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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery One: Travel Abstractions -- Unlimited Thought > Borax wagon, Harmony Works, Furnace Creek, Death Valley National Park, California, 2007
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21-FEB-2007

Borax wagon, Harmony Works, Furnace Creek, Death Valley National Park, California, 2007

Borax ore was mined and processed in Death Valley in the 1880s. One of the legendary Twenty-Mule Team Borax Wagons is among the relics on display near the ruins of a processing plant. I photograph only part of the wagon – an old rusted tank, making sure to stress the long shadows of each of its rivets. Because of such abstraction, the image speaks of the strength and endurance of this tank, rather than just showing us what it looks like.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/200s f/5.6 at 31.8mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time21-Feb-2007 09:17:17
MakeLeica
ModelV-LUX 1
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length31.8 mm
Exposure Time1/200 sec
Aperturef/5.6
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias-0.66
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis28-Feb-2009 01:44
Thanks, Shawn, for your wonderful suggestion. I have made a new, darker version of this image, and have replaced the old version that was lighter. Your guess was correct -- there is more mystery in this image now. And yes, the shadows do remind us of saw teeth, only they seem more dangerous now that they are darker. Thanks again.
Guest 28-Feb-2009 01:10
An interesting composition to say the least. I would have liked to have seen this image a bit less exposed thus adding a bit more mystery to the shadows. The rivots create a wonderful tactile surface and the points of the shadows remind me of the teeth of an old saw.
Phil Douglis04-Aug-2007 18:09
You speak of this image very much as my friend Tim May does here, Patricia. Both of you note the effects of time on this old tank. I see this image as a virtual sundial, a primitive clock in its own right. It has been measuring the passage of time here for well over 100 years, and will continue to do so.
Patricia Lay-Dorsey04-Aug-2007 07:37
To me, this is the most abstract of the images I have yet seen in this gallery. My artist's eye is pleased by the curve of lines, the gradient shadows with their sharp triangular shapes and the punch of each rivet. The patina gives a sense of age, and its warm color invites my eye to rest there. This image makes me feel the passage of time as natural and to be respected.
Phil Douglis04-Apr-2007 07:27
Your commentary is very sensual, as usual, Ceci. You can make even an old boiler sound sexy as hell! You made my day.
Guest 04-Apr-2007 05:08
How lovely that this arch of rounded nipples could cast such pointy shadows! The color of this old metal is almost skin-like, and the rivets practically yell out to be rubbed. At least, this is what they do for me. A lovely, simple, time-lapse photo, Phil.
Phil Douglis03-Mar-2007 19:58
I saw the long shadows as a symbol of endurance. And that sense of endurance is certainly part of the history we are seeing before us here.
Tim May03-Mar-2007 18:16
The shadows, to me, seem to represent the long history that is remembered here.
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