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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixty Three: Dimensions of grandeur – larger than life travel imagery > Dawn on Mount Owen, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, 2008
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07-OCT-2008

Dawn on Mount Owen, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, 2008

Grandeur can often be implied, rather than shown. In this case, the image shows less and says more. We shot the Tetons at dawn, under heavy cloud cover. We watched the clouds gradually lift, revealing the peaks beneath them. Grand Teton, at far left of the frame, is still obscured, but the sun is already striking the top of one of Mount Owen’s twin peaks. The word “grandeur” means “impressive splendor.” This 13,000 foot high mountain peak is impressive in scale to begin with. Nature simultaneously abstracts it with gilded clouds, while it gradually reveals its glacier-covered face in golden light. I zoomed my telephoto lens only half way out, making this image at about 200mm. By not filling the entire frame with the peak, I am able to include sun-splashed slope as context and neighboring clouds to help make this a larger than life image.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/400s f/5.6 at 40.0mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis23-Feb-2010 18:53
Thanks, Marcia -- it was a matter of "jackpot" all around on this morning. The clouds over the Tetons at dawn were spectacular. We each had our own pick of light falling upon abstracted peaks. It was simply a matter of timing -- we had to determine at what moment the intensity and color of the light, and the placement of clouds on the mountain, worked the best for each of us?
Marcia Rules22-Feb-2010 23:55
terrific---jackpot!
Phil Douglis23-Oct-2008 01:39
The fog of dreams, indeed, Jenene. Watching this scene unfold was hypnotic - the closest thing to it that I've seen on my travels was the clearing storm over Jade Dragon Mountain, at Lijiang, China. (http://www.pbase.com/image/58761580 ) Both events were breathtaking acts of nature, and the images I made of them will keep those impressions in mind forever. Such are the joys of expressive travel photography.
JSWaters23-Oct-2008 01:25
This image feels very romantic to me - the warmth and beauty of dawn's light spilling across the jagged peaks, waking the slumbering giants to another day of sentinel duty. The clouds are like the fog of dreams, they lift slowly.
Jenene
Phil Douglis20-Oct-2008 18:10
Thanks, Mo --the light was spectacular. It was up to us to seize that light and make it work. We had only seconds to do so.
monique jansen20-Oct-2008 14:46
The light here is truly spectacular
Phil Douglis18-Oct-2008 23:36
I agree -- music can have grandeur, can be larger than life, and leave an impression on the mind. It is no accident that Ansel Adams was a pianist before he became a world famous photographer. So many of his images are perfect examples of grandeur.
Tim May18-Oct-2008 22:27
Grandeur to me is a symphony - this is a visual symphony.
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