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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Fourteen: Expressing the meaning of buildings and structures > A-bomb dome, Hiroshima, Japan, 2006
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23-MAR-2006

A-bomb dome, Hiroshima, Japan, 2006

Hiroshima's former Industrial Promotion Hall was gutted by the firestorm triggered by the world's first atomic bombing. Its ruins are preserved as a memorial. I abstract the building itself by shooting into the sun, which drastically under exposes the image and makes the sky itself a dark gray. The flare of the sun symbolizes the blast of the atomic bomb itself over this very spot.

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Phil Douglis03-Nov-2006 03:03
HI, Jeff. Thanks for noting that I depart from the "rules" of photography here. I do so quite often. I have no interest in getting people to "like a picture" because I follow generally accepted conventions. I am a teacher, and effective teachers inspire and teach by urging students to march to the beat of their own drums. Everything I do with a picture is done to help it tell the story or make the point that I want to get across. Making a "perfect looking" picture in a classic sense, is a form of replication, not communication or expression. I have no interest in patterning my work after others and I hope my students will do likewise. There are certain principles that govern effective expression. I discuss and demonstrate them in this cyberbook. But principles are not rules that we slavishly follow. They are concepts that we can use for our own purposes. In this image, I weld abstraction to incongruity to express human values. If I must use noise and sun flare and under exposure to do it, I will. If this image bothers photographers that "go by the book," and "play by the rules," so be it. They are entitled to express themselves in their way. And I will do so in my way.
Guest 03-Nov-2006 02:52
It's a fascinating "ah-ha" that to convey certain emotions you have to depart from a 'perfect' looking picture. Noise and sun flare and under or over exposed photographs can help portray the story. This also means that many will not "like" the picture.
Phil Douglis28-Aug-2006 23:42
Both Cecilias, back to back, on the same image. I feel that great honor has been done to this image by the two of you. You both see the metaphor of death in the skeletal building as well as the black trees and sky. And you both feel the searing blast of the atomic bomb in the flare of the sun itself. And you are right, Celia --- you throw out the rule about blown highlights here. Blown highlights are the essence of the blast itself and the key the expression in this image.
Cecilia Lim28-Aug-2006 11:42
Phil, you are so right about forgetting the rules of exposure and blown highlights if it helps your image make a point. The exposure police may complain how it is wrongly exposed, but it is your intended rule-breaking exposure effect that makes this image speak about this horrific event. Using the blinding flare of the sun as a symbol of the intense bomb blast is brilliant! The dark sombre colours and mood also work together to represent a dark moment in man's history. And the black silhouettes of the tree and building stand like burnt cinders, reminding us that nothing - be it nature or man-made, escaped this immensely cruel & destructive force.
Guest 28-Aug-2006 06:27
What a powerful image this is. As I looked at it, I got shivers, remembering, and I couldn't think of a better illustration for this horrendous event. The skeleton of the building seems a metaphor for all the people who perished almost simultaneously in the detonation, and the dark sky is a pall of somberness cast over the whole scene. Using the sun -- itself a flaming mass of radiation -- for the bomb is quite spectacular.
Phil Douglis11-Aug-2006 22:22
Thanks, Christine, for being the first to come to this image and leave a comment. I am glad you like it -- it means a lot to me when you say that, because I know the high standard you bring to an image intended as expression, I am pleased that you saw the symbolic flash of the bomb in that sun, even before you read the caption.
Christine P. Newman11-Aug-2006 20:57
The image speaks for itself, Phil. Your comment explains exactly what I saw first. I like this picture.
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