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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Five: Using the frame to define ideas > Double take, Kinsale, Ireland, 2004
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25-AUG-2004

Double take, Kinsale, Ireland, 2004

I was attracted to this Kinsale pub by its striking dark mustard color and maroon trim, and waited for someone to walk past it on that side of the street. I soon got my wish when a mother and her young son appeared, both pushing the stroller of a younger family member. But the key to this image is the framing. I imply that this building is actually longer than it is by cropping out the beginning and the end of its long sign in my frame. Meanwhile, the distorting effect of my 24mm wideangle converter lens makes the double yellow line running along the street next to the curb curve slightly upwards while the sign curves slightly downwards. These curves, juxtaposed with the incomplete names on the sign, add a sense of energy to this picture. Pushing the stroller along this route no longer looks as easy as it actually was – even with a double energy source.

Canon PowerShot G5
1/320s f/4.0 at 7.2mm hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time25-Aug-2004 14:54:20
MakeCanon
ModelPowerShot G5
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length7.2 mm
Exposure Time1/320 sec
Aperturef/4
ISO Equivalent
Exposure Bias-0.70
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programshutter priority (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis27-Mar-2005 07:12
You are welcome, Benchang. Your comments are always thoughtful and often prod me to see my images and ideas in fresh contexts. I am glad you paired this image in your comment with my shot of the woman who was passing out pamphlets in Hong Kong athttp://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/31311559 . This Irish photo features a mother with two young children -- they can't be twins because of the age difference, but there are two of them, and each is doing their own thing on their journey through the streets of Kinsale. Meanwhile, my image of the pamphlet passer on Hong Kong's Nathan Road is also about someone doing their thing -- only I've made this woman into a twin of herself by creating a mirror image by shooting everything reflected in a nearby window. Both of these images are street photos and both deal with duality, yet each in their own way.
Benchang Tang 27-Mar-2005 03:22
There is another "double take" you did not tell us here. When I first read the title my eyes were fixated( a word I borrowed from you) to the mother and her two kids and her way of taking two kids with one chair. To have twins is a luck in China, and for us a better view than the girl who was giving away her pamphlets at the bus stop in Hongkong.
Thank you for your great responses to my comments.
Phil Douglis16-Dec-2004 18:39
You are probably right, Clara. She needs all the energy she can get!
Guest 16-Dec-2004 17:56
Well, the opposed curvatures makes a special fair path for the lady and her kids. She is already on the tenth ride!
Phil Douglis22-Oct-2004 03:07
When I made this shot in Kinsale, I was thinking of you, Celia, the back of my mind. I knew you would either love it or rip it. There is no middle ground on this image, because it violates most of the so called rules established for coherent imagery. I chop off the ends of the sign, I bend the street and the building with barrel distortion, and I oversaturate the color to give it all an unreal look. I am delighted to learn that you see the meaning in all that I have done here. And if you, who I have asked to be my most ruthless critic, like this image, I know that I must on the right track. Thanks for bringing an open mind to bear on this image, Celia.
Cecilia Lim 20-Oct-2004 13:04
I think it is very interesting that just by unconventionally cropping the signboard in your image this way, it adds an entirely new idea to this street photograph. This image would have been a description of a yellow building and maroon trimmings, but now with the sign obscured by your cropping, it makes us wonder how much longer it spans. By eliminating the tops of the building, we also wonder how much taller this building stretches. This ambiguity makes it more interesting - it doesn't give everything away to the viewer and thus stimulates our imagination. I feel you could have been a bit more agressive though and cropped the "O" off partially on the left to further stress this ambiguity.

I also loved your interpretation of the upward distortion caused by the lens and how it could effect the difficulty of the simple task of pushing the stroller. What I get in the excitingly bold contrasting colours and distortion is also a sense of how the world may actually look to the two little fellas as they wander through this colourful and tall cartoon-like neighbourhood with their mom. The mother, apparently insensitized to her environment because of her longer existence in the world, charges on ahead, but her two kids appear very interested judging by they way they turned their heads and observed their surroundings with their young eyes! Perhaps not unlike "Alice in Wonderland" where things were big, exaggerated and colourful! I often come across advise that you should always include people, people, people in your photos. I used to think they're just a distraction, but I can see now that if you wait patiently enough, you can find someone and use them to add another interesting dimension to the story-telling, just as effectively as you have done here! It's a deceivingly simple image, but it captures our attention and stimulates our imagination. I LIKE!
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