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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixteen: Story-telling street photography > Racing Hoops, Salavan Province, Laos, 2005
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Racing Hoops, Salavan Province, Laos, 2005

Using sticks, three young boys race their hoops down the main street of a small village in rural Laos --the very same game that was played in America and Europe over 100 years ago. This, too, is a street photograph, a far cry from the urban chaos of Vientiane or Yangon. It is almost pastoral in comparison. The incongruity of watching three children rolling hoops down the middle of a village road in the 21st century brings two important human values to mind: tradition and nostalga. These kids may think they have invented this game, yet they are following a tradition that began on the other side of the world in the 18th and19th centuries. The golden light filtering through the trees on to this shady road adds to the nostalgic atmosphere.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
0.00s iso80 hide exif
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MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-FZ20
Flash UsedNo
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ISO Equivalent80
Exposure Bias0.30
White Balance (10)
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programprogram (2)
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Phil Douglis26-Feb-2007 23:15
And that is the whole point of expressive photography, Tom. Our images should cause our viewers to "make great little stories in their heads," just as this one has done for you. Thanks, as always, for this comment. It is good to hear from you.
Tom Talbot21-Feb-2007 06:19
Phil,
This photo takes me back to my youth - I was intrigued to look at this gallery from your opening summary - I always find myself shy photographing people closely, especially when they take notice. I haven't made it through the entire gallery yet but had to stop and comment on this photo as I believe it captures the essence of how you describe the purpose of this gallery so well. I don't have to work up a sweat at all to take this photo and create an entire day of these young men playing together - just as my friends and I did when I was this young - and we were this imaginative also. This photo is a great capture and I have made it into my own little great story in my head. Thanks for the journey back!
Phil Douglis16-Aug-2006 00:47
As I say in the introduction to my cyerbook, Rodney, "Human Values hold the key to expressive photography. They stand at the base of the triangle of principles upon which I build my imagery. Abstraction runs up one side of the triangle, incongruity the other, and human values support both of them. Without this triangle, expression does not occur, and without human values, the triangle does not stand, because abstraction and incongruity will have no anchor." What you say here about human beings being a culture of its own is very true. No matter how many cultural differences stand between us, it is basic human values that hold us together as a tribe. Playfulness is a human value, and these kids are expressing playfulness in a timeless and universal fashion -- by racing hoops down the streets of a dusty Laotian village.
Guest 15-Aug-2006 23:19
I love what this photo says. I won't speak on composition, which is excellent, as all of the others have done so already. What I will speak on is how the photo is saturated with "Human Values." We are all human beings. We may be from different cultures and have different physical appearences, but ultimately we are the same. You have it pegged perfectly, Phil about the game they play. So many kids before them, from so many places, even on the far side of the planet from these kids, have reinvented and played the same game with hoops and sticks. It just shows, we all start out in life the same. Human beings are a culture :)
Phil Douglis11-Oct-2005 00:48
Thanks, Ed -- I took many images of these kids, and chose this one largely because of that unison. It was not luck. It was a question of shooting until I made it work. I saw them coming, waited for them to get in position and then just shot until it worked for me.
Guest 10-Oct-2005 23:41

The kids are moving in unison to boot! Check out their right-foot and their right hand. Sheer luck, you think? :) ... quite a decisive moment in my book.
Phil Douglis09-Jul-2005 04:51
That's the point, Pam -- these kids are every kid that ever was, making the best of whatever they have. It is a universal scene, and that is why I made this image -- to tell the story of a way of life. Thanks for your comment.
Guest 09-Jul-2005 04:15
This scene looks so familiar every where in the world where kids must use the few objects available to play.
Phil Douglis28-Feb-2005 02:19
When I compose my images, I do whatever I can to find a vantage point that creates diagonals. I saw these kids coming and planned this diagonal shot in my mind, waiting until they passed me and moved on down that road a bit to make this photograph.
monique jansen27-Feb-2005 10:34
I try to comment on these pictures without reading your comments first, Phil. What works for me in this picture are the diagonal lines - three kids in a row, diagonal line of the road and its border, the diagonal line of the greenery on one side.
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