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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Thirty Eight: The camera as time machine: linking the past to the present > Scars of time, Seligman, Arizona, 2006
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12-JUL-2006

Scars of time, Seligman, Arizona, 2006

Seligman is another one of those small towns that once lined the Arizona portion of US Route 66 – the “Mother Road.” I spent my brief time in Seligman searching for visual clues to its nostalgic past. This battered relic of that past likely had its best days on Route 66 before the legendary road was bypassed by the new Interstate highway system. With this close-up study, I offer a metaphor for that loss and displacement. The scarred, rusting surface of the car mocks the sleek and shadowy chrome decorations that once represented, along with Route 66 itself, “modern times.” Once again, the past briefly appears before us, this time wearing the guise of a car that stopped moving a long time ago.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30
1/250s f/5.6 at 18.6mm iso80 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis22-Jul-2006 02:01
This car is like a retired bull, isn't it? Full of scars, yet its former prowess is evident. It's the bulge of the hood and the dappled light that makes us think of the hide of that bull, and as you say, its well earned rest. Nicely said, as always, Catriona. Thanks.
Guest 22-Jul-2006 01:08
This one reminds me of the hide of a bull with all of the scars and life history. The dappled sunlight on the bonnet represents rest - the car is old and has been put into retirement!
Phil Douglis20-Jul-2006 00:41
Thanks for applying the metaphorical migrations of birds and homesteaders to this image, Jenene. If the great value of expressive photography is to activate the imagination of the viewer and make her think in ways she may never have thought before, your response has certainly validated it here. The thought of birds and migrations never crossed my mind until you just mentioned it. Thanks to you and your imagination, this image takes on new meaning.
JSWaters19-Jul-2006 18:33
The silver bird like hood ornament represents one of the flock in formation - the formation represented by the silver 'V' below it. It's a symbol of past migration to me, and of course, totally appropriate if we relate it to past migration along Rte 66!
Jenene
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