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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Four: The Workplace -- essence of a culture > Shepherd, Baisha, China, 2006
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03-APR-2006

Shepherd, Baisha, China, 2006

Sheep thrive on the 8,000-foot high pastureland that surrounds Lijiang. The life of a shepherd is not easy – he is always outnumbered. I liked the fact that in this case, anyway, the black sheep outnumber the white. I made this image at about 150mm – the herd was almost upon me. A moment later I was surrounded with them and felt the shepherd looking over my shoulder. He wanted to see the picture.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30
1/100s f/4.0 at 31.2mm iso80 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis02-Apr-2007 17:10
You are right, Ceci -- there is a surreal quality to this image, and it comes from the eyes of both man and beast. It was also a strange and almost unearthly landscape.
Guest 02-Apr-2007 06:04
There is a strange, alien feeling to this interesting photograph, with a bunch of black sheep that seem to have been struck blind, and struck black too -- perhaps by whatever caused the white marks in the background, as though there had been an explosion made by meteorites. These animals look like creatures out of a horror movie because of their eyes, even their shepherd has a slightly disturbed, detached air about him. I like the fact of them all crowding the right side -- or rather, the cropping that bunches them up on the right. Very cool shot, Phil.
Phil Douglis23-Apr-2006 04:28
You are so right, Christine. He seems to actually grow out of his flock. Beautiful observation. You have changed the way I look at this image. He is an integral part of the flock and the flock is part of him as well.
Guest 23-Apr-2006 04:02
What I find striking here is that this shepherd seems to be part of the herd, so close to his sheep.
Christine
Phil Douglis19-Apr-2006 22:16
It is fascinating to me how you find meaning in the small things that most visitors to China come to take for granted. The wearing of camouflage, for example -- it is very popular attire, and after seeing it on the street day after day, I accepted it as simply another color of clothing. But when I take that camouflage out of normal street context by putting it into this photograph about the backroads of China, I can see how you would seize on it as a metaphor for a changing culture.
Tim May19-Apr-2006 18:48
Again, for me, I am struck by how details add depth. Beyond the fact of the glorious array of black sheep with the white sheep being in the minority - apt in a non-white nation - I notice the camouflage the shepherd is wearing beneath his cloak. For me, civilians wearing camouflage is a modern occurrence, Yet another image of changing China.
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