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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Fifty Six: The bus-bound travel image > Checking resources, Cochin, India, 2008
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03-APR-2008

Checking resources, Cochin, India, 2008

These shoppers were marching towards me in lock-step as I made this picture through the front window of our tour bus. Once again, I was shooting in burst mode, starting at long telephoto range. I was initially attracted by the rhythms of their body language, but quickly saw that each of them was doing the same thing – counting money. Their saris and demeanor suggest their economic station and their self-confidence. I kept shooting as they approached, and made this image at medium telephoto range (175mm) when they were fairly close. The high vantage point of the bus window places me slightly above head level. I am sure that, given the reflections on the outside of the window, they never saw me and my camera, so their responses are completely natural and unaffected by my presence. Once again, my enclosure has made me invisible to my subjects. I may be trapped within a tour bus, but I am able to make the best of it and take advantage of its cover.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/500s f/5.0 at 36.8mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis25-Apr-2008 19:26
Thanks, Jenene and Tim, for appreciating my thinking here. As Tim says, burst shooting is essential in situations like this. Those who just shoot one image a time are going to have fewer moments to choose from later.
Tim May25-Apr-2008 17:58
Take and make - in this gallery you show that making sometimes needs to be fast. Thank goodness for burst shooting which allows the making to include editing.
JSWaters25-Apr-2008 05:44
A made image for certain, Phil. They are unaware of your presence and totally engulfed in their own importance.
Jenene
Phil Douglis22-Apr-2008 17:31
I did not actually catch them -- I saw them on and off for several minutes as our bus inched through traffic. We got closer to them and they came closer to us, and I just kept shooting. This moment was the result of a measured approach -- I knew I wanted to follow them as shoppers and for several minutes and through dozens of images, I did. So this picture was made, rather than taken. I always try to make pictures, not take them.
Alina22-Apr-2008 08:13
Great catch!
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