photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eleven: Aspects of Antarctica – a travel photo-essay > The Shock of Color, Deception Island, Antarctica, 2004
previous | next
08-JAN-2004

The Shock of Color, Deception Island, Antarctica, 2004

Manmade color placed within a monochromatic landscape comes as a shock to the senses. I chose this photograph in direct contrast to the previous image. As we sailed into the flooded caldera of Deception Island – actually a huge underwater volcano -- dark skies splashed wet snow upon the black and white sides of the caldera. Suddenly, what seemed to be a mirage appeared through the thick snowflakes falling on the distant shore. A brilliantly colored cluster of buildings— a Spanish research station – incongruously presents a dreamscape of an entirely different nature.

Canon PowerShot G5
1/200s f/4.0 at 28.8mm full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
share
Phil Douglis25-May-2006 17:30
I can't answer your question, Lorraine. They did not let us get off the ship to inspect the color of their rooms. But I would guess that the inside is probably as energizing as the outside. (My doctor recently changed the color of his office from beige to purple. It's amazing how the color reduces any anxieties I might have. Of course, I like purple.)
Guest 25-May-2006 11:42
Yes it would definitely raise spirits and energy....I hope they have an equally vibrant interior...maybe not as beautifully shocking.
Phil Douglis24-May-2006 18:43
There is a reason for this color, Lorraine. Imagine yourself as one of just twelve people living inside of this monochromatic volcanic crater at the bottom of the world. You are isolated from all other human contact for up to a year. And so you paint the place where you work and live in the most vibrant, contrasting colors you can -- red, orange, maroon, and green. It has to energize you, right?
Guest 24-May-2006 18:22
Very striking indeed...the title fits perfectly. There must be a reason for the shockingly bright choice of colour..and thats what I am left thinking.
Phil Douglis26-Aug-2005 18:00
Thanks, Brian, for bringing up the composition here. Although I built this image around the incongruous shock of that brilliant color within a monochromatic landscape, I did take a great deal of care in other aspects of this image as well. The cropping of the strip of water at the bottom was a compromise -- I needed it for context (even if Marek says I don't) but too much green water would have diluted the monochromatic basis for the image. I wrestled with the amount of glacier to include as well. In the end, I based my composition on four layers -- the strip of water, the vividly colored research station, the black hills that embrace it, and the long fingers of snow and ice that move down through the top half of the image to add the bulk of the monochromatic contrast and also offer leading lines down into the research station.
Brian Klimowski26-Aug-2005 17:27
Very well done. Love the composition here, as well as the way that the color has been handled...
Brian
Tim 02-Aug-2005 15:19
Very nice picture. Next time I would like to join the trip :-)

best regards,
TIM

Germany
Phil Douglis01-Aug-2005 02:04
If ever there was a call for color in an image, Eloise, this is it.
Eloise 31-Jul-2005 19:02
Really like the way you've captured the colours in this photo. Very vibrant!
Phil Douglis27-Feb-2005 04:25
Thanks for the comment, Siu. As to where to start in terms of experimenting with your camera, you are looking at it!
My cyberbook is designed as an instructional guide, Siu. Just follow the galleries from the beginning, look at the images, read my commentary and the comments of viewers, and then go out and try your own hand at the various aspects I cover in each gallery. Good luck.
eT 25-Feb-2005 11:25
well seen ... and captured!
thanks!

eT
http://www.eTanguero.net/
.
Siu 08-Feb-2005 05:57
Fantastic shot. It's amazing how you managed to capture the essence of this photo. If one looks closer at this photo, you can even make out a facial contour that was formed by the snow near the base of the mountain.

I recently purchased a 4 megapixel camera, a Konica Minolta Z3, and is looking for ways to experiment with it. Seeing your pictures really inspire me to take my camera with me wherever I go. I just don't know where to start. Any suggestions?
Phil Douglis27-Jan-2004 00:47
Hi, Marek,

I wrestled with the same dilemma and agree in part with your point. However i do feel the water is important context. It is not just any water. We are, afterall, in the flooded caldera of a volcano, and that's why this research station is where it is. I went back and forth on this issue in my own mind -- leave it be, or crop it for the reasons you so eloquently describe? I teach cropping, and I tell my students that there are no rights or wrongs when it comes to cropping a picture. It all depends on what you want the picture to say. I have made a decision worthy of Solomon, Marek. I cropped the picture to reduce the amount I "watered down" the monochrome/color contrast. On the other hand, I decided to retain just a sliver of gray-green water for important context. How's that for having your cake, and eating it too? And yes, I do agree with you about the tension of nature vs man and his stuff. In the end, the nature of this place will win. The caldera of Deception Island is littered with the ruins of other man-made establishments that were punished by the last eruption of the volcano in the 1960s. It's coming to get you, indeed!
Guest 26-Jan-2004 19:29
I feel the power of this image is compromised by the inclusion of the sea -- it adds another colour, and waters down (excuse the pun) the contrast beween the colour and the monochrome. Personally, I would crop it a fraction over the water line.
Beside that, it has a great narritive about the tension of nature v man-made -- it's coming to get you!
Guest 26-Jan-2004 12:08
This one wins the prize for me. It has everything. Austere grandeur of nature, humanity dwarfed but vibrant at the foot of the mountain. Very nice indeed.
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment