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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Four: The Workplace -- essence of a culture > Keane Wonder Mine, Death Valley National Park, California, 2007
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21-FEB-2007

Keane Wonder Mine, Death Valley National Park, California, 2007

This long abandoned goldmine was once a busy workplace. Today, only its foundations, old cyanide tanks, and the ruins of a tramway are left. I found this old spike among the ruins. It seems to have been driven only half-way into its beam. It’s going to be a long wait until someone comes along and finishes the job. I organized the two beams in the image as contrasting diagonals, with the point of focus on the old rusty spike. It is an image about work half-done and then forgotten forever.

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Phil Douglis17-Mar-2007 06:01
I am glad you see this image in the spirit in which I made it, Jenene. Mr. Paxton might not have found it of much value as a photograph, but it apparently has at least caused him some thought, which, in my view, is the bottom line. It is not the form of an image that is important. Rather it is the effect of the image on the mind and imagination of the viewer. I am delighted that you are able to see this photograph as symbolic of our changing history.You are right -- the past does cry out here to the future.
JSWaters17-Mar-2007 05:05
Sorry to be querulous, but I think Zane's train of thought was far more stimulated than he even acknowledges by this and other images. That said, I find this image symbolic of not only work unfinished but representative of our own history in flux - the past waiting to hand the baton of the future to the next runner.
Jenene
Phil Douglis04-Mar-2007 22:24
I made this image as a teaching example, Zane. I did not make it to define the essence of the Keane Wonder Mine itself. I made it in this manner because I felt the half-driven spike symbolized an abandoned workplace. To me, it defined "work half done and forgotten forever." I don't see how I could have captured the "essence of this unique mine as a mine" unless I was able to spend a day or two working on the site to get the right kind of light in the right place at the right time. I strongly feel that it is not WHAT you shoot that is important, but rather HOW and WHY we shoot it. I tend to look for light, and look for symbols, and see what I can make out of it, and whatever happens will happen. (As for research, I generally do a lot of reading about a place before I go. The Keane Wonder Mine was not among my research topics, since I had no idea we would be going there. It was suggested to us at the visitors center.)
Zane Paxton04-Mar-2007 21:35
"In fact, I was not even aware of that tramway until I read about it on the internet after returning home."

Well, that's exactly what can happen if one doesn't stop long enough to ask some interesting and useful questions about a place before eagerly pressing the shutter release... ;~)

How many photographers end up frustrated that their images didn't capture what they wanted or are disappointed that what they experienced doesn't show through into their captures? That is the biggest complaint that I hear.

Your image although well executed and composed perhaps doesn't hold a viewer's attention as long as an image that has a deeper expressed meaning that can come from finding something context specific. That next level of expression can perhaps only be attained when the image conveys something so unique that it can't be mistaken for another place. That is also exactly why abstracts and detailed views like this one are so much easier than images that capture something unique and contextually expressive.

It is always a powerful opportunity for growth and learning to set aside one's ego and to openly inquire into how an image or session could have been made more powerful and more expressive. I can fondly remember gathering every so often for a "print burning" with my fellow students at my mentor’s house. We would take turns sharing what we learned and gain a critique from everyone else on a particular image, then we would ceremoniously toss it into the fireplace as a statement that we have learned and are now moving forward.

So here is an opportunity for learning and growth if you are game. What are your thoughts as to how this image or this place could have been more powerfully captured and expressed now that you've had the rich experience of being there and lived with the images for a while? I’m sure as a seasoned mentor yourself that you would always be committed and interested in an open dialog for anything that can hold meaningful potential for another level of learning.
Phil Douglis03-Mar-2007 19:50
Yes, this place is full of many mysteries, Zane. I saw two things there that were strongly symbolic -- this bolt, and a broken fence that resembled a crucifix. (http://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/75092603 ) I did not see the place as the technological triumph that you see it as, so my pictures of it are going to be quite different than yours. In fact, I was not even aware of that tramway until I read about it on the internet after returning home. As for the reasons this bolt was left exposed, my own idea is just one of the many possibilities. Others will come up with their own reasons, and that is why I made the picture.

To answer your question "how does this image express what unique to this amazing mine? -- it doesn't attempt to do that. It was never my intention to search for such an answer. Instead, I was searching for symbols that I could use as teaching examples in my galleries. This bolt worked perfectly to that end.
Zane Paxton03-Mar-2007 06:57
I'm beginning to discern a certain fondness you have for symbolism; in this case the half embedded bolt. I like the image well enough and find the composition well executed; however, the interpreted meaning of an unfinished construction seems arbitrary, even whimsical. There’s no fault in that, but what is the point of that emphasis? The bolt could have been the result of a broken beam on top, a missing member that rotted away from exposure from the elements or someone that cut or hacked it away. So why is that important anyway? Yes there is a nice visual tension at the point of the bolt that anchors the eye, but why bother with all that made up meaning? Just for fun? It does seem to be a truism that we are hard-wired to crave meaning, perhaps we even demand it and create it to suit our needs in our impatience, but that is perhaps not a useful reason to make up some convenient version to feel more satisfied.

I’ve been there and the place is full of many mysteries. Perhaps the concept of mystery is more valuable than an assigned story. A mystery requires no explanation, otherwise it would no longer be a mystery ;~)

I'm intrigued that you chose this element to display when the whole amazing idea of the Keene Wonder Mine is that they used the weight of the ore on the "ski lift" mechanism to not only move the heavy ore down the hill but to use that captured kinetic energy to crush the ore. That one incredibly brilliant idea could have been the core spark of a visualization to express that most unique aspect of that special mine. Here the detail view image you are presenting doesn't reveal that concept.

Here is one of those zinger type exquisite questions for you that best occur before the exposure: How does this image express what is unique to this most amazing mine? Or conversely, how would we know which mine this possibly came from? One thing is for sure; quite often it is difficult to state the obvious and blatant meanings; an interesting idea to ponder (that started me in asking questions as an inquiry process).

;~)
Victoria03-Mar-2007 04:51
Awesome work
Phil Douglis02-Mar-2007 23:21
Thanks, Annie -- that was exactly why I organized this image as I did. I wanted to draw you in and hold your interest, right down to the last detail.
Annie J02-Mar-2007 22:33
I really like this image Phil, the diagonals of the composition and the lighting really draw the viewer in!
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