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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixty Eight: A city portrait -- impressions of New York > Dually blessed, New York City, New York, 2009
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21-MAR-2009

Dually blessed, New York City, New York, 2009

SoHo is a gentrified neighborhood just below Greenwich Village. Soho’s Prince Street is lined with shops, among them this clothing store. I saw the morning sun strike the outstretched hand of the sleek mannequin. It was reaching towards the woman waiting by door, as if it was blessing her. Just as I was about to shoot, a man entered my frame. So why not a dual blessing? I liked the contrasting colors of hair, the matching tones of the jackets, and the coppery body of the mannequin. Color is essential here.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
1/500s f/5.6 at 67.0mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis17-Aug-2009 19:46
Thanks, Jen -- the amazing thing about this mysterious image is that the woman does not see either the man or the mannequin. We don't see much of the man. And the mannequin, in a position to see everything, sees nothing. It is, as you note, a surreal moment in light, time, and space. It was my pleasure (and obligation) to pull all of these elements together within my frame. I loved the colors, most of all, I treasured the light falling on the outstretched hand of the mannequin, as if in a blind blessing.
Jennifer Zhou17-Aug-2009 15:46
Sometimes things work in a mysterious way, and this picture tells me just about that. The magical light, the omnipotent mannequin, and the indifferent passerbys all work together making this moment happen, but none of them has any clue. The look of the mannequin adds a touch of surreal to this image, it might as well pointing to something or to a direction, but it is like a secret language nobody understands. But with the help of the camera, and most importantly phil's sharp eyes(mind), it was decoded.
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