarding caviar...i guess i'm just saying what i see. the photo has quite a jaunty, lively feel to it. perhaps a party/celebration type idea with "nibbly" food laid out...quite a contrast to your previous photo of a similar concept portrayed in a totally different context.

Phil Douglis		09-Mar-2005 18:24
Yes, Dandan, you've got it. The world's richest food, yet incongruously displayed on bread and butter in the humblest of villages. Your comment sums up what I wanted this image to express. Thanks for revisiting the picture and bringing your new vision to it.

Guest		09-Mar-2005 12:24
Yes, we sure don’t see the caviar spread on bread like this. So you use this detail fish egg image to symbolize the life style of the fish man? Not sophisticated, but sincere; not fancy, but real…

Phil Douglis		09-Mar-2005 05:22
You are looking at this image literally, Dandan. I am using it as example of how you can change the way people look at things by presenting them in exquisite detail at a very close range. What at first may look like jelly, becomes tiny eggs that have a unique texture and appearance only visible at this closeup distance. In short, they have been transformed from a mass of eggs to groupings of individual eggs diagonally arranged on slabs of bread and butter flowing across an image in vivid shades of red and orange. A relatively rare product, among the most expensive of all foods. Shown to you in a way you may never have seen it before -- in detail! Do you still feel that you are just looking at a picture of some fish eggs on bread and butter?

Guest		17-Jan-2005 16:47
Phil, I couldn’t really see anything more than fish eggs, butter and breads, ok, texture, I guess… but there must be another reason/s that I haven’t get it from this… otherwise you won’t post it here… :-/

Phil Douglis		06-Jan-2005 22:20
I love your logic, Nut. Ok, it's Kamchatkan Jam!

nut		06-Jan-2005 13:13
Jam on bread as Caviar on bread so jam and caviar are in the same position with same condition (on bread) then conclusion here is caviar is look like jam :-]

nut		03-Jan-2005 16:34
Ok, I got it.

Phil Douglis		27-Dec-2004 22:33
Good question, Nut. You do not have to have seen real caviar before to appreciate its unique appearance when seen at such a close range as in this close up shot. You are taking it too literally. Just read my caption, and get your context from there. It will tell you that caviar is very small, and looks like jam from a distance. It will also tell you that caviar is really made up of tiny fish eggs. Now you have the context to look at the details in this picture and let them work on your imagination. Once again, let me restate the importance of words as context for images. The words in a photo's caption should not describe for what you can already see for yourself. But they should give you information -- important context -- that will help you to get greater meaning from what you see.

nut		27-Dec-2004 07:19
I never see "Caviar" in real. So I don't know how small it is. And I don't know exactly the standard size of bread (many size I saw in thai shop) so I don't feel this scale Incongruity. So how can this photo is going to work on me?

Phil Douglis		11-Dec-2004 20:36
Thanks, Clara, for pointing up the sequencing here. Every now and then I carefully place my images within these galleries to provide an extension or a counterpoint of an idea discussed in the previous or next image. This is one of those cases, and your quick eye has pointed it out. You see the irony in this sequential juxtaposition. First the grim eye of the dead tune. And now the startling vividness of dead fish eggs. Both tuna and salmon eggs nurture man and create wealth, but at what cost to nature?

Guest		11-Dec-2004 19:56
The previous image still is in my thoughts, so first impression seeing this was "alas, again, killing others to live; how many lives contain these bread slices of caviar, each egg a life". Lovely color, vivid image! - just about to die.

ELENA		06-Jul-2004 22:45
You forgot to mention one important ingredient: butter. Very authentic shot of how caviar is meant to be consumed. Thanks :-).

Jill		10-May-2004 12:36
I so love caviar. Delicate and such a sensory experience as well as taste. You captured it splendidly.

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