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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Six : Using reflections to transform reality > Secular pressures, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2006
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24-SEP-2006

Secular pressures, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2006

I was able to lift the top off of Salt Lake’s Mormon Temple by shooting its reflection in a nearby office building. The grid created by the office windows, reminiscent of a Mondrian painting, offers a metaphor for secular society, while the Temple represents religious faith. All religions continually face pressures and tensions created by the secular world in which they exist. This reflection graphically makes that point.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50
1/320s f/5.6 at 63.6mm iso100 hide exif
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Date/Time24-Sep-2006 09:23:03
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-FZ50
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length63.6 mm
Exposure Time1/320 sec
Aperturef/5.6
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias-0.33
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis02-Mar-2007 17:08
Thanks, Ai Li for this comment. Glad you can see what I am trying to say here. I want this image to stir thought and imagination, and that is what it did for you.
AL02-Mar-2007 11:05
Another interesting metaphor created by your great vision and interpretation. I may not fully feel the pressures and tensions but I certainly see the possible danger, a golden symbol facing the fate of tumbling to dust.
Phil Douglis01-Nov-2006 19:04
The statue being lifted from its base in the distorted reflection can be interpreted in way you wish, Ceci. To me, this image is about the inherent conflict between religious doctrine and secular events and ideas. I am not sure how the point of the film "Breaking the Waves" relates to this concept. Perhaps you are simply associating the word "waves" with the wavyness of this image? In any event, I welcome your thoughts on this image, Ceci.
Guest 01-Nov-2006 07:42
Having just seen Lars von Trier's masterpiece BREAKING THE WAVES, I felt a cheer rise up in me at this reflection which does indeed inadvertently--by trick of light and the distortions that can occur in glass--produce another point of view that is almost a caricature. The trumpeting figure seems to be lifting off its base and falling over, making this amazing metaphoric image worth a thousand words. Powerful, amusing, important. Bravo, Phil.
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