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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Nine: Composition -- putting it together > Bull Moose, El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2007
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08-AUG-2007

Bull Moose, El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2007

The El Tovar Hotel is the architectural crown jewel of Grand Canyon National Park. A registered National Historic Landmark, the hotel commands the South Rim, offering dizzying views of the canyon from some of its guest rooms. Built in 1905 of Oregon pine logs and native stone, the rustic but elegant hotel is often sold out a year in advance. Several American presidents have stayed at El Tovar, including Theodore Roosevelt, who was instrumental in preserving the canyon as a U.S. National Park. When I think of Teddy Roosevelt, a moose comes to mind – he loved to hunt them, and their heads still adorn his home at Oyster Bay, NY. He also ran for a third term as President of the United States in 1912 as the candidate of the Bull Moose Party. The head of this huge moose is mounted on a varnished wall of the El Tovar’s lobby. It has looked down on visitors as they have passed through this lobby for more than 100 years. I immediately noticed the huge pine logs supporting the ceiling overhead, and composed this image to relate the rhythms of the prongs on the glistening antlers of the moose to the rhythmic flow of log beams just above it. I tilted the camera to create countering diagonal thrusts of both the log ceiling beams and the log wall holding the moose head. I made this image hand-held, at one full second. Thanks largely to my camera’s image stabilization system, the photograph holds its detail well at that slow a shutter speed.

Leica V-Lux 1
1s f/3.2 at 17.0mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis02-Jun-2009 18:41
Thanks,Norman, for noting the effect that long hand held exposures may have on the quality of an image. I have long equated image quality with expressing an idea, rather than simply reflecting an "approved standard." If there is "grit" or grain or noise or softness in an image that adds character or meaning, the message can be all the better for it. In this case, I manage to hold detail, yet bring a soft quality to the image that adds a patina of age to the scene. And since this moose has looked down on visitors here for more than 100 years, the softness makes the image seem older as well.
Guest 31-May-2009 01:25
I love long hand held exposures, some grit is sometimes added that does make a statement. Vµ
Phil Douglis15-Aug-2007 23:02
Sad, but true, Rose Marie. Taxidermy celebrates the accomplishments of the hunter, at the expense of a life.
sunlightpix15-Aug-2007 21:32
The lighting is great, but its all external - the light from within this magnificent creature was deliberately extinguished long ago.
Phil Douglis13-Aug-2007 00:38
The light energizes the image, Kal. As I mentioned to Tim, it animates the inanimate here. The light is coming from both the interior lights and from a nearby window.
Kal Khogali12-Aug-2007 21:35
For me it's about the catch light on the horns and in the eyes. Brings this to life. K
Phil Douglis12-Aug-2007 18:06
Thanks, Iris, for joining Tim in seeing the symbolic play of light in this image. The light illuminates the gilded antlers, expressing their role as a trophy. And the light in the eyes haunts us, for this animal was killed for sport. To some, hunting is an extension of a primal need linked to survival itself. To others, the hunting of defenseless animals is immoral. I want this image to walk the line between the two -- and stimulate thought on the issue.
Phil Douglis12-Aug-2007 18:03
The reason I took this image, Alina, was to demonstrate the use of rhythm, pattern, and diagonal counterthrusts in composing an image. Glad you like the moose -- to some it represents a rustic trophy from another time. To others, such as Tim and Iris, it allows us to reflect on the predatory role of man in nature.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)12-Aug-2007 16:32
Through the light on the open eyes and the horns, this moose is hauntingly reminding us that he was once a living creature. Although hanging as a trophy of some hunter's conquest, the light also makes us question the mentality of those who take joy in killing these creatures.
Alina12-Aug-2007 10:59
Beautiful moose. Worth of capture. I like the way you arranged him on the photo.
Phil Douglis12-Aug-2007 02:10
Light can animate the inanimate, Tim -- I saw the effect it had on this moose head, and I wondered the same thing.
Only man would kill animals and then preserve them as if they were still alive.
Tim May11-Aug-2007 23:59
The light on the eyes and the horn pull me into this image and cause me to wonder about the life represented on this wall.
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