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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Four: Finding meaning in details > Washed ashore, St. Matthews Island, Alaska, 2002
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26-JUL-2002

Washed ashore, St. Matthews Island, Alaska, 2002

On deserted St. Matthew Island in the middle of the remote Bering Sea, I found this shredded plastic rope given up by the sea. I saw it as a symbol of the Bering Sea itself -- an ocean known as the "Cradle of Storms." I moved very close to it to detail the richness of its colors and vulnerability. Thankfully, I never experienced the fury of those storms, but by stressing these details, I could at least symbolize their legacy.

Canon PowerShot G2
1/125s f/4.0 at 21.0mm hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time26-Jul-2002 23:12:39
MakeCanon
ModelPowerShot G2
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length21 mm
Exposure Time1/125 sec
Aperturef/4
ISO Equivalent
Exposure Bias-1.00
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Program
Focus Distance0.520 m

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Phil Douglis17-Apr-2006 06:45
Thanks, Ron, for the technical clarification. I have changed the title and caption accordingly.
ron andersen 29-Mar-2006 21:14
Sorry to advise, your nice picture is not a fish net, but a random coil of knotted plastic line. Probably used between floats and crab pots or securing deck loads. Tuna never saw this line. Plastic line floats, so washed ashore with the currents and tide. Pretty though on a desolate beach. Line like this can entangle whales, seals and walrus, so I like to burn piles of plastic rope when the hit the beach to prevent re-floating and harming sea life.
Phil Douglis17-Apr-2005 18:57
You do not astound me by becoming logical, Ruth. You are simply doing what you seem to do best -- thinking about images in relationship to one another. If you look at this picture as an extension of the tuna's eye, its detail acquires new meaning, even though I created this image a year and a half before I made the tuna photograph.) I see where you are going with this, and am delighted you are making such connections. The power of details to express meaning is always available to us. And I have long maintained that pictures viewed in pairings, sequences, groupings, stories or essays, can build cumulative meaning that greatly extends the power of any individual image to express or trigger ideas. That's what you have done here, Ruth.
ruthemily17-Apr-2005 09:16
i think i'm about to astound you by saying that i have following a logical thought progression here! i am still thinking about your tuna's eye photograph http://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/25456579] and this one jumped out at me. these nets play into the life and death dilemma. without these, the fish would stay in the water. i love the frayed nature of them, it gives a rugged and weathered feel to the image, which is what you speak of when you describe the harsh storms. i find the colours disturbing...the blue represents the ocean, and when we think in terms of fish that is essentially life. and the red....i can't help but see it as blood and death. i am learning that details are powerful!
Guest 01-Dec-2004 15:14
yes Phil, I agree. essence is the smallest element able to contain full meaning. best regards!
Phil Douglis30-Nov-2004 23:53
I like the way you use the "essence' to substitute for "meaning" here, Clara. An essence is the most basic element we have, the stuff that makes something what it really is. To me, meaning is often tied up (pun intended) in the essence of things. If we can define the essence of something in a picture, we also illuminate its meaning. That is what I tried to do here. A simple shredded fishing net symbolized the legacy of those furious storms that brew in the Bering Sea.
Guest 24-Nov-2004 17:41
another photo that contains the essence of its subject/theme
Phil Douglis31-Oct-2004 04:22
Both you and Bruce were struck by the cheerful colors, yet all I saw was the heavy weather of the Bering Sea in these torn strands. Obviously we have a strong incongruity here. Which makes the picture!
Guest 31-Oct-2004 03:54
The colors remind me of coral and water. Very cheery!
Phil Douglis09-May-2004 19:12
Glad you noticed my comparison of these cheerful colors to the wear and tear caused by the brutal forces of nature. I spent a long time studying these details, weighing the value of the position of each and every frayed strand.
Guest 09-May-2004 12:16
You speak of the storms, and yet the colors are strong and optimistic. The texture of this frayed rope conveys the brutal physicality of working and living on the ocean. Nice juxtaposition!
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