photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twelve: Using color to express ideas > Tango Wall, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2004
previous | next
13-JAN-2004

Tango Wall, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2004

One of the most interesting neighborhoods of Argentina’s great metropolis is San Telmo – it is very old, quite cosmopolitan, and offers free reign to the imagination. While walking around San Telmo, I noticed a brick wall featuring large-scale abstractions of tango dancers painted upon it in vivid primary colors. Buenos Aires is immersed in the Tango, and this artwork offered a powerful symbol of that attachment. But I did not want only the artwork itself. I wanted to bring the wall to life, so I stood across the street from it for about 15 minutes and photographed various people walking past it. I was hoping that someone with strong leg movement might echo the thrust of the dancing legs. But I did not want a person to wear colorful clothes – I needed a monochromatic subject to bring out the rich colors of the painting without distraction. My wishes were granted. A fellow in a white shirt, black pants, and very long legs entered my frame, and I captured him just as his trailing knee bent forward to echo the thrust of the dancers leg behind him. He merges into the dance, heel to toe – a stroke of good fortune and even better timing. The image comes to life, and the vivid colors on the wall enhance the point, stressing the dance that gives Buenos Aires its identity around the world.

Canon PowerShot G5
1/125s f/4.0 at 28.8mm full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
share
Phil Douglis28-Nov-2008 21:50
It is evocative, Roberto -- every time I look at it, it says something else to me. Thanks.
Guest 28-Nov-2008 19:37
Evocative shot!
Tomasz Dziubinski - Photography12-Dec-2005 01:14
Fabulous image :)
Phil Douglis20-Nov-2004 19:07
Vera, I am delighted at the thoughts this image has stimulated in your wonderfully rich imagination, and even more so by new meaning you bring to this image. You have taken my intentions for this image even further than I would have imagined by viewing this fellow as a dancer instead of as a pedestrian. The meaning of the picture changes for me when I think of this -- it is all about Tango Dreams now. You show us, Vera, how important context can be to the meaning of expressive images. If we see this fellow first and foremost as a dancer himself, he becomes a living extension of the scene behind him, instead of just a pedestrian participating in a fortunate incongruity! Thanks so much for the idea and for helping make this important point.
Guest 20-Nov-2004 10:16
Phil, before I looked at this image, I had imagined what the person looked like based on what you had described to me in your message. Then I looked at the image -- and I felt ecstatic for you! He got such long, slim legs (yet with very strong movements) that conveyed perfectly what you intended to say in the image. He is as if an office worker in daytime but is a dancer when he is off work. He exemplifies the lives of his fellow Argentines, and illustrates the dancing culture of Argentina.
Unlike Marek, I don't see loneliness in this image. I don't construe him as a misfit here. Yes, he wearing a suit may seem to be out of place among the dancing figures. But when he is off work and changes into a dancing outfit, he will be able to join in the dance again. Until then, he can always take a break from work by stepping into the light and imagining himself dancing along with those figures.
Vera.
Piotr Siejka10-Jun-2004 19:02
What timing!!! Perfect.
Phil Douglis24-Apr-2004 20:01
Yes, yes, and yes! This image is certainly about idealization. Everyone else gets to have fun, while we have to work, right? .
Guest 24-Apr-2004 07:21
This image speaks of loneliness: the human figure is the misfit here; the dancers are in their own world having fun, and don't worry about bumping him. He knows he's not welcome, and almost apologically tries to get out of the giants' way as soon as possible.
Phil Douglis14-Apr-2004 17:51
Thanks, eT: Sorry my picture makes you so lonesome for Buenos Aires. But that's what good travel photos are supposed to do, right? At their best, they can -- as in this case -- spark an emotional response. I hope you are able to get back there. It is, indeed, a fantastic city.
Phil
eT 14-Apr-2004 13:45
get's me depressed: wonna go back to me buenos aires querido!
fantastic city!
thx.
eT

http://www.eTanguero.net/
.
Phil Douglis08-Mar-2004 18:30
Thanks, Likyin, for noting the way the light illuminates those long, casual strides. You are right -- it seems almost like stage lighting -- it is as if he, too, is a dancer. Yet he also relates incongruously to the huge leg on the wall behind him. You are right -- I was focused on that cone of light. As his right leg stepped into the light, I squeezed the shutter button. I knew that my camera would take an instant to actually make the picture -- shutter lag, right? It turned out perfectly-- between my press of the shutter button and the instant of exposure itself, his left leg had come forward, leaving the right leg trailing behind, and his left heel linked to the huge shoe on the wall.
Guest 08-Mar-2004 15:18
I guessed you were waiting for him to enter the lightened gap between the shadows, Phil. What about : the light tracing these casual long slim legs on the stage?
That might be a scene of modern dance. Like it?

It's my favourite in this colorful gallery 12.

Likyin
Phil Douglis27-Jan-2004 01:40
You are right, Tim -- so much of my photography is based on recognizing the inherent worth of a setting, finding a vantage point and frame that would make the most of it, and then waiting for someone to enter that frame and capture him or her at the right time and in the right place to express my idea forcefully. I don't keep statistics in my head about how many of my successfull photos are previsualized, or how many are post visualized -- pictures I see materialize before me and can instantly capture. For example, the foot and shoes in the window in Lima (http://www.pbase.com/image/25457845 ) suddenly appeared as I walked by it. All I had to do was to stop, find the right angle, and take that picture. On the other hand, this one took a lot of thinking and waiting. I guess you would call this picture a blend of the pre-visualized self-assignment (try to relate the striding legs of a passerby to these colorful dancing legs) with a post-visualized gift from the Gods (guy with long, long legs strides into picture and I capture his foot on her foot). All I can tell you is that I spent 15 minutes shooting this situation, and must have photographed ten or so people as they came past this wall. Only this one worked.
Phil Douglis27-Jan-2004 01:27
Carol, I stood on that corner for about 15 minutes, and I shot every single person who passed by that wall. I was looking for leg action of any kind -- and someone wearing neutral clothing. This fellow came into and out of my frame so quickly that I did not have time to evaluate his leg length -- I simply timed my shutter release to allow for an instant of shutter lag, and hoped that I would get his legs to relate to the legs on wall. As you can see, I did. Mimic the wall indeed -- that is the point of the picture. That fact that his legs were so long, and that he was walking past a wall made up entirely of legs, was a huge bonus -- a stroke of good fortune. I was thrilled to have captured this moment, one of my favorite images of the entire trip.
Carol E Sandgren26-Jan-2004 20:44
Did you wait long for this long legged person as your chosed "victim" to walk by? It seems as if he is trying to mimic the painting on the wall. The tall skinny legs so complement the design on the wall...it wouldn't have worked nearly as well with someone with short fat legs!!
Tim May26-Jan-2004 18:50
I learn so much from your images, and from your sharing of your process. I know that this "wait for the right person" style is one of your signature types. This is one of the best examples of it. But what I just realized is the other part of the planning and that is the thorough noticing that goes before the waiting, the eye that sees the potential and analyzes to preplan what you are waiting for. What percentage of your images do you think you thoroughly plan and what percentage are like the quick noticing out the bus window?
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment