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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Forty-Four: Photographing human response – gesture, body language, and expressions > At rest, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006
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29-DEC-2006

At rest, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006

I saw the light and shadow falling on this man as he rests with a cup of tea in a Marrakesh cafe. I exposed for the highlights, letting his face fall into deep shadow. Covering the eyes is an ambiguous gesture. Once again, I leave it to the viewer to answer the questions this image asks. Is he deep in thought? Tired? Lost in sadness? Or just hiding from my camera?

Leica V-Lux 1
1/400s f/6.3 at 78.7mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time29-Dec-2006 03:16:35
MakeLeica
ModelV-LUX 1
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length78.7 mm
Exposure Time1/400 sec
Aperturef/6.3
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias-0.33
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis26-Jan-2007 19:41
Yes it is timeless, Mo. I could have made this same picture 50 years ago, if I had had the knowledge and the equipment needed to do it.
Phil Douglis26-Jan-2007 19:29
Yes it is timeless, Mo. I could have made this same picture 50 years ago, if I had had the knowledge and the equipment needed to do it.
monique jansen26-Jan-2007 17:13
Timeless image of tea drinking smoking man in a teahouse in North Africa
Phil Douglis21-Jan-2007 18:19
Thanks, Rammaa. It is an honor to have your comments here in my galleries again. Just let me know via email whenever you wish to comment, and I will temporarily change my settings allowing you to do so. You make an excellent point about the role of abstraction here. By take advantage of the shadow cast by his hand on his face, I am able to focus attention on the hand over the forehead instead. This leaves much more the imagination of the viewer, as you so beautifully demonstrate.
Phil Douglis16-Jan-2007 21:54
You speak here of posture, Azlin -- which is a component of body language. I agree -- his posture expresses a need for rest and composure. But so, too, does the play of ight. The fact that his face is in shadow stresses the body language even more.
Azlin Ahmad16-Jan-2007 10:15
The lighting and the half empty glass seems to indicate the end of a long day. What I like is a very familiar posture caught in an exotic environment. The tea, the costume and the surroundings could easily be swapped for espresso, a business suit and an anonymous cafe anywhere else in the world - at the end of it, it is a universal posture of someone after a hard day's work, taking some time out before life goes on.
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