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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Eight: Using symbols and metaphors to express meaning > Beholding chaos, Klamath Falls, Oregon, 2008
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15-SEP-2008

Beholding chaos, Klamath Falls, Oregon, 2008

The woman parting the blinds was about to clean the display window of a Klamath Falls store, and I was trying to find a workable vantage point. I worked my way across the street, and noticed that the reflections of parked vehicles were almost obscuring her. I made the image anyway, and as soon as I saw it, I realized that the image was more about the symbolic meaning of the reflections, than it was about her. The chaotic jumble of reflected vehicles appear to be inside the store itself, overwhelming her in the process. Her world is one of order and system, yet she, like all of us, also must survive in a world of random chaos. That tree just outside the window is the work of nature, while the reflected chaos is the work of man. When she opens those blinds to clean the window, she sees the world as she expects to see it. Yet from our vantage point, she is beholding chaos without realizing it.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/250s f/4.5 at 46.3mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis29-Sep-2008 17:29
Bringing order to chaos is part of our task as expressive photographers, Cyndy. In this case, I've placed the chaotic reflections within the frame of a window, which provides a boundary for the reflection. You are right about the living tree in the foreground. The tree and its reflection, along with the woman, provide organic book ends for the mass of man-made chaotic material that swirls around them.
Guest 29-Sep-2008 06:38
I like the surrealistic quality of the image. Also, I like the juxtaposition of the organic tree against the jumble of geometric lines, including the coldness of the metal car. Chaos, yes, but it all seems to fit together so well.
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