Herbal Market, Xian, China, 2004 by Phil Douglis

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Two: Travel Incongruities > Herbal Market, Xian, China, 2004


21-JUN-2004

Herbal Market, Xian, China, 2004

Our visit to Xian took us to a herbal market featuring remedies that have kept Chinese healthy for centuries. This salesman, however, places a nap high on his own health agenda. I thought the juxtaposition of all those healthy herbs with the dozing man was incongruous, and moved my camera’s wideangle lens in on top of both to make this shot.

Leica Digilux 2
1/125s f/4.0 at 12.3mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		29-May-2007 20:37
Thanks, Yves. You are right -- I organized this image to draw the eye from the spices to the sleeper. That is why the spices are sharp and the sleeper is soft. He is also soft because I wanted to imply that not all of him is really there. He is unconscious, so his mind is inactive -- gone soft -- at least for the moment.

Yves Rubin		29-May-2007 15:59
Superb image, the whole composition draws toward to sleeper. It is such an acute symbol for the street life in many parts of the world.

Phil Douglis		24-May-2007 05:14
Thanks, Tricia, for coming to this image. Yes, sleeping is a very human act. We all do it. But usually we do it in bed, not on the job. That is why this image is incongruous. I will look forward to checking out your sleeping beauty gallery.

flowsnow		24-May-2007 00:36
Thanks for directing me to your image as it really shows that in life we do see things similarly. I had a glimpse of this image earlier, as I was attracted to the man sleeping. I was just thinking, yes this would be a nice shot to keep in my `Sleeping Beauty' gallery. I always found facination over `sleeping people' in the streets. Maybe it reflects to me how sometimes life can be `boring' and dull that it just makes you fall asleep. :D

Phil Douglis		24-Sep-2005 03:36
Thanks, Igor, for your comment on this image. The relationship between a subject and its context can often tell a story that may grow even larger in the mind of the viewer.

Igor		16-Sep-2005 16:58
I firmly believe that good images covey a clear meaning. They should not be subjective. Allow me to explain. Photography has a precise language. When correctly juxtaposing elements, a photographer will be able to convey human emotion/experience rather accurately. For instance, a sad person sitting alone at a cafe table with two cups of coffee (one untouched) and untouched lit cigarette tells a clear story of failed rendevouz. The more intricate the image, the greater a viewer's mental investment in puttting together the pieces of a visual puzzle. So, I like this image because it implies meaning, which I can easily read. The man is sleeping because he's probably tired. Why? Because there are large bags in front of him that he probably exerted to arrange. In other words, the image is wonderful because it's a complete story within itself.

Phil Douglis		22-Dec-2004 06:28
Thanks, Mikel, for your observations. I have no idea of what this guy has been smoking, but he never moved a muscle the whole time I was shooting him. I like your point about my corner placement of the subject. I wanted him to appear as relaxed as he really was, and as you say, centering him would have made the image more formal, static and less relaxed looking. And you are right -- he is really "out of it," as the positioning of this fellow in the upper left corner of the shot makes clear.

Guest		22-Dec-2004 00:24
This picture drives my view first to the herbs in the sacs though imidiatly my eyes go to the subject sleepeng behind. Seriously it seems like he has smoked opium or something and now he is resting peacfully without knowing wat is going arround. On the other hand, puting the subject slightly to the left, gives to my idea a harder feeleng of elasticity in the form he is laying down, while probably in the center it wold have been a more rigid photo and as such also the sleepeng position of the subject, that even evades him more from the scenery as a concious person. I like it.

Phil Douglis		09-Dec-2004 19:16
You raise a number of good points here, Antonio. The bags are indeed full -- a sleeping clerk will sell few herbs. And my tight frame does box him in and make his seemingly relaxed position a bit more deliberately uncomfortable.

Antonio Pierre De Almeida		09-Dec-2004 04:50
Incongruous picture in many ways. First of all the use of the DOF make us want to see the herbal tea at first but the composition of this picture leads our reading to the sleeping man. Incongruous because the herbal tea bags are almost full which means that he doesn't have many customers and he probably falls quite often asleep as it is a boring job to sell herbal tea when you don't have many customers. The way you framed this picture so tight on his elbow and head leaves him no space to breath wich is incongruous with his sleep but not incongruous with the bars that surround him which brings me again to the point that it is not quite a fun job to sell herbal tea and brings me to the concluison that chinese people might not be as healthy as they used to be ;-)

Guest		01-Dec-2004 19:55
great composition. that is how he keeps an eye to his stuff. zzzzzzz!

