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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Thirty Seven: As others see me > Wild West, by Tim May, Tucson, Arizona, 2009
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09-APR-2009

Wild West, by Tim May, Tucson, Arizona, 2009

I saw this shot for the first time in the spring of 2015, a full six years after Tim May made it just outside of Tucson's Amtrak Station. He found me photographing the life-sized sculptures of famed lawmen Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, which stand on the station's platform. The statues commemorate Earp's "Vendetta Ride" following the murder of his brother Morgan in the aftermath of the 1881 gunfight at Tombstone's OK Corral. Earp and Holliday pursued Frank Stilwell, one of Morgan's killers, to Tucson, and killed him at this train station. Tim finds a moment in time when my arms echo the body language of the statues. My face is partially hidden by my cap, while the faces of the statues are obscured in shadow. Tim desaturated this image to "make me appear more like the statues I am standing next to."

Nikon D90
1/500s f/11.0 at 52.0mm iso640 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Phil Douglis12-May-2015 21:15
You are right about that, Stephanie. That is one of the things that creates a "theme" for this image. Everyone one of us is a shooter. The two who are bronze shoot to kill, while the one who is not, is about to shoot a photograph of the others.
Stephanie12-May-2015 10:21
Great juxtaposition of "shooting" apparatus! I like this scene!! :)
Phil Douglis11-May-2015 18:12
Ready to shoot, indeed! Thanks for the pun, Carol. As for the "looking good" observation, I was a relative youngster of 75 when Tim made this picture in 2009. Today, I am a true elder at 81, perhaps a bit more cranky but still essentially much the same as shown here.
Carol E Sandgren11-May-2015 02:04
All of you are ready to shoot! Kudos to Tim for seeing this shot and acting on it!
Looking good, Phil!
Phil Douglis10-May-2015 19:14
Thanks, Anitta, for appreciating the idea behind Tim's photograph. He has a great eye for symbolic meaning, and this image contrasts a human laden with cameras to a pair of bronze lawmen bearing rifles. I send my best wishes to you as well.
Anitta10-May-2015 05:54
Now that's an amazing shot! How well seen and captured by your friend! Sending my best wishes to you from Finland. - Your friend Anitta
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