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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery One: Travel Abstractions -- Unlimited Thought > In the mind’s eye, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2007
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08-AUG-2007

In the mind’s eye, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2007

I was able to abstract this vista of the Grand Canyon by shooting into the misty dawn light, reducing visibility substantially, yet still retaining faint traces of the pinkish color in the textures of the huge mesas and bluffs rising from the canyon floor. I layer the image with a darker foreground that repeats the diagonal slopes that fade into the misty distance. While this image does not allow us to actually see the Grand Canyon itself, it stimulates the imagination to see it in the mind’s eye.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/500s f/6.3 at 19.2mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis04-Feb-2009 21:41
Thanks for providing a roadmap of your own eye's journey through this image, Shawn. The diagonal anchor at the base of the image pulls us in, and from there the eye can take differing routes in visiting the subtle details that lie within.
Guest 04-Feb-2009 20:07
My eyes tend to follow the diagonals in this image which is great. At first I looked at the silhouette in the foreground and then moved deeper into the image. My eyes finally rested on the pinacle in the top right side of the frame, on occasion they would switch to the rock wall also on the right side.
Phil Douglis19-Aug-2007 18:55
You have eloquently summed up my purpose here, Jenene. Abstraction is a process that stimulates the imagination. The extent, scale, and depth of the Grand Canyon is virtually incomprehensible, as you note. It can be imagined more easily than understood. By abstracting the canyon into what you've called "receding ghostly mountain forms," I hope to encourage viewers such as yourself to paint your own imaginary picture of this magical place.
JSWaters19-Aug-2007 04:33
Those receding ghostly mountain forms are amazing Phil. They say so much about the immense depth of the Canyon, a depth we probably can't really comprehend.
Jenene
Phil Douglis15-Aug-2007 16:35
Thanks, Rusty -- some images can be read at glance. Others take more time, more study, more reflection. This is such an image. Thanks for recognizing that.
russellt15-Aug-2007 12:36
when I see one of yours which I like, a frequent occurence, I set it aside and make a mental note to come back and look again, when things are quiet and dark. on the return visit or visits, I often see things which I didn't see before. this is such a photo. perhaps a good photo, like a good book, reveals its secrets slowly.
Phil Douglis14-Aug-2007 16:14
Thanks, Patricia, for appreciating what my intentions were here. I have long since stopped making pictures to meet the expectations of others or to record what I see. Instead, I express my own feelings about what I see and hope that I can help others learn from my approach. I use abstraction here to create the very feelings you seem to have when looking at this image. I want you to look into it, and use your own imagination to build your own vision of this awe-inspiring place. Thanks for the metaphor as well -- "the canyons that exist in your own heart" are exactly what I wanted this image to explore.
Patricia Lay-Dorsey14-Aug-2007 04:58
When I heard you would be traveling to the Grand Canyon, Phil, I was most interested to see what your artist's eye would see that has not been seen before. And now I know. Instead of focusing on the usual views of the canyons that we have come to expect, you take us beyond the obvious--however grand & glorious that might be--into a dreamlike state that expresses the SPIRIT of the place. When I see the Grand Canyon in this way I feel a sense of awe that touches something deep within, perhaps the canyons that exist in my own heart.
Phil Douglis13-Aug-2007 00:37
You are seeing what I felt as I made this photograph, Kal. The canyon is there but not there at the same time. And it seems to go on forever. Thanks for this comment.
Kal Khogali12-Aug-2007 21:32
Fantastic ghostly outline of what lies beyond. It creates a sense of distance as well as mysetry. K
Phil Douglis12-Aug-2007 17:52
The whole point of abstraction, Iris, is to remove everything but the essence of an idea. And that is what I am trying to do here -- with the help of nature, of course. Less is indeed more here -- the bulk of the image resides in the imaginations of my viewers.
Phil Douglis12-Aug-2007 17:50
Yes, it is a very calm mood I've epressed here, Alina. Those shadows that lead to the rim repreat the shape of the massive rim that anchors my image.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)12-Aug-2007 16:07
This image is magical, Phil. It speaks to me of the spirit of the Grand Canyon. As you always say, "less is more" and in this case, it's much more!
Alina12-Aug-2007 10:14
Beautiful calm scenery of early dawn. I like the lines of shadows that lead to canyon rim.
Phil Douglis12-Aug-2007 01:10
Beautifully said, Tim. Actually, the Grand Canyon began to be formed by the Colorado River five to six millions years ago. However there are remnants of Precambrian rocks at the bottom of the canyon that are two billion years old, which, in geological terms at least, is two eons.
Tim May11-Aug-2007 22:48
It seems to me to not only put the Canyon "in the mind's eye," but the image also speaks to me of the eons of time needed to create the Canyon.
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