Phil Douglis		30-Nov-2004 21:05
Thanks, Filip. Yes, I focused my wideangle lens on the herbs because I felt the detail was the essence of the picture, and the sleeping man would work best if he was a bit "less present" -- which, of course, he is.

Guest		22-Nov-2004 14:04
WOW...your composition is simply amazing! I really like how the man is a bit softer than the foreground as it divides the image quite nicely into two parts. The earthy colors are a great addition and follow throughout the image (good thing, too, that the man wasn't wearing a yellow shirt). All in all an excellent travel shot.

Phil Douglis		07-Nov-2004 23:49
There can be many different ways to interpret the same picture, Nut, and you have expressed some interesting ways to look at it. I have never thought of the gap between the sleeping salesman and his sack of herbs as expressing his comfort zone before. But you do. Which is fine -- it makes the picture work in greater depth and breadth.

nut		07-Nov-2004 17:15
This is the incongruous photograph in term of context. The gap (between a salesman and his all sack of healthy herbs) give him more space but not for all sack of herbs. He feel uncomfortable even if he have more space and can release his body. But his herbs look more fresh. I found two incongruities here. "Serene-Sleep" and "Sleep-Awaken"

Phil Douglis		02-Nov-2004 17:21
So you see still another incongruity here, Nut. Thanks for point it out.

nut		02-Nov-2004 09:03
Herbal is good for health. To be healthy mean enough sleep, but I don't see healthy man here.

Phil Douglis		03-Aug-2004 17:45
Serenity yes. Good business? No. As for wideangle capability, make that your next investment, Anna. It is a critical tool for creating emphasis by making the subject large, yet still retaining enough context around the subject for meaning.

Anna Yu		03-Aug-2004 05:07
Very peaceful scene, I think. A stressless way of life. Yes the wide angle is great but more than my camera can achieve :-(

Guest		27-Jul-2004 04:26
Mid-morning?!?!?! Well...what a casual life and "Free Market"! @_#

Phil Douglis		26-Jul-2004 16:03
Thanks, Likyin, for adding some local context regarding nap time in China. I took this shot, however, in mid-morning. His lunchtime nap was yet to come! And thanks for the nice comment on this image -- he does seem very comfortable, and the herbs surrounding him do add a warmth to the image. Nobody bothered him -- they just let him snooze, and went elsewhere for their herbs.

Guest		26-Jul-2004 15:06
Haha...I went to Wendy O's "take a break" photos, too. Still think this one the most comfortable with the chair, also the warmest with the dark Bordeaux surroundings. Excuse me, the hour after lunch is for naps here. Help yourself :P

Phil Douglis		21-Jul-2004 23:45
It certainly seems to be quite common. I think this guy http://www.pbase.com/image/9850290) must have been at the same party the night before as the fellow above! Even the hands are in the same place! Phil

Wendy O		21-Jul-2004 23:38
This seems to be a national pastime - note all the sleepers here: http://www.pbase.com/wendyo/chengdu

Phil Douglis		16-Jul-2004 17:50
The selective focus you mention here is the result of the Leica's remarkable Summicron lens. Even at its 28mm wideangle setting, I can get a degree of soft focus in my background with this lens -- a wonderful tool for expression. This is usually very hard to do with digicams -- you generally need a DSLR to do it. I am finding that the Leica Digilux 2 does a great job in bridging the gap between the selective focusing ability of compact digicams and DSLRs.

Tim May		16-Jul-2004 17:12
I also like the depth of field in this image - the way that the herbs are in focus - clearly depicting the path to wellness - while the dreamer in the background is softly focused as dreamer often are.

monique jansen		14-Jul-2004 13:05
This is a very effective image!

Phil Douglis		14-Jul-2004 04:46
Ray, as you probably notice, I shoot more with the wideangle than with the telephoto lens. My Leica D2 zoom goes to 28mm, and my Canon G5's wide converter can give me 24mm as well. By moving in with the wideangle I can make the subject large and emphatic, such as these bags of herbs, yet still get everything else I want into the picture, such as this dozing salesman.

Guest		14-Jul-2004 03:48
What a good use of the wide angle. Very well composed.

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