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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Nine: Composition -- putting it together > Christmas eve, Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2002
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24-DEC-2002

Christmas eve, Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2002

Thousands crowd the sands of Rio's most famous beach on a warm but cloudy Christmas eve. To make a coherent picture of this mass of people, I walked down the beach until I found a line of bathers that I could place in my frame as a diagonal line. The shot is anchored by the woman at the lower left -- as the line recedes, the bodies get smaller and smaller and the crowd seems larger and larger.

Canon PowerShot G2
1/640s f/5.6 at 21.0mm hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time24-Dec-2002 15:44:04
MakeCanon
ModelPowerShot G2
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length21 mm
Exposure Time1/640 sec
Aperturef/5.6
ISO Equivalent
Exposure Bias
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Program
Focus Distance65.540 m

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Phil Douglis07-Dec-2005 03:53
Photographs such as this can make us "feel the beach" whether it is cold outside or not. Thanks, Guest, for the comment.
Guest 06-Dec-2005 20:27
I love that when it's christmas yo go to the beach ..me i come from canada... I can't it's so cold outside
Phil Douglis03-Dec-2005 00:15
This beach is the most famous beach in Brazil, Lauren. It is busy the year round!
Lauren Howell 02-Dec-2005 17:07
I wish i lived in Brazil so i could go swimming on Christmas! wow!
Phil Douglis23-Jul-2005 03:18
Thanks, Wolfgang, for your question. It was a foggy day at the beach, and perhaps a bit of mist from the waves blowing around as well. A mile inland, Rio's famous sun was blazing. You are right -- I try to make the best out of whatever travel photography might bring me. As I told Denise, we had only 15 minutes on the beach, the price you pay for a one day cruise stop. Yet I was able to express what it felt like to be on that beach at that moment. Amazingly, this photograph, along with the roaring tiger athttp://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/22388831 , has received more views than any other in this cyberbook.
Wolfgang Bluhm23-Jul-2005 01:03
Is that a bit of fog in the distance, or mist from breaking waves? It seems to add depth to the picture. Nice example of making the best under less than ideal weather conditions.
Phil Douglis18-Oct-2003 20:19
Glad it works for you, Dirk. It worked for me because of its flowing movement -- I tried to express some of the pleasure and enjoyment I sensed on this misty day on Rio's Copacabana.
Phil
Guest 15-Oct-2003 10:40
Intriguing image, hard to say why but it works for me, I love it. The lines and shapes formed by the big amount of people are great. Amazing image. With kind regards.
Phil Douglis01-Sep-2003 19:51
Thanks for commenting on this shot as well as the others, Denise. This picture was made under a lot of time pressure. We were on a bus tour of the Rio, and our guide gave us exactly 15 minutes to sample the delights of the Copacabana on this misty Christmas eve morning. I knew what I wanted my picture to say as soon as I saw the long lines of bathers at the edge of the sand. I walked down the beach until I found a line that would work as a diagonal to carry the eye through the picture, and made this picture.
Denise Dee01-Sep-2003 15:18
gorgeous shot. thanks, denise
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