Guard, Alcatraz Prison, San Francisco, California, 2007 photo

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Six : Using reflections to transform reality > Guard, Alcatraz Prison, San Francisco, California, 2007

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12-JUN-2007

Guard, Alcatraz Prison, San Francisco, California, 2007

A lifelike figure of a prison guard stands in a glass case in the museum at the entrance to the former Cell House. A cellblock reflects on the glass at right, along with several visitors. I wanted to imply a sense of memory to this image – the guard seems haunted by the years he has spent on “The Rock.”

Leica V-Lux 1
1/20s f/2.8 at 7.4mm iso100 hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	12-Jun-2007 14:08:13
Make	Leica
Model	V-LUX 1
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	7.4 mm
Exposure Time	1/20 sec
Aperture	f/2.8
ISO Equivalent	100
Exposure Bias	-0.33
White Balance
Metering Mode	multi spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Program	program (2)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		19-Jan-2008 04:48
Yes, the reflections do bring the waxen man to life, don't they? They add energy and mystery simultaneously and in the process they attach themselves to the mannequin.

Guest		10-Jan-2008 14:32
This is kind of creepy. You have really turned a wax figure into a real person by including the reflections. They trick our eye as they suggest movement and life. Without them, the photo would have been lifeless; the wax figure a prop. Vera

Phil Douglis		20-Jun-2007 19:00
Glad you were drawn to those little reflected people, Ceci -- I saw them as metaphorical prisoners as well. I thought of the Green Mile guards as well when I made this picture. They have something in common: this is a mannequin, and the guards in the Green Mile were actors. Yet both manage to enter the imagination as reality.

Guest		20-Jun-2007 17:26
What an amazing photo, with this guard seemingly real at first glance, with his worn, resigned, stoical expression, and even the little gap between his neck and his collar adding a touch of reality. He might be one of the the "Green Mile" guards, one of those compassionate but dedicated men who looked after the men on death row till their executions, or another, crueler sort. I like the reflection next to his left ear of some figures that suggests prisoners lounging around. This is a powerful, atmospheric portrait of a by-gone time, very thoughtfully realized.

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