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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eighteen: Light and Landscape – combining personal vision with nature’s gifts > At my doorstep, Phoenix, Arizona, 2006
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20-AUG-2006

At my doorstep, Phoenix, Arizona, 2006

I travel all over the world to make expressive images. Yet I found this one on my own back doorstep. I live on the edge of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, and made this wideangle image over my back fence. The sky belongs to all of us, and nature often paints it in colors so delicate yet vivid that they defy description. The key to this image is the towering cauldron of gauzy clouds, swirling in air currents tumbling upon each other in a pattern that seems to explode over the low hills that flank Piestewa Peak, the highest mountain in Phoenix. I use the horizon as context, and one of my yucca plants as an anchor layer, letting nature’s palette do the rest.

Leica D-Lux 2
1/25s f/2.8 at 6.3mm iso80 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time20-Aug-2006 20:16:31
MakeLeica
ModelD-LUX2
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length6.3 mm
Exposure Time1/25 sec
Aperturef/2.8
ISO Equivalent80
Exposure Bias-0.33
White Balance (10)
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis23-Aug-2006 04:36
Thanks, Jack -- yes, I do hold a camera very still. But at my age (72) it is not as easy at it used to be at 42! However I am blessed by the fact that I have image stabilized Leica lenses in both of my cameras. This image was shot at 1/25th of a second at ISO 80. Yet my image stabilized lens offers "cushioning" that is equivalent to two stops. So in effect, I might just as well have made this shot at 1/100th of a second, which offers much less chance of blur due to camera shake. Thanks for your kind comment, Jack.
Guest 23-Aug-2006 03:20
Yes it is very lovely and you managed to hold the camera very still!!
Phil Douglis22-Aug-2006 23:03
The last thing I was thinking of here, Ian, was the rule of thirds. I built the image around the thrust of the clouds, and used the periphery as context. As for being a lucky man to live here in Arizona, as a photographer I would have to agree. But we also have to weigh the price -- in the summer, the temperature in our desert routinely reaches 105 degrees fahrenheit. Thanks for the comment.
Phil Douglis22-Aug-2006 23:00
You underscore the reasons why I chose to make this image, Celia. I don't usually shoot sunsets for their own sake. When you've seen one beautifully colored sky, you've seen them all. But the cloud formation I saw the other night was so much more than just something pretty. As you note, it spoke to me of nature's dynamism and harmony. By juxtaposing those small, wispy trees and the long silhouetted leaves of the Yucca, with the explosive swirl of fiery clouds, I was able to convey echos and rhythms that told this story well. Thank you for defining it so effectively for us, Celia.
Leicestershire Wedding Photographer22-Aug-2006 21:28
Wonderful framing. The rule of thirds can go out of the window on shots like this. With such a beautiful sky all that is required is what you have done. Minimal border interest that actually works to draw your eye into that wonderful sky. By the way, your a lucky man to have that on your doorstep... couldn't get a shot like this where I live!
Cecilia Lim22-Aug-2006 19:38
What I love here is that you've gone beyond the cliche sunset pictures by framing it differently, and by using the shape of the silhhouettes to accentuate the pattern of the clouds. The soft whispy trees in the distance mirror the "gauzy" orange clouds to the left, and the Yucca leaves exploding outwards reflect the energy of the clouds radiating out from behind the hills. Nature and light is ever changing but you've frozen a moment in time where everything in nature seems to be very much alive and dynamic, but in complete harmony.
Phil Douglis22-Aug-2006 01:57
You are right, Jenene -- we are both fortunate to live in climates where summer clouds and sunsets often combine to create magical effects. As photographers, we must try to go beyond simple description. We must find the precise moment and frame to use shape and color to define the exquisite and often delicate balance of nature in the skies overhead.
JSWaters22-Aug-2006 00:43
I had no idea you had posted this, Phil, until I read your comment on my sunset shot. What a response you've gotten so quickly! The skies around my house have been uncommonly colorful this summer (mine was shot in July), and I find myself like you here, racing outside to capture the moment - a lesson in finding the expressive image no matter where we are. We're both lucky to have such beautiful surroundings.
