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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Two: Travel Incongruities > No laughing matter, Toronto, Canada, 2009
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23-SEP-2009

No laughing matter, Toronto, Canada, 2009

The half smile that fills this frame seems to mock the anxiety of a driver who I found bending over his car’s engine. The red rays of the smile may envelope the red car, but can’t make it run. The mouth in the wall mural, which is almost a block long in size, is incongruous in scale, as well as in its number of molars. I cropped the smiling mouth, along with its field of rays, in half in order to make the car and driver larger – it is so large that nothing is lost in the bargain.
I am indebted to the delightful pbase photographer Jude Marion, (judespics) who so kindly spent an afternoon shooting with me in Toronto, and took me to Queen Street where I photographed this unique scene.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
1/250s f/5.6 at 45.0mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis21-Jan-2010 15:43
Everyone crops images according their own sense of framing, Zandra. I kept the top of the wall in my frame to echo the color of the street itself.
Guest 01-Jan-2010 22:54
Great humor in this shot Phil. I is too bad i could not meet up with you when you were here. But i can see you had a good time. Like you say, the big smile, as well as the bike seem to be mocking this poor guy, equipped with nothing more that a bottle of what looks like plain Windex, as if polishing up the car, making it shine as much as that mocking smile, would fix whatever is broken. I would be tempted to crop of the top of the wall, which is not part of he mural, further enhance the big smile and thereby adding the feeling that the whole world is laughing at this poor guy...
Phil Douglis04-Dec-2009 21:33
Thanks for your wonderful take on this image, Brian. You illuminate this image with delightful insight, and point out in the process how incongruity often provides the very basis of humor.
Guest 04-Dec-2009 14:51
Another possible title would be... Open Wide! the bike tethered in the background seems to be taunting the troubled motorist too ;) there's a great sense of fun to this shot - the gleaming smile... is the guy about to spray and polish inside the engine to a similar standard? lol

Great fun!
Phil Douglis22-Nov-2009 04:44
Glad to see you pick up on the tattoo, Tim. It seems right at home under that grinning wall.
Tim May21-Nov-2009 23:38
the wall, and the man are both heavily decorated - yet the car seems so plain.
Phil Douglis27-Oct-2009 19:59
Thanks, Jude, for taking me here. We were fortunate to find this fellow fixing his car here at this moment, and I tried to make the most of the juxtaposition.
Jude Marion13-Oct-2009 00:24
Phil, I wondered how you would capture this amazing smile! This is wonderful ... I like the humour you poke at this poor guy, fixing his car - armed with his spray bottle! Meanwhile, two simple bikes stand by, proudly locked, ready for thier riders.
It was a great afternoon shooting with you and a pleasure to show you a little corner of TO.
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