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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eight: Light and shadow shape meaning > Awakening, Tomb of Emperor Qin, Xian, China, 2004
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21-JUN-2004

Awakening, Tomb of Emperor Qin, Xian, China, 2004

Over 6,000 life sized soldiers made of pottery guard the underground tomb of China's first emperor in Xian. Unearthed in 1974, these soldiers were accidentally discovered by farmers digging a well. I visited the site just as the sun was grazing the front ranks, leaving the soldiers behind them in shadow. I exposed for the lighted soldiers, defining them clearly but leaving the rest in virtual darkness. It is the perfect way to suggest an awakening – after 2,000 years of darkness, these soldiers seem to come to life again as they march into the light of day.

Leica Digilux 2
1/250s f/4.8 at 22.5mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time21-Jun-2004 19:34:32
MakeLeica
ModelDIGILUX 2
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length22.5 mm
Exposure Time1/250 sec
Aperturef/4.8
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias
White Balance (10)
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Zane Paxton05-Jul-2005 20:42
Awesome image!
Guest 15-Jun-2005 14:01
Hi Phil
I think you have captured the light on the front soldiers superbly and as you say as they march into the light they come to life
Guest 20-Feb-2005 02:06
I like this one. The shadow and light remind me they all get out from thousands years of darkness.
Jun Wu14-Feb-2005 21:50
Well, on spotmeter again, Phil. The exif below this superb picture indicated that you used the multispot measuring of the camera, not a handheld spotmeter. As in-camera spot meter normally only memorizes one spot reading, did you take a light reading of several points and calculated the average yourself?
Phil Douglis24-Oct-2004 06:06
Anna:

Three words: spotmeter, spotmeter, spotmeter!

Phil
Anna Yu24-Oct-2004 05:07
Very effective way of suggesting a wakening. From the past, from the tomb? I think the important thing here is that the figures in the shadows can still be seen clearly, while avoid overexposure of the ones in sunlight. Tricky, but you did it well.
Phil Douglis09-Oct-2004 00:18
Thanks, Carol for your comment. I particularly like it when you draw comparisons between my images and let me know which ones work better for you. I took a chance with this one -- it is much more abstract than my other one here, which is athttp://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/31314618. I use this one as an example of how abstracting with light can tell a story. I use the other in my composition gallery to demonstrate the power of diagonal flow. They each tell a different story, in different ways.
Carol E Sandgren05-Oct-2004 19:00
This shot works for me much better than your other as far as the highlighted few in the foreground for really emphasizing the never-ending parade of these warriors marching toward us. A wonderful shot, Phil!
Phil Douglis22-Jul-2004 00:00
We were fortunate to enter this museum just as the sun was leaving the scene. A few minutes later, the entire floor of the exhibition was illuminated only by artfiicial lights. I was able to make a good shot of the warriors under those as well (see:http://www.pbase.com/image/31314618) but that image does not say what I managed to say here by abstracting the bulk of the platoon by exposing with my spot meter on the front ranks.
Wendy O21-Jul-2004 23:48
Nice...you caught the light perfectly.
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