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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Four: The Workplace -- essence of a culture > Fish cutters, Municipal market, Bridgetown, Barbados, 2010
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30-DEC-2010

Fish cutters, Municipal market, Bridgetown, Barbados, 2010

The busy hands and attentive attitudes of these fish cutters express the intensity of their work, as well as their concentration and focus. Gutting piles of fresh fish is a difficult job, yet here it seems a task enveloped in the repeating rhythms of the body language. They must pay attention to those sharp knives they use, as well as somehow deal with the monotony of the task and its attendant aroma. The focal point of the image is the backlighted profile of the woman in the foreground. I liked the negative space crackling between her face and the edge of her apron. I also liked the way the red canister, red background, and red scarf create a red triangle around the other worker, providing separation and giving him his own space in the image.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2
1/500s f/5.6 at 91.0mm iso160 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time30-Dec-2010 08:28:22
MakePanasonic
ModelDMC-GH2
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length91 mm
Exposure Time1/500 sec
Aperturef/5.6
ISO Equivalent160
Exposure Bias-0.66
White Balance
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis16-Jan-2011 00:11
In the zone, indeed, Iris. The must train themselves to be oblivious to the stench and repetition, yet still be very safety conscious.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)15-Jan-2011 23:02
I am taken with the focus and concentration of these two workers. Certainly they have to pay attention to the sharp knives in their hands, but, more than that, it appears as though they are in a "zone" that enables them to deal with the monotony and repetition (and smelliness) of their seemingly unending task.
Phil Douglis14-Jan-2011 23:00
Perceptive observations here, Celia. The woman does seem to keep her distance from the dead fish -- the aroma is not pleasant. And I like your point about the apron, too -- it juts out here, acting a shield from what must be a very unpleasant task.
Cecilia Lim14-Jan-2011 21:40
The divisive effect of her apron seems to tell us that she would like to be shielded from the nastiness of her job gutting fish endlessness all day! She does not appear to be into her job as much as the man behind her, who, unlike her, is completely bent over his hands. She appears to be keeping the maximum distance possible from her cutting board!
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