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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Two: Travel Incongruities > Big Hogan, Monument Valley National Park, Arizona, 2009
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12-NOV-2009

Big Hogan, Monument Valley National Park, Arizona, 2009

Our Navajo guide took our group to an immense cave featuring a round hole in its ceiling, very much like the hole in the ceiling of a traditional Navajo hut, or hogan. This image offers ample evidence of its likeness to a hogan as well as its huge scale. I used a 28mm wideangle focal length to embrace both the tiny figure of our Navajo guide and the huge hole in the ceiling. There is a black trail flowing down the side of the cave, probably the result of erosion or staining. I matched the man and hole by connecting them with this black trail. The image is a stunning example of scale incongruity. Without the guide as a scale reference, we would not know how large this cave is.

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Phil Douglis06-May-2018 23:42
First there was The Rabbit and then The Bird! And they are both part of the same hunk of stone. (Now that I am able to see them together for the first time, my eye automatically goes to them instead of to the man.) The Bird is actually The Rabbit's ear! I love finding hidden objects lurking within our photos. I made this image in 2009, and never saw both creatures at the same time and in the same place before. Once again, it is all the result of how we see, and how actively our imaginations are working. Thanks for calling attention to our featherless friend, Merri.
Merri 06-May-2018 00:09
Oh I see a bird too!! Once seen, cannot be unseen. It's almost directly below the hole and appears perched on a "rock" directly above the dark, stained-red vertical shelf. It looks like a meadowlark looking up at the sky through the hole. It's in such perfect proportion, but is almost exactly as long as the man standing on the floor.
Phil Douglis21-Jan-2010 15:42
I don't know if that bird is really there or in your imagination, Zandra, but if you do see it, I can see how it would become an integral detail here.
Guest 01-Jan-2010 22:46
The dwarfed man really adds a sense of scale to this cave. Carol makes a good point how the stains around the hole resembles the rays of the sun. Tim makes another good point how the cave resembles a natural cathedral. I am not sure if i am the only one who sees it, but right under the hole it looks as if a bird sitting on a tiny branch has been carved out, by nature, further echoing the stance of the man as they both look towards the light. It makes me think they are both longing for their freedom as they look for the light...
Phil Douglis28-Nov-2009 02:43
Yes, I can see that rabbit crouching low under the big hole in the cave. This place was magical -- well worth an extended visit.
sunlightpix28-Nov-2009 01:04
To me, the staining looks like a giant petroglyph.
I even imagine I see a profile of a rabbit in the middle of the rock wall.
Phil Douglis25-Nov-2009 23:23
I could have guessed that you would find a spiritual connection here, Tim. And you do -- thanks for making that connection between the vast cave and cathedral and the guide's skyward gaze.
Tim May25-Nov-2009 23:09
Nature's cathedral - and the man seems to be looking skyward.
Phil Douglis25-Nov-2009 05:49
Thank you, Alina.
Alina25-Nov-2009 02:26
Beautifully said, Phil :)
Phil Douglis24-Nov-2009 18:20
And that's the point of the image, Alina -- how small man is in relationship to the works of nature. This huge cave has been here for millions of years, far longer than man has occupied the earth. The scale incongruity here inspires awe, but the real meaning comes when we realize how "little" man accounts for on the scale of the earth's own history.
Alina24-Nov-2009 11:42
Wow, because of the little man figure the cave formation really looks huge.
Phil Douglis24-Nov-2009 02:37
I had not thought of it that way until you mentioned it, Carol. I know the hole lets in light (and moisture) and always thought of those black stains as marks of nature. But if you want to see a metaphorical sun on that ceiling, more power to you.
Carol E Sandgren24-Nov-2009 01:16
It looks as if the staining around the round hole at top may have been drawn by hand, forming rays that suggest the sun. Appropriate as it is probably the only source of light in the cave and is at the top.
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