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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Ninety-Six: From the Persian Gulf to the Andaman Sea > A journey through time, Phang Nga Bay National Park, Phuket, Thailand, 2016
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19-DEC-2016

A journey through time, Phang Nga Bay National Park, Phuket, Thailand, 2016

This shallow bay holds 42 islands in the Strait of Malacca. It flows between the island of Phuket and the mainland of Southern Thailand’s Malay Peninsula. About 10,000 years ago, when the sea level was lower, it would have been possible to walk from Phuket to what is now Phang Nga Bay. I converted what was originally a drab color image made under rainy skies, into an abstracted sepia impression. A Thai boat, its prow moving towards us in the center of the image, is dwarfed by the landscape that fills the background. The huge limestone monoliths rising from the waters of Phang Nga Bay were made over thousands of years by the passing of time itself. Meanwhile my camera stops time here, as this small boat towards us from out of the misty mountainscape. The sepia tone gives this image the air of a early photograph. It easily could have been made in the 19th century, when photography was still a primitive medium. A light mist rises behind the island on the left hand edge of the frame, adding a touch of atmosphere that flavors the image. The washed out gray sky is exactly the same kind of sky that once filled the landscape photographs of that era. This image, which was among the last photographs I made on this, my final overseas photo shoot, offers an appropriate ending to this gallery.

FujiFilm X-T1
1/350s f/11.0 at 230.0mm iso640 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis04-Mar-2017 19:56
Well said, my friend. Thanks for always giving us a new way to think about an image.
Marisa Taddia 04-Mar-2017 14:18
Yes Phil, "we are caught here between yesterday and tomorrow", and what a wonderful sensation to travel through time with a "static" view.
Ps: I also left you some comments in Flickr.
Phil Douglis04-Mar-2017 00:27
An image that implies a path that moves its viewers both back into time yet also simultaneously points them towards the future is rare indeed, Marisa. I am delighted that this one does both for you. I had similar feelings as I made it - it was indeed a timeless scene, yet that boat moving towards us seems intent on getting wherever it wants to go. A photograph can stop time -- we are caught here between yesterday and tomorrow.
Marisa Taddia 03-Mar-2017 21:47
Phil, this is one of those images that leave me perplex. It brings a feeling of closure and farewell but, at the same time, the boat that comes right from the very center of the landscape tell me about new stories that are coming from far away. Although the sepia adds a timeless feelings, it enhace the story here of comings and goings, of beginings and endings.
Phil Douglis05-Feb-2017 21:50
Thanks, Iris. I generally avoid graphic effects in my photography. I only use them when they enhance the idea i am trying to express. As I was making this picture, I said to myself "this place seems to have been here forever." Later, when post-processing the image, I made three versions. One of them was the original, in natural color. However it had a dull, flat grayish feel to it. Then I made a black and white conversion of the original. It offered better contrast along with simplicity, but it still did not offer that timeless feel. Finally I made this sepia version. It does exactly what I wanted it to do.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)05-Feb-2017 20:33
Love your choice of sepia for this image. It gives it a feeling of timelessness which works so well with this timeless landscape.
Phil Douglis04-Feb-2017 19:47
Glad to take you with me, Emmy -- "virtual travel" via my photos is always the most comfortable way to go. Thanks, as always, for coming with me.
Phil Douglis04-Feb-2017 19:44
Thanks, Pete, for coming to this gallery. I am glad you found this image of value.
Emmy 04-Feb-2017 14:59
Beautiful as always Dad, thanks for taking me on your journey with the photographs.
Pete Hemington04-Feb-2017 08:15
Excellent - well presented
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