Jenene
Phil Douglis21-Aug-2006 21:23
Thanks, Ai Li and Neil, for sharing the beauty of this image with me. It is a matter of both power and beauty here, Ai Li -- there is so much energy reflected in the circular surge of those clouds. It is explosive, yet also very delicate at the same time. I include the Yucca for depth perception, but also because its long pointed leaves offer a counterpoint to the long narrow clouds that explode towards it.
Phil Douglis21-Aug-2006 21:19
And thank you, Chris and Kal, for looking at the structure of this image. It was a tight balancing act for me -- I did not have a lot of choice in terms of the black at the bottom of this picture. I had to shoot over a wall at the back of my house, and I could not move any further left without introducing structures that have nothing to do with nature. I had a thin band of hilly terrain and a Yucca to work with -- and everything else was happening in the sky. Fortunately, the the thrust of the clouds extend far enough up into the image to fill the rest of the frame with color and texture.
Phil Douglis21-Aug-2006 21:14
Thanks, Ana, for viewing this image as a painting. And in many ways it is. Only nature is doing the painting here, not me. And she is using fading sunlight as paint and her winds as brush. The hills are changing color as well. One of the reasons we moved to Arizona is the quality of its desert light. Even here in the middle of metropolitan Phoenix, a city of millions, there is a place where one can stand in awe of it. And that is the vast Phoenix Mountain Preserve -- one of the largest city parks in the world. Just mountains and desert nestled at the heart of a great city. And my doorstep is just beyond its border. I've come to take it all for granted, yet last night's cloud formation made me reach for my camera and go to work.
Neil Horner21-Aug-2006 20:56
beautiful sunset Phil, great gallery.
AL21-Aug-2006 17:07
Truly amazing view right at your doorstep! A big red sky giving life and perhaps last gasp of energy back before ending a beautiful day. The mountain range and the plant helped to create more depth too. The power and beauty of our Mother Nature and Earth. Thanks for sharing, Phil :-)
Kal Khogali21-Aug-2006 12:33
Agree with Chris, the pure darkness (even minimal) at the bottom and side works wonderfully, but also becasue you have retained enough to tell us what they are. Lovely sky...K
Chris Sofopoulos21-Aug-2006 07:28
In my opinion, the fantastic to this photo is the frame by the use of negative space at the bottom and right side and the amazing colour. Seems so simple but it is so smart and beautiful photo.
Ana Carloto O'Shea21-Aug-2006 07:16
You know that from the thumbnail this one looked like a painting?? :) But it did! That amazing sky looks like it's a pastel work.. that someone spent sometime blending the colors with their fingers..
I like the way the horizon changes color from that super contrating black to the magical red.
But most of all, it's delicious to see you Phil, man of the world, finding such an special moment right there at home :) this by itself it's great enough..
Phil Douglis21-Aug-2006 05:23
And thank you, Ceci, for leaving your thoughts on nature's show. I felt the clouds pouring away as I made the shot -- it happens so fast at this time of night. The clouds may not move much, but the light certainly was changing by the second, and as it faded, the intensity of color changed and the definition of the clouds changed along with it. Pleasant dreams!
Guest 21-Aug-2006 04:59
A lovely image, Phil, so fleeting, gave me a kick to know that this was where you live, and what you can see out the back door. There is a sense of the clouds almost pouring away, as in time lapse photography; the curve of rocks and yucca bring such drama, specially the sharp spines of the native plant whose roots the Indians use to shampoo their hair. Thanks for the tip on viewing it, just now, at 11:55 p.m. central time. It's perfect to go to sleep with!
Phil Douglis21-Aug-2006 03:11
That was fast, Christine. I only posted this a few minutes ago. I was on pbase, and Liz told me the sky was "on fire." I thought she was exaggerating, but when I saw its reflection in the living room, I knew I had to grab the Leica and sprint to the back patio. I only had about a minute or so to work this image before the color intensity faded. You are right -- without the horizon and the yucca silhouette, we would lose a sense of perspective. The rhythms and swirls in the clouds was magical, and I glad you think my image does justice to it. Thank you.
Christine P. Newman21-Aug-2006 03:06
No need for any explanation Phil - This is gorgeous. The horizon and side as silhouette add more drama to the red.
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