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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Forty-Nine: Creating an echo with rhythm and pattern > Drenched, Temple of Heaven, Beijing, China, 2007
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18-SEP-2007

Drenched, Temple of Heaven, Beijing, China, 2007

Seven wet tourists, sharing five tiny umbrellas, try to keep dry as they gamely stride through a squall drenching one of China’s most famous temple complexes. There is a musical beat to this picture, based on the rhythmic repetition that undulates between the tourists, their umbrellas and their reflections on the wet pavement. It is as if we are looking at a page of soggy musical notes. The tourists, meanwhile, are abstracted into anonymity by the umbrellas except for the lady bringing up the rear. I climbed the steps of the complex’s signature structure, appropriately named the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, to get this high vantage point, as well as claiming a dry spot under its overhanging lower roof. Without this high vantage point, the rhythmic reflections don’t work.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/320s f/5.6 at 31.0mm iso200 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time18-Sep-2007 10:03:14
MakeLeica
ModelV-LUX 1
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length31 mm
Exposure Time1/320 sec
Aperturef/5.6
ISO Equivalent200
Exposure Bias-0.33
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis15-Oct-2007 22:29
You are right -- the shoes here the most clearly reflected part of the image, since they are closest to the reflective surface. Together, the bodies, umbrellas and shoes play a soggy song.
Tim May15-Oct-2007 18:00
The umbrellas pull me in - but the shoes hold me - they are at the center of the "page of soggy musical notes," creating the melody and rhythm.
Phil Douglis12-Oct-2007 18:24
Thanks, Tricia, for appreciating what I am trying to express in this image, and teach in this gallery.
flowsnow12-Oct-2007 16:35
This is a perfect description and interpretation fitting in this gallery, Phil. Love the reflection on the ground and the line made of the people holding the umbrella. Well seen and captured.
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