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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Thirty Six: Adding or subtracting context to clarify or extend meaning > Gull, Ecola State Park, Canon Beach, Oregon, 2006
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08-JUN-2006

Gull, Ecola State Park, Canon Beach, Oregon, 2006

Just two miles north of Canon Beach is an observation point overlooking the seagull rookeries of Ecola State Park. I photographed hundreds of birds there, but this one was the most memorable. It was perfectly poised in the sky over a distant freighter. Without the context of that freighter, it is just a nice description of a bird in flight. But with that context, the image speaks of the vast distances this bird must fly, and the image moves from description to expression.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30
1/400s f/5.6 at 67.4mm iso80 full exif

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Phil Douglis04-Jul-2006 18:34
I said the subject was the bird, and the freighter the context. You say that the vastness of the ocean itself is the subject, and it is tiny bird and tinier ship that offers the context. All of which makes an important point. Context and subject relationships are constantly shifting, depending upon how the viewer interprets it. We have each interpreted this image differently, and thus our subject/context relationships differ. Thank you for expressing this idea, Celia.
Cecilia Lim04-Jul-2006 11:33
The distant freighter added a vital visual reference for depth and distance in this image. I think by featuring both the freighter and the seagull travelling in a seemingly endless ocean, this image has also become an expression about the sea and sky itself. It is a vast and lonely space that is a challenge for all to overcome, be it animal or machine.
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