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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twelve: Using color to express ideas > Harbor at Dawn, Arica, Chile, 2003
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25-DEC-2003

Harbor at Dawn, Arica, Chile, 2003

It is no accident that the hours just after sunrise and just before sunset are called the “golden hours.” Photographers try to plan their shooting schedule around these hours. As our cruise boat entered the harbor at Arica, Chile, the sun was just rising, washing the scene in golden hues. Gold is a warm color, and Arica is a warm place – in fact, it is the gateway to Chile’s Atacama Desert – the driest desert on earth. The entire region depends on this small industrial port for its existence, and on its fisherman, who scratch out an existence from the sea. That’s why feature the small fishing boat as a symbolic focal point for this picture, yet without these golden hues, it would be just another routine harbor shot. Because of the warm light of the rising sun, I was able to give these fishing boats and blocks of commercial buildings an infusion of beauty and warmth – my tribute to a struggling city that somehow manages to survive in spite of a harsh climate and a difficult economy.

Canon PowerShot G5
1/800s f/4.0 at 28.8mm hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time25-Dec-2003 16:43:40
MakeCanon
ModelPowerShot G5
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length28.8 mm
Exposure Time1/800 sec
Aperturef/4
ISO Equivalent
Exposure Bias
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Program
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis08-Sep-2006 18:20
Your English is eloquent, Chris. (It is much more lucid than my Greek!) You express the strengths of this image quite effectively. I've used backlighting to abstract the scene, color to express its mood and atmosphere, and two boats to symbolize the struggle of its people to survive the brutal desert climate by farming the sea instead.
Chris Sofopoulos08-Sep-2006 16:54
Amazing mood and atmosphere by this warm colour of light.
Also the perfect exposure hides some distractions of the buildings at the back and show only a shadow of the city and the boats at the port, making a dreamy image. At the end I want to point out the two boats (big and small ones) in the front part, bringing vivacity, movement and life at the photo (sorry for my english Phil:)
Absolutely unique image.
Phil Douglis29-May-2006 01:58
Thanks, Jack for following up on my answer to Ruthie's comment. As I noted, this Christmas morning context adds still another important dimension to this image. For these fisherman, another day of hard work is about to begin, holiday or not.
Guest 29-May-2006 01:21
Merry Christmas!!!
Phil Douglis28-May-2005 18:33
Good eye, Ruthie, for picking up the Christmas Morning angle on this shot. It never occurred to me to even check the date, but given that context, the image takes on added significance, because for many people this is a holiday but not for these fisherman of Arica. As you have noted, this image is indeed about survival, and given this context, the stakes just increased a bit. Your feeling that everything will be OK is intensified as well by this additional context.
ruthemily28-May-2005 14:21
a "wow" from me too. Christmas morning in Arica. this is so serene and peaceful despite all that is going on there. i can feel the stillness and the quiet yet i can see how packed the town is and no doubt how much frenzied activity goes on there simply to survive. those big boats dwarf the little one, and that also emphasizes how small humans and our attempts for survival are when set against nature and the huge world we inhabit. it does have a sense of harshness and struggle for survival but at the same time it is really calming...it has an "everything will be OK" feel for me. the gold of the water and sky is simply beautiful.
Phil Douglis16-Aug-2004 03:01
Unification by color was critical here because without it, the cluttered cityscape would complete with that tiny fishing boat instead of complimenting it. Thanks for your endorsement -- it was a "wow" moment for me up there on that deck shooting it, too.
Guest 15-Aug-2004 03:48
There is so much going on here, so much life, so much detail, and yet it is all one, unified by light and color. It was a "WOW" moment when I enlarged it.
Phil Douglis24-Apr-2004 19:58
Thanks, Marek, for your thoughtful comment -- if my pictures can help others appreciate what they have before they lose it forever, that the time and effort I put into them will be well worth it.
Phil
Guest 24-Apr-2004 07:17
I don't know how I missed this image before -- I love the richness and a sense of yearning contained in this image. I can't exactly say how (well, I can if I try harder...), but this picture somehow conveys Man's struggle to simply survive in a hostile and eternally beautiful world. It seems to say, "all that we have made is ugly, compared to the original creation, but what else were we to do? We're trying...". I think it's because it shows us the power and beauty of the fundamental things in the universe, such as sunlight -- it can grace rubbish with magic, simply by falling on it.
Phil Douglis05-Feb-2004 21:37
Thanks for this comment, Don. I was fortunate to have been up on deck at this moment of wonderful golden light, and lucky as well to have been able to work with the forms of those three fishermen in that small boat as well. I guess it often comes down to that old, trite but true, photographic axiom: good pictures often boil down to a matter of "f/8 and be there!" (The only difference is that on this shot, I used f/4.)
Don Northup04-Feb-2004 22:52
This one does it for me. I will echo the previous posters words and thank you.
Tim May25-Jan-2004 21:11
I love the mood evoked by the color of this image. It is surprising to me that even though you say that this is dawn. It feels to me more like an ending, and evening. After I see the color, then the layering pulls me into the events and details.
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