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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Sixty Nine: How to make expressive photographs in “bad” light > Waitress, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2009
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28-APR-2009

Waitress, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2009

The ultimate refuge from “bad” light is to occasionally leave the outdoors behind us at mid-day, and find our subjects indoors. In this case, my tutorial student and I left the overly bright streets of Scottsdale behind us, and stopped for cool drinks at a neighborhood Mexican restaurant. The restaurant was dark, but enough light was coming through its open door and a few windows to allow me to work without having to deal with the harsh mid-afternoon glare and shadows. Using a camera with a fast f/2.0 lens, and a 24mm wideangle focal length, I was able to make this portrait of our waitress as she folded dozens of napkins for as yet non-existent customers. The restaurant was empty, except for us, and I was able to extract the many colorful details that surround the waitress as she worked. I surround her with empty tables, but also include an overhead neon sign, telling us that the kitchen is open late, and a TV set, unseen by the waitress, who has her back to it.

Leica D-Lux 4
1/30s f/2.0 at 5.1mm iso80 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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