El Morro, Arica, Chile, 2003 by Phil Douglis

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Four: Finding meaning in details > El Morro, Arica, Chile, 2003


26-DEC-2003

El Morro, Arica, Chile, 2003

Soaring 328 feet higher over the Northern Chilean city of Arica is a rocky hill known as El Morro. At its summit a Chilean flag flies in commemoration of its capture by Chilean troops in a war against Peru and Bolivia in 1880. Most visitors to Arica are taken to the top of this rock to gaze out over the city. I stood at the bottom and used a wideangle converter lens to photograph the top portion of the rock outlined against the cotton-like clouds fanning out overhead. The key to this shot rests on one small detail – the flag. Half of it is red, the most vibrant color of them all. While small in size, this detail becomes the focal point of this picture.

Canon PowerShot G5
1/1250s f/6.3 at 7.2mm hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	26-Dec-2003 02:13:07
Make	Canon
Model	PowerShot G5
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	7.2 mm
Exposure Time	1/1250 sec
Aperture	f/6.3
ISO Equivalent
Exposure Bias
White Balance	(-1)
Metering Mode	multi spot (3)
JPEG Quality	(6)
Exposure Program
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		23-Apr-2005 19:19
I frequently repeat themes in my images, Ruth. Thanks for pointing out how I've once again pointed out man's insignificance, and even folly, in the face of the natural world. How pitiful it is that we must kill each other over a big rock? I am delighted that this image has stimulated your imagination to take it even further, as usual. By relating yourself to this image, you have come to also see the folly of focusing on our own concerns, when actually we are but a speck of matter in transition. Today this flag flies over this rock, but ten thousand years from now, the rock will still be there, but the flag will not. There is a old Roman saying "all glory is fleeting." In nature's terms, man's martial and nationalistic glory is utterly meaningless. Thanks for bring this up, Ruth.

ruthemily		23-Apr-2005 13:39
this is another image that speaks to me of man's insignificance in the immensity and power of the natural world. as Nut mentioned, the colours of the flag are replicated by nature's sky, clouds and rock, or should i say, the colours of nature are replicated by the flag... even if we get to the "top" of the world, we cannot truely reach it. that flag is on a hill which you say soars 328 feet above the city of Arica. as a person standing on that hill with the flag, we would feel on top of the world, powerful, victorious. quite ironic really, given the size of it compared to even just a frame's worth of nature here. sometimes it helps me to picture myself as a person in my room, and then on my street, and then in my city, country, hemisphere, world, solar system.....what is there to worry about, when you are merely only a speck?!

Phil Douglis		25-Dec-2004 23:14
Once again, Nut, you astonish me. You use this picture as a metaphor for Chile itself, and base its meaning on the colors of my image. I thank you for taking the time to research the symbolism of the Chilean flag, and then linking it to my photograph. As you say, the blue in the flag was intended to symbolize the sky itself. And if ever there was a picture about sky, it is this one. You have learned that the white represents the snow covered Andes mountains, and while it is not covered in snow, we do have a small mountain in this image, looming below a veil of white clouds. The red commemorates the blood that was spilled to achieve Chile's independence, and the battle fought on top of that mountain was part of that story as well. You even quote Phil's definition of the role of symbolism, and conclude that this image is really all about symbols, not the flag itself. I am quite impressed with your growing grasp of photographic expression, Nut, and I think you really came of age with this comment. This image is indeed based on an incongruous scale juxtaposition of symbolic detail set within an historical context, and it is also rich in both abstraction and human values. But it is the role of that tiny symbolic detail that makes it all work. Without that flag, this image would be aesthetically pleasing, but generate little substantive meaning. Thank you again for your splendid analysis, Nut.

nut		25-Dec-2004 08:37
This is scale incongruity with fully context and abstract behind. This is the "Flag of Chile". Three colors (red-white-blue) are represented by the red-rock, the white-clouds and a few element (small part compared with others color) of blue sky, respectively. The flag of Chile has two equa horizontal bands of white, at the top and red.There is a blue square at the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band. The square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a "Guide to Progress and Honor". The blue symbolizes the "Sky", white is for the "Snow-Covered Andes", and the red stands for the "Blod spilled to achieve Independence". This design was influenced by the US flag. According to Phil norm "A flag is a symbol, it requires a context to understand and appreciate it. A symbol is, in itself, an abstraction, because it represents a larger meaning, and can, indeed simulate the imagination of those who have a context for understanding it." This photo is not a photograph of the flag of Chile, but all contexts and abstraction as Phil norm are representing here, in this photo. This might be the way to understand how the flag has been designed.

Phil Douglis		10-Dec-2004 22:06
Epic is a good word for this concept, Clara. It is all about the role of detail in scale incongruity, isn't it? And the context I have given you in my caption has caused you to see this image in still another light altogether, hasn't it? I loved the "bottom line" this image brings to your imagination: how fleeting the nature of "victory" really is. Yet it is the Chilean flag that flies today from that summit, Clara, not the Peruvian or Bolivian flags. So while the mountain remains and the ancestors of its captors are now but dust, the fact is, that history does indeed matter.

Guest		10-Dec-2004 19:39
Epic shot, aided by the clouds' pattern openning from the top of the mount to the extremes of the upper edge. You say the mount was captured? Human disingenuousness is boundless. I think the mount will remain while the sons of the sons of the sons of its capturers will be just dust in their tombs.

Phil Douglis		30-Nov-2004 22:14
Thanks, Loretta, for being first to recognize the expressive power of detail in this image. Keep in mind that while the perspective here is dramatic -- the way the patterned clouds stream out of the huge round cliff that rises from the base of the image -- it would be nothing if not for the scale incongruity created by that tiny detail.

Loretta		22-Nov-2004 22:17
Phil, this photo is so compelling. I've never really taken photos with dramatic perspective, but after seeing this, I certainly will start trying.

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