photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
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
Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery One: Travel Abstractions -- Unlimited Thought > Stymied, Phoenix, Arizona, 2006
previous | next
10-MAY-2006

Stymied, Phoenix, Arizona, 2006

It is a simple image of a man walking down a flight of stairs. Yet the interplay of light and shadow, and the reflections in a nearby series of windows, extend those stairs and window frames into a complex arrangement of rectangles. They create a symbolic cage that appears to cause the man to pause for an instant to get his bearings and search for a way out. He is deeply shadowed, and becomes a universal symbol of someone caught in a maze. My camera freezes him there, leaving him in frustration. By showing less of both him and his surroundings, I am able to say more about him as a symbol of confusion and bewilderment. Such is the power of photographic abstraction.

Leica D-Lux 2
1/500s f/5.6 at 11.6mm iso80 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
share
Phil Douglis06-May-2018 17:45
Your comment brings this image back to life for me, Merri. I made it a dozen years ago, and to see it again, after all this time, makes me realize how important the interplay between light and shadow can be to the expression of ideas. Twelve years ago, I was not as adept as bringing details out of shadow as I am today. There is a great deal of detail lost in this image, as a result. However as you note, that is a blessing here. The dark surroundings give little hint of where this man is, yet the patterns of light upon the floor create a bewildering maze that, as the title implies, stymies this person. if I had "opened up" this image by revealing details within the shadows at left, they would have competed with the patterns on the right, and diluted the message here.
Merri Keeton 05-May-2018 20:56
I'm in the process of learning about different frame sizes and how they can impact the message in the photograph. Is this 16:9 here? I like that the left of the frame remains in shadow and out of definition. It seems more of a simulacrum than reality which gives additional gravitas to the man's imagined predicament. If the camera had focused more closely on the man trapped in his maze of light and shadow, this would have been lost.
Phil Douglis24-Aug-2006 17:27
I like your reference to a mouse's maze here, Rodney, and the metaphor of being caught in The Rat Race is well chosen. The abundance of horizontal and vertical lines in this image could represent the confusion and constraints that face all of us as we navigate through the day.
Guest 24-Aug-2006 13:02
Your reference to a symbolic cage is very accurate. It reminds me of maze mice is put through: The Rat Race, if you will. You use light and shadow to create the cage bars, as well as the tube, or path, the rat will navigate.

I see more and more light and shadow plays great roles in creating abstraction, as well as conveying meaning.
Phil Douglis14-Jun-2006 17:37
Thanks, Jen, for validating my choice of color over black and white. You are right -- black and white can distance us from living within an image, setting it upon a pedestal as a work of art, instead of inviting us to appreciate it as what you call a "slice of reality."
Jennifer Zhou11-Jun-2006 12:49
The abstraction comes with your choice of light and shadow, also your choice of including more illusion leaving only a slice of reality (the stair that the man walks down) in the picture. It is like a stairway leading us to either heaven or hell according to our own experiences and feelings. I have to agree that if you chose to use B&W, it would be a different message to us. It would be hard for us to relate ourselves to the man because the B&W distants us from the picture.
Phil Douglis02-Jun-2006 18:13
Hi, Bruce. Thanks for the comment. It does not show up here because I have had to disable all comments from non pbase members due to an increase in spam messages. But I am copying your kind words and posting them below.
Thanks for the comment. You make a good point about dehumanization here -- and as for black and white, I tried it and I did not get the level of reality I wanted from this image. It is the reality of color that makes this this metaphorical man all the more incongruous. Here is your comment:

From Bruceter btollefson@kos.net:

"The shape of the man's shoulders and arms, and the positioning of his legs (with no bend at the knees) reminds me of robots I saw as a child in science-fiction movies. Thus, to me, the picture speaks of humanity in the grip of its technology -- as represented by the strong patterns of the stairs, replicated on the left into an infinity of darkness. The result for mankind, as suggested by the robot-like shape of the figure, is de-humanizing. Thus, what is stymied, is man's ability to be truly human. This feeling might be enhanced in black and white. "
Phil Douglis20-May-2006 12:31
Your suggestion was wonderful. The best part of teaching is learning. Thank you, Celia.
Cecilia Lim20-May-2006 08:13
Phil, your latest edit has greatly improved the intensity of the image's meaning. I understand that cropping the image would have affected your composition, throwing the man slightly off the "rule of one thirds grid" and sacrificed some of the mysterious shadows that add to the confusion of this maze. Cloning out or darkening that spot seems to be the perfect solution! It's perfect now! I really love how the image tapers into eerie darkness into the unknown now.
Phil Douglis19-May-2006 20:19
Glad you find this image as thought provoking as I do, Celia. I looked at your crop, and compared to the original, and am willing to live with the potentially distracting reflections on the left in order to retain the sweeping horizontal shape of the picture, which implies that the choices go on and on and on. When I have a chance I may try to reduce the distractions with a clone.
Cecilia Lim19-May-2006 20:11
This is such an intriguing image! The floating man is literally stuck in a limbo of a wildly confusing labyrinth of ups, downs, squares, lines, light, shadows, compartments and reflections!

Again, I am amazed at how you're able to craft a seemingly mundane subject into a thought provoking story. However, I would have made a different choice in the cropping. For me, the boxy, coloured reflections on the left side serve more of a distraction rather than a vehicle for expression. I think cropping the image about a quarter in will produce an even more powerful & abstract image of relentless repetitions of lines, squares and compartments - and also importantly, one that will place more emphasis on the duality of the mirror image. Everything looks the same - neither choice looks better than the other, nor is reality distinguishable from illusion , which I think adds even more to the confusion and dilemma.
Phil Douglis12-May-2006 23:38
You bring your own context to this image, Jenene. That's the way expressive photography works. I project my own personality and beliefs by my choice of vantage point, exposure, and moment of exposure. And you are sure of what is going happen next because your imagination helps you to become this man for a moment, thinking like him and acting as you would wish him to act. The bright path that I see as an obstacle, proves to be a form of positive illumination for you. In other words, you are making your own art out of my art. That's what all art is supposed to do for its viewers.
JSWaters12-May-2006 22:49
I don't so much feel the claustrophobia as I do the hesitancy. The shadows with their various angles and levels stymie him. I feel certain he will follow the well lit path and thus immerge from his confusion and bewilderment. Now tell me I'm not projecting my own context onto this image!
Phil Douglis12-May-2006 18:42
You see what I felt here, Ana. The suspended foot does indeed imply hesitancy as he heads towards the grid that awaits him at the bottom. Claustrophobic is a perfect word for it.
Ana Carloto O'Shea12-May-2006 18:06
It is indeed a very interesting game of light and shadow, though I find even more curious the fact that the man was caught foot in the air and because we cannot really see his face one is not entirely sure if he will continue down the stairs or just stop there and return back from where he came... When seen like that, the image that seem so peaceful, suddendly changes and becomes a somehow frightening one in a claustrophobic kind of way despite all the space the composition shows....
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