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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Seven: Making time count > The jumper, Devil’s Island, French Guyana, 2010
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28-DEC-2010

The jumper, Devil’s Island, French Guyana, 2010

I was photographing a family of tourists incongruously enjoying a day at the beach on what once was one of the most brutal prison colonies on earth. As this woman was pointing to something of interest, she never saw the young man throw himself into the sea just behind her. I caught his leap as he brushed past the pointing woman, arms held high, and a squeal of delight on his lips. The compression effect of my long 400mm telephoto focal length appears to have the child leaping on the back of the woman, and my shutter stops his flight only inches away from her. In reality, he missed her by several feet. She never turned her head.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2
1/1000s f/8.0 at 180.0mm iso160 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis28-Mar-2011 19:40
Revenge of the Kid? Your imagination is working overtime here, Tim -- and it makes the image all the better for it. Thank you.
Tim May28-Mar-2011 18:39
This image has a metaphorical element for me. The jumper's body, especially his arm, seem to me to be reflecting anger. It is almost as if he is angry at the woman. I know this was not the case. But I see it there anyway.
Phil Douglis14-Jan-2011 23:21
Thanks, Celia, for noting the role of the metal ladder here, with its diagonal slant echoing the tilt of the boy's leaping body. This is a swimming area, and the ladder makes it easy to get out of the water. Getting in seems even easier in this case.
Cecilia Lim14-Jan-2011 22:40
You have a wonderful eye for drawing elements around your image to support an idea. This time, the diagonal slant of the metal ladder handles emphasizes the tilt of the boy's body jumping eagerly into the ocean!
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