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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Ninety-one: A month on America’s “Last Beach.” > Colorful entry, Imperial Beach, California, 2014
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07-AUG-2014

Colorful entry, Imperial Beach, California, 2014

One of the most important advantages of staying in one location for an entire month is the ability to return again and again, at different times of day, to photograph the same subject in many different ways. I photographed Surfhenge, the gateway to Imperial Beach’s pier area, nearly every day I was there. I made this photograph late in the afternoon, when the translucent arches framing this public art monument were in their most colorful state. I used a nearly 300mm telephoto focal length for this image to compress the spacing of the arches until they merge into a single band of vivid colors. I photographed a variety of different people passing below the arch and in the surrounding background. This image combines two figures – one man carrying a water bottle is wedged between glowing green and red acrylic, while another stands upon the green grass in the background, bordered by green and yellow arches. A palm tree trunk stabilizes the entire frame at the left hand edge. This piece of civic art becomes living art, part and parcel of the community itself.

FujiFilm X-T1
1/350s f/20.0 at 192.9mm iso800 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis30-Sep-2014 23:12
Perspective is a critical factor in expressive photography, Iris. Not only is it essential to consider the reasons why we stand where we stand when we make an image -- we must also weigh the effect on meaning that lens choice, shutter speed, ISO, and metering mode will have as well. In this case, a long lens simplifies the image, compresses distance to create a continuous band of mostly primary colors, and changes the entire perspective we bring to this series of four surfboard shaped acrylic arches.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)30-Sep-2014 22:59
Love the verticals and the bold colors. Using a 300mm telephoto lens creates an interesting effect….something I have to remember. I rarely think about these things, clearly a mistake on my part.
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