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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Seven: Making time count > Dancers, DumaZulu, South Africa, 2002
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05-DEC-2002

Dancers, DumaZulu, South Africa, 2002

The thing that most struck me about the Zulu dancers we watched perform at DumaZulu was their tremendous energy level. To express such energy in a picture, I used my shutter speed options to capture contrasting interaction. By selecting a 1/50th of a second shutter speed, I knew that I could reveal detail on the dancers who were only singing. They would offer context for the energetic fellow who was dancing at that moment. His quick motions would be blurred at 1/50th, giving me the contrast I needed to express my idea.

Canon PowerShot G2
1/50s f/3.2 at 21.0mm hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time05-Dec-2002 17:18:02
MakeCanon
ModelPowerShot G2
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length21 mm
Exposure Time1/50 sec
Aperturef/3.2
ISO Equivalent
Exposure Bias
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Program
Focus Distance2.890 m

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis25-Jul-2006 18:21
I think you might also add that these men are performers, Jenene. They are very conscious of how they want to be perceived, and not just by the camera, but by the audience at large. Those people in Uruguay were not performers, except for the band (and you will notice that the band's gestures were exaggerated) -- they were simply people being themselves. These men are not just being themselves. They are playing the role of tribal warriors. They have no wars to fight, but they have a tradition to uphold, and, more importantly, use as tourist attraction. So yes, you spot an important difference here, Jenene. Performers are always serious about their work. It is, after all, their livelihood.
JSWaters25-Jul-2006 16:49
Sorry, should have been 'I am very appreciative of the message they are conveying'.
JSWaters25-Jul-2006 16:47
What a contrast between the dancers and musicians in Uruguay and these Zulu. They are energetic, yes, perfectly dramatized by your shutter speed, but their focus is so diametrically opposed to the casual dancer. These men are warriors, and the seriousness of their actions is displayed in their facial expressions. They seem very aware and conscious of each others movements and possibly of those who may be watching them. I very much appreciative the message they are conveying with their movements, but I'm also a little cautious.
Jenene
Phil Douglis29-Mar-2005 18:28
The tight framing of this photo makes it work, Benchang. Some photographers would have included the ground in this shot, and probably the sky as well, along with a lot of meaningless background information. I try to abstract my images by cropping them in the frame whenever I can so only an essence is left to speak. And what you see going on here is the essence of this dance. They give context to each other. We don't need to show where they are. We need to express what they are doing and how they feel about it.
Benchang Tang 29-Mar-2005 17:08
This is my favorate in dancer pictures. These wariors are born dancers and are dancing to themselves. We don't see the stage and from the vantage point we guess they are on the ground. For real dancers we don't deed context, and the cropping makes difference. Thanks for sharing.
Phil Douglis18-Aug-2004 17:13
You thoughts are very moving, Ron -- I thank you for them, and hope that they will inspire you to do likewise with your own camera. I believe that photographs have the power to stir the emotions, the imagination, and the intellect of those who may look at them. I do all i can to help the viewer see what I see, feel what I feel, and know what I know, about the subject before me. Good luck on your trip to Thailand and Japan. The G5 is a remarkable tool, but cameras don't make the picture. Photographers do. i wish you all the best in capturing the essence of your trip within your images.
Ron 18-Aug-2004 09:59
I have never in my life looked at pictures that have brought such strong emotions to the surface of my being, with the exception of family snapshots that include my late Great Grandmother. Your pictures grab my eyes and take my soul to the place, to some degree your very thoughts, at that exact moment when the shutter was released. I just bought a Canon G5 for a trip to Thailand and Japan. I got the camera today (Tuesday) and I am leaving Thursday. I will try and remember to post some pics here when I get back.
Ron
Phil Douglis28-Feb-2004 19:28
Control over your shutter speeds is still another tool for expression, Anna. If you put your camera into "shutter priority mode" (on your Canon D10, it would be your TV setting -- for "Time Value.") and select a relatively slow shutter speed anywhere from 1/15th of a second to 1/60th of a second, and shoot moving subjects, you will be able to blur them and contrast them with any subjects in the shot that are not moving. In my Moscow Subway shot at:http://www.pbase.com/image/20799002, I contrast stationary subjects with a moving train at 1/15th of a second, Note that the contrast is much greater than it is between these still and moving dancers. That's because the train is moving faster than the dancers, and the shutter speed is much slower than the one I used in this shot of the Zulu dancers.)
Anna Yu28-Feb-2004 04:55
Something in this shot that's mesmerizing. I didn't know about 1/50 sec and movement. It must take a lot of experience to be able to relate a shutterspeed to an intended effect with a moving object! Thanks for sharing that. If I took this picture I would have concentrated on the guy in front, trying to get him in sharp focus, and missing the sense of movement.
Regards/Anna
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