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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Ninety: 101 ways to interpret Bolivia > The White City, Sucre, Bolivia, 2014
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16-MAY-2014

The White City, Sucre, Bolivia, 2014

The sun is barely breaking through the cloud cover over this hilly historic town high in the foothills of the Andes. I made this shot from the top of our hotel, shooting through a window with an iPhone camera. I use the tiled rooftops in the foreground to draw the eye into the image. These roofs fill half the frame and provide the interpretive content of the image. This is not a typical descriptive post-card view of Sucre. The flow of what seems to be randomly placed tiles speak of the passage of time itself – the wear and tear of nature, exposure to wind and rain, years of simply making do with what is there. The red roofs contrast to the pristine buildings of what is known as “The White City.” Such is the nature of Sucre, and indeed Bolivia itself.

Apple iPhone 4S
1/824s f/2.4 at 4.3mm iso50 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis20-Jul-2014 23:31
Thanks, Iris. The iPhone camera, particularly when used with such applications as ProCamera HD ( https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/procamera-hd/id549558641?mt=8 ) frees me from having to always carry my regular equipment with me wherever I go. I don't like to dine with a camera on my neck or cluttering a table. This shot was made at breakfast, when my iPhone held the only camera available to me. The picture turned out much better than I expected, particularly after post-processing it. It is also important to note that the end use of this image is here, in this gallery. I do not intend to significantly enlarge it or print it. The tiny iPhone sensor is not really meant for that. It creates images intended to viewed on digital media.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)19-Jul-2014 01:18
I just started using my iPhone camera and have been loving the results. I'm glad to see that you're also using yours and getting wonderful images with it.
Phil Douglis13-Jul-2014 22:25
Thanks, Billy and Stephanie. As for the iPhone, it is simply another tool that I sometimes use when I am not carrying my photographic gear with me. As I tell my students, it's not the camera that makes a picture. It's the eye, brain, and heart of the person behind the camera that makes the picture. When people ask me what is the "best camera," I usually answer "The one you have with you." In this case, it was an iPhone camera that happened to be at hand. The result speaks for itself.
Stephanie13-Jul-2014 11:51
What a beautiful rooftop view of this city! The lighting is superb; terrain and buildings beautiful! V
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