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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Seven: Bringing far to near with the telephoto lens > Wings aloft, Brussels, Belgium, 2005
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07-JUN-2005

Wings aloft, Brussels, Belgium, 2005

A sword-wielding angel protects Brussels from his perch far above the city's old fish market, as wings of another kind leave disintegrating contrails in the evening sky. Because the angel was mounted on a very high column, I used a medium telephoto focal length of 160mm in order to make the size of the sculpture equal one third the length of the jet contrail behind it. If the statue were any larger in the frame, the contrail would be cramped for space. On the other hand, if the angel were any smaller, the contrail would overwhelm it. That’s why I recommend telephoto zooms over fixed telephoto lenses. We can easily fine-tune the scale of our subject to make it work best with the size of its context. The scale relationship between statue and contrail also determines the size of the triangle created between the flow of the wing, the leg, and the contrail. This triangle defines the incongruous relationship between the mythical wings of an angel and the wings of jet aircraft that etch the sky with their contrails. I also tilted the frame to run the contrail dynamically from corner to corner, energizing the angel in relationship to the thrust of the gradually disintegrating contrail behind it.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
1/640s f/5.6 at 26.7mm iso80 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis24-Jan-2006 04:26
I like your image, Guest -- and I thank you for the comment.
Guest 02-Jan-2006 03:53
This one recalls of a pics I took with my FZ20 few weeks ago:
http://iciclelanding.com/aperture?album=2266&view=album
but I have turned it B/W on my gallery.
BTW thanks for so many delicious galleries. You are an Artist.
Phil Douglis23-Jul-2005 22:18
Thanks, Tim, for pointing out the relationship between the dash of light on the sword and the flow of light on the contrail. Neither would have been as effective without the telephoto lens -- we need its reach to isolate this interplay of light and make it work.
Tim May23-Jul-2005 19:14
I understand that this image is instructive of the use of telephoto lenses, but I must comment of the use of light - The contrail is strongest until it hits the foot of the statue. Then it weakens and fades -
But... the light moves from the contrail to the hand a sword. The heavens have provided the power for this soldier. The dash of light on the sword is, for me, the power of this image.
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