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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Fifty Nine: Using dramatic light at the fringes of the day > Graffiti, Pondosa, Oregon, 2008
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13-SEP-2008

Graffiti, Pondosa, Oregon, 2008

Just a few feet higher on the wall I photographed in the previous image, the splashes of graffiti produce an effect resembling Asian characters. The patches of light, color, and shadow that play upon the wall at this moment seem to energize these characters – they appear to dance before our eyes. The effect lasted only a few minutes. As we left the ruins of the Pondosa ghost town, the light on the wall had faded into a bland shadow, erasing the magic of the moment. This example offers a lingering lesson for photographers – early (or late) light is transient. We have only a few minutes to reap its benefits.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/100s f/3.2 at 19.2mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis04-Oct-2008 18:56
You are correct, Jenene -- I've been able to convert vandalism into art here by abstracting it -- choosing only a very small section of the graffiti and then rendering it gradually from shadow into the light.
JSWaters04-Oct-2008 05:57
This feels in no way related to graffiti as I know it. Maybe it's the abstracted, close up nature of the image, or maybe it's the quality of light that is so magical and so emphatically emphasizes the striking dancing characters. I see a complete work of art here.
Jenene
Phil Douglis02-Oct-2008 21:44
Thanks, Celia -- that intensity is the product of early morning light. It makes the reds here warmer, richer, and in the case of the symbolism, it adds a greater edge to it.
Cecilia Lim02-Oct-2008 21:07
The intensity of the colours created by the light seem to reflect the anger and rebellion that is often behind the act of vandalism.
Phil Douglis27-Sep-2008 18:54
You are right, Tim -- the light warms, but it is the frame that isolates and abstracts content here. Without this framing, and without the warmth of the light, which lasted only for a few fleeting minutes, the image would express neither energy or meaning.
Tim May27-Sep-2008 18:03
I am slowly coming appreciate the beauty of worn walls. Here, as you say, the light is the energy in the image. But the framing is also vital because it allows paint on a wall to be abstracted dramatically.
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