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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Seven: Making time count > Dancers, Estancia Santa Susana, Argentina, 2002
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30-DEC-2002

Dancers, Estancia Santa Susana, Argentina, 2002

Dancing is all about motion and interaction. Both are expressed in this photograph I made of a performance at an Argentine Gaucho Ranch outside Buenos Aires. I do not use flash in my photography out of courtesy to the performers and because I want my colors to be as natural as possible. I wanted to incorporate the stage lighting into the picture because that, too, was integral to the performance. I selected 1/40th of a second -- a shutter speed slow enough to blur this particular kind of dancing, but fast enough to offer some detail for context. I included the singer at left who was accompanying the dancers, as well as some members of the audience in the background. Above all, I wanted to express the flow of the dance, and the way the dancers worked with each other. I took many photographs of this dance, but this was the moment that said everything I wanted to say about it.

Canon PowerShot G2
1/40s f/2.0 at 7.0mm full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis25-Jul-2006 18:22
I like the phrase "adding visuals to the song's lyrics." That is indeed what is happening here, Jenene. Thanks for the comment.
JSWaters25-Jul-2006 16:53
Dancing not only celebrates life, it becomes a vehicle to tell and pass on a culture's history and fables to the next generation. The dancers add visuals to the singer's lyrics.
Jenene
Michael Tauber18-Jan-2006 17:48
Very nice PJ capture style. Music may be hear
Phil Douglis03-Aug-2005 17:20
You are right about playfulness, Zandra. The blur here suggests spontaneity, freedom, and as you say, turns these adult performers into kids again. Because the camera is on the floor they are dancing on, the viewer is swept into the dance itself, and asked to become a child as well. And yes, I can see the romantic side of it, too. The coyness of the woman, moving away from the man, and the man gathering the courage to sweep her off her feet.
Dance is a ritualized form of expressing sexuality and sensuality, and every culture expresses its own traditions and attitudes toward love, romance, and sex in its dances. This is Latin American, in its essence.
Guest 03-Aug-2005 06:36
Dancing for me is a celebration of life it sefl, no let me correct that. Dancing is life to me, or a reason to live. It has it all. Passion, love, lust, anger, joy. And Latin dances like the Tango, Flamenco, Salsa express those feelings with such intensity. I see joy and playfullnes in this and right in front of my eyes these two grown people becomes children. As children, they are living in their own world, playing, running the fields chasing eachother discovering what love can be for the very first time. Remeber the first girl you ever had a crush on, how you chased her and teased her just to get her attention...somethign like that. I get the sence that this is what they are doing here. It s more then just a dance. And it is your vantage point, the moment it was cauht and the slight blur indicating movment that triggers this. Had this been a razor sharp picture this expression woudl without a doubt have been lost. The image would have become much more ordinary, maybe even boring.
Phil Douglis29-Nov-2003 00:11
Glad you picked up on it, Marek. This image is definitely a "sleeper." I think it works on a number of levels, and they creep up on you. I used it here to demonstrate the effect of blur to extend a moment in time. But I also chose it emphasize the interactivity of the dancers. The negative space, indicating the tension between them that is a part of the dance ritual, is as important as they are. And finally, it is a show, a performance. I think the natural lighting, the singer leaning in from the left, the somewhat disengaged attitude of the tourists in the background, add up to a story as well.
Guest 28-Nov-2003 23:31
I'm not sure how I missed this one, but it is rapidly becoming one of my favourites. You couldn't have caught the poses better. And no, the woman with the mike is not distracting.
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