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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Seven: Making time count > Rush hour, Beijing, China, 2006
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14-MAR-2006

Rush hour, Beijing, China, 2006

I made this image at a busy intersection. I find that when people are moving in several different directions at once I am most likely to find incongruous relationships I can freeze forever in an eye blink of time. The light has changed and bicycle traffic is already moving towards and away from me. Yet a man in a hurry has come flying across the street just behind these cyclists, running against a red light. My 420mm telephoto lens has compressed the distance behind them, creating a tunnel out of the trees that arch over the street. I have stopped the man in full stride with only one heel on the ground. He hangs in space between two people, clearly defined against the street with no background mergers to slow his flight. As in the previous image, none of these people seem to notice each other. They move at their own pace and for their own purpose. The unique ability of a camera to stop time has made ordinary behavior into extraordinary expression.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30
1/125s f/4.0 at 78.2mm iso80 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis19-Jan-2008 03:43
It's always a fine line between stages of moment, Vera -- people move at varying speed, and different shutter speeds will produce varying results. If you make a lot of images of people in motion like this, as I did, a couple usually will give you what you were looking for.
Guest 19-Dec-2007 13:14
For me this type of picture breaths. It has a life. It is taken just slow enough to get a sense of movement but fast enough that you don't end up with a blur. I feel like I could go walking down the street.
Vera
Phil Douglis14-Oct-2006 16:41
I am fascinated how you imagine "arched metal structures" in his image, reminiscent of an old European train station. Actually those arches are all trees pretending to be metal arches!
Christine P. Newman14-Oct-2006 14:08
What strikes me in this picture is more the background. We often see pictures of China with lots of people. The arched metal structures in the background and on the side add "structure" to the picture as well and remind me of some old European train stations.
Phil Douglis19-Apr-2006 00:51
It's the odd man out who always brings home the incongruity.
Tim May19-Apr-2006 00:36
Everyone else is on the Golden Path - yet he is darting across it.
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