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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Forty-Eight: Telling stories with pictures > Ascension, Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2007
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03-SEP-2007

Ascension, Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2007

I photographed this dual scene within the interior of the Hindu temple at the base of a shrine known as the Batu Caves. It offers symbolic food for thought as it tells its spiritual story. I divide my image with a pillar. To the left is what appears to be a reception gallery or sanctuary, lined with larger-than-life figures of Hindu deities. Their reflections shimmer on the floor below them, while fans slowly turn overhead. A stairway rises on the right side of the pillar, gradually brightening as it carries the bare feet of an abstracted worshipper up to the next level. The image becomes a tapestry of spiritual symbolism, echoing the stories that fuel religious belief.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/30s f/3.6 at 23.4mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time03-Sep-2007 16:06:48
MakeLeica
ModelV-LUX 1
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length23.4 mm
Exposure Time1/30 sec
Aperturef/3.6
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias-0.33
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis09-May-2008 03:40
Thanks, Vera for taking this journey with me. I made this picture in Malaysia, before my trip to India. I had hoped to photograph temples such as this in India, but was not allowed to make pictures in any of them. I was very fortunate to have been able to make picture into this temple in Kuala Lumpur. I agree -- I left the space on the right hand side of this image open to the imagination, the realm of the spirit. The left hand side is context -- lavishly constructed and decorated, yet more to be looked at, than imagined.
Guest 09-May-2008 01:54
When I initially looked at your photo, but had not read your words, my thought was "Stairway to Heaven." I believe I commented once before on a photo of yours about nature and spirituality. For some, they would find spirituality on the left, surrounded by religious statues. I prefer to travel on the right. It leaves me with a sense of solitude and strength; climbing the stairs steadfastly. I feel the energy from the light pulling me. I feel the heaviness of my legs pushing me.
Phil Douglis29-Sep-2007 23:55
Thanks, Ceci -- this was like watching two stories develop simultaneously in my viewfinder. I must have photographed 50 people using those stairs, and this one best tells the story I was trying to express here. I did not see it as humorous -- I saw it as more spiritual. However it is possible to take a lighthearted look at spirituality, and if this does that for you, more power to this image as a story-teller.
Guest 29-Sep-2007 17:42
Such a lovely shot, with the man appearing to be rising weightless into the air from his earthbound life, away from the stone of the steps and into the light. I love the sight of the sole of his foot as he treads upwards, as though he's on a wire and has thought to arrange his limbs for utmost effect, and the solidity of surrounding matter; and I particularly love the reflections of the deities, suggesting that it is their ethereal state which is of most importance for believers. I find this photo to be almost magically observed and composed, glorious in its colors and imagery, and full of humor and juxtapositon.
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