photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Thirty Six: Adding or subtracting context to clarify or extend meaning > Sea lion pool, Aquarium, Newport, Oregon, 2006
previous | next
10-JUN-2006

Sea lion pool, Aquarium, Newport, Oregon, 2006

By using a captivated child as context for this image of two sea lions incongruously hurtling towards us under water, I’ve tried to make my viewers feel as if they, too, are that little boy. His fingers pressed to the glass of an underwater viewing port offer a salute to the relaxed forms of the sea lions as they shoot past him. If you hold your own hand over the right portion of the picture you will see only what he sees. But when you view the entire image, you vicariously live the experience with him. Such is the critical nature of context here – it changes the image from a nice underwater shot, to a rendering of an unforgettable moment in a child’s life.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30
1/50s f/3.2 at 7.4mm iso80 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
share
Phil Douglis03-Oct-2006 06:26
Your essence is bound up in the sea, Zandra. As is often the case of those who live so close to it, as you have.
Glad to know how this image affects you. I wanted the viewer to become both the sea lions and the child. You have done just that.
Guest 28-Sep-2006 21:13
This reminds me of a photoa i made at Universeum some time ago when Nick was over in Sweden for a visit. I get the same calm feeling, same scents are brougt to memories...the scent of seawater. The willuingnesd to jump in to the water, to be on the other side of tha glass...looking ut instead of looking in. Wanting to be somethign else, wanting the world to be a different place, an underwater playing ground. I am a water lover so images like this speaks to the cour of my essence. I should be swiming there...that shoudl be my world...
Phil Douglis05-Jul-2006 06:10
Thanks for noting the scale incongruity here, Mo. An interesting observation, considering the fact that my vantage point has made the small child much larger than the sea lions he watches. However you are right -- I am sure that each of these animals would dwarf the child if seen side by side with him.
monique jansen05-Jul-2006 05:35
Wonderful photo on interaction between the world of a small human and the world of giant animals.
Phil Douglis04-Jul-2006 01:48
Thank you, Celia, for joining the dialog here -- you stress the role of human values in this image so eloquently. You point out the importance of the gesture, and how it expresses curiosity, a human value, as well as the positions of the sea lions, representing the human value of companionship. Even more importantly, your comment validates the importance of how context can intensify the meaning of an image. Thanks, Celia, for coming to this image.
Cecilia Lim03-Jul-2006 22:10
This is a very heart warming image about a child's fascination with this other world on the opposite side of the glass. The boy's body language with his outreached arm is pivotal in communicating this human quality of curiosity and desire to connect with this world, but I feel that the sea lions on the otherside are just as important in providing the context as to why the boy is so captivated and absorbed by this world - You've caught these two sea lions in a playful position, with one flipped over and swimming together face to face with his pal. These two sea lions represent a world of play and companionship - which are things that I believe everyone, especially children desire. And this boy appears to so desperately want to be a part of that. You did a wonderful job choosing the perfect moment where all the right elements come together to tell a story that is rich in human values, which ALL of us can relate to! Very nice Phil!
Phil Douglis28-Jun-2006 22:10
I see this child as a metaphor for the child in all of us, Iris. Yes, this image is all about curiosity, discovery, and vicariously, a bit of danger. His fingers tell his story.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)28-Jun-2006 20:27
To me this image is more about the child than the sea lions, even though the child is in shadow. I see the sea lions as the vehicle for expressing the curiosity and fascination of childhood. Isn't it wonderful observing a child at an aquarium, a zoo, a museum, etc. and eavesdropping on their comments and observations? Their emotions are so honest. I think you captured this wonder of childhood in this image with the child's hand pressing so firmly on the glass and the light hitting his fingertips.
Phil Douglis26-Jun-2006 19:34
Thanks, Winn -- catching the moment is an imperfect art, and certainly not a science. No problem with handholding a shot at 1/50th of a second with the Panasonic image stabilization in place. It gives me the same stability as I would get at 1/200th of a second. The story, on the other hand, is a result of anticipating this moment before it happens. The kid was fascinated by the sea lions -- he was not going anywhere. It was the animals that I to work on. They would swim in a circular pattern, coming past the same spot again and again. I prefocused on that big rock, and just shot them again and again, using burst shooting, as they swept past it. Although the lens is not shut down to get maximum focusing depth (I needed at least 1/50th to stop the action and if I closed down my lens, I would limit shutter speed) the size of a f/3.2 lens opening on my Panasonic's Leica lens is equal to about f/8 on a DSLR. That's because of the small size of my sensor -- all fixed zoom digital cameras will offer greater depth of field than lenses on DSLRs do. The small lens opening, prefocusing, burst shooting, and image stabilization all combined with my anticipation to find the moment that best told this story.
Guest 26-Jun-2006 18:43
This is certainly my favorite shot of the ones you took that week. Aside from the "touching" story, the child's hand leads one's eye into the tank. Great and sharp shot for hand-held. It's erie how you can catch the moment in that fraction of time one makes the decision to tell/catch the story.
Phil Douglis25-Jun-2006 18:09
I also see this image as laden with the mystery of the sea, and I agree that it can both define and challenge the tantalizing barrier that exists between life in and out of the ocean. I also love your reference to man's origins in a watery maternal world. This child may be viewed as subconsciously enjoying a return to the womb here, along with the rest of us. Thanks for illuminating this image in this way for us, Marisa. You take it well beyond my expectations, as usual.
Guest 25-Jun-2006 14:25
as a diver who was always attracted by the life in the oceans, that little hand pressing the glass is a kind of wish of 'belonging' to that relaxed, wonderful and mysterious world. the invisible frontier is there, in the palm of the hand: the 'liquid world' and the 'aerial world', the contrast in forms, colors, movement (standing and swiming)... also, can be understood as the hidden desire of returning to the watery primordial maternal world.
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