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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Thirty Three: Using light and color to define and contrast textures > Hikers at Rest, Virgin River, Zion National Park, Utah, 2006
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08-FEB-2006

Hikers at Rest, Virgin River, Zion National Park, Utah, 2006

Sometimes texture is merely implied, rather than fully revealed. Such is the case here. This trio of hikers almost seem to be meditating as they rest on the river-bank and gaze into the heavy woods on the other side. I don’t describe the texture of these trees in this image. I underexpose the trees by aiming my spot meter on the brightly illuminated hair of the hikers instead. Only the branches that hang out in the light over the narrow river are clearly seen. The rest of the trees recede into darkness, offering an abstracted texture of barely seen tree trunks, leaves and branches. I use texture here to express nature as both intricate and mysterious.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30
1/400s f/5.6 at 25.3mm iso80 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time08-Feb-2006 13:09:54
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-FZ30
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length25.3 mm
Exposure Time1/400 sec
Aperturef/5.6
ISO Equivalent80
Exposure Bias-0.66
White Balance (10)
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance1.870 m

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Phil Douglis04-Feb-2007 04:05
Thanks, Chris, for this comment. I am happy that you see it as I did. The key here is under-exposure. Not only did I use the spot meter to expose for the brightest highlights on the people -- I also set my exposure compensation dial at minus two-thirds of one stop. Together, these choices in exposure made this image tell its story.
Chris Sofopoulos03-Feb-2007 21:51
When I saw the image I thought the same things with you Phil. The underexposed texture of shows nature's mystery and power.
Phil Douglis08-Mar-2006 23:01
Your reaction to this image is fascinating, Celia. I did not originally equate the mystery I felt coming from those trees with the sinister feeling you perceive here. I originally saw the mysterious darkness as more suggestive of thought than evil. But since reading your wonderful comments, I have come to see those delicate branches, so fragile and wispy, as suggestive of death. The branches have the same veinous quality to them that Jen Zhou's wonderful Beijing winter landscape shows athttp://www.pbase.com/angeleyes_zyl/image/38004034 It is almost as if those people, so delicately balanced on the edge of the frame, are gazing across the River Styx. I guess I succeed in my goal -- to make an image using textures to kindle the imaginations of my viewers. Thank you for an eloquent comment, as usual, Celia.
Cecilia Lim08-Mar-2006 20:40
Oooh! The master of incongruity strikes again! Although it's titled "Hikers At Rest", there's hardly anything restful to me about this image! It may seem like a tranquil setting at first, but the interplay of shadows and highlights that accentuate the form of the trees here give this image a very sinister feel to it. The sunlight illuminates a multitude of "claws" that seem to reach out from the darkness above and toward the unsuspecting resting hikers. I also love the way you cropped the hikers very close to the edge of the frame, further heightening the feeling of tension and anticipation as we wait for the horror to unfold before us. The other incongruity that strikes me is the absurdity of seeking refuge from the sun under these scrawny trees. Although you tell us that the hikers were sitting across from the trees, your telephoto lens and viewpoint make them appear as if they were sitting under an umbrella of dead-looking twigs! You say that you use "texture here to express nature as both intricate and mysterious". You certainly did that for me and got my imagination running Phil! Really enjoyed this one!
Phil Douglis18-Feb-2006 20:53
I'm delighted that you feel the textures here, too, Azlin. I try to "paint with light" whenever I can -- the most useful tool for doing that is the spot meter in my camera. The spot meter can read only one per cent of my frame at a time. By setting my camera on "spot" and holding the shutter button halfway down, I just move the subject around in the frame, and watch what happens to my actual image on my LCD preview screen. When the spot meter targeted the bright hair of that hiker, the forest became darker, emphasizing the ends of the branches brushed by the sun. That's when I pushed the button down the rest of the way.
Azlin Ahmad18-Feb-2006 09:40
Brilliant work, Phil! You've painted with a sunbeam - this is my favourite on in this gallery (so far).
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