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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Fourteen: Expressing the meaning of buildings and structures > Desert View Tower, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2009
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13-APR-2009

Desert View Tower, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2009

The most unusual building at the Grand Canyon is the viewing tower designed by architect Mary Colter for the Fred Harvey Company. She built it out of hand-picked stones designed to give the tower an ancient look. It has been photographed by millions of visitors since it opened in 1933, so instead of shooting the exterior, I focused instead on its most architecturally impressive section – the tower interior. Using a 24mm wideangle lens turned vertically, I photograph its soaring balconies and amazing dome, covered in Hopi art. The dizzying view upwards creates an almost mystical atmosphere, as hundreds of prehistoric Indian images inundate the viewer with an overwhelming sense of the Southwest.

Leica D-Lux 4
1/30s f/2.0 at 5.1mm iso200 full exif

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Phil Douglis21-Apr-2009 21:13
You are so right, Tim -- culture itself made up of layers of historical and social practices, beliefs, and expressions. As photographers, we are always layering one idea upon another, just Mary Colter did with this building and I do with this image of it.
Tim May21-Apr-2009 20:17
This is a theme that I find in many of your images and mine. Looking through layers to try to understand a culture.
Phil Douglis21-Apr-2009 19:32
Some onion, Jenene! And yes, I think Mary Colter must have had cave painting in mind when she created this interior space more than 75 years ago.
JSWaters21-Apr-2009 17:53
This is like peeling the layers off an onion and having each reveal a different story. What a wonderful interpretation of cave painting.
Jenene
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