Dog Day, Denver, Colorado, 2004 by Phil Douglis

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Three: Expressing human values > Dog Day, Denver, Colorado, 2004


24-NOV-2004

Dog Day, Denver, Colorado, 2004

Denver offers its residents a large fenced park where they can not only can walk their dogs, but even wear them out by letting them run amok to their hearts content with their fellow canines. I stationed myself near the park’s centerpiece and trademark, a non-functioning full-scale fire hydrant placed within a cement circle. I watched and waited until this pair of dogs entered the hallowed circle to sniff the heady aromas there. As they warily circled each other and the hydrant, another pair surged into my frame at stage right, in full flight and full fight. The result: an image of a pair of pairs, defining the nature of the place, and its particular charms. Why is this image in my “Human Values” gallery? Because I see in it many of the same behaviors and attitudes their owners display: sociability, friendliness, competitiveness, wariness, aggressiveness, inquisitiveness, and enthusiasm. The long shadow of one of the owners at upper right reminds us that are our pets can be extensions of our own behavior, attitudes and values

Canon PowerShot G6
1/800s f/4.0 at 7.2mm full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto

previous | next

Phil Douglis		14-May-2005 03:04
Once again, Anna, you notice how the all the elements here fit the mood and meaning of this image. Without the paired composition contrasting the behaviors of two different paired of dogs, the image does not work. Without the warmth of the light, the behavior is not as endearing. Expressive photography requires more than just pointing a camera at the subject and blazing away at it. I specifically stationed myself at this spot because of that circle and the hydrant. I knew the circle would symbolize a world unto itself and by using the wideangle lens, I could anchor my composition with it. The light was there the whole time --casting those shadows and warming the brown ground and the coats of the dogs. From that point on, it was a matter of shooting animal behavior as the dogs came and went. Some might say I was lucky to get these particular sets of actions at the same time. Perhaps there was some luck involved, but because my thinking and my actions brought me to the right spot at the right moment, I was able to take advantage of that luck. (Glad you love dogs, Anna. So do I. I've got the scars from a 16 week old puppy to prove it.)

Anna Pagnacco		14-May-2005 00:36
I am an animal lover...especially I love dogs.... Unique composition,,,suffused with this warm beautiful light they give a sense of joy and freedom.....Anna

Phil Douglis		08-Jan-2005 00:21
Thanks, Dandan, for coming to this realization. The whole point of expression is conveying meaning to someone else. It is a form of communication. This cyberbook is yours, Dandan, to make of it whatever you will. It is bursting with ideas about meaning --not just the meaning that I express, but the meaning you take out of it as well. That is the greatest joy of expressive photography, Dandan, to share your own meanings with others, and also stimulate their imaginations enough to come with their own interpretations. That's what you've been doing in my galleries, right? This cyberbook will go on to show you the choices you can make in space, time, and ligh to express your own ideas in your pictures. You will go far beyond making a picture as a record of a pretty scene -- you will gradually express more and meaning in your own work. I will always be here to help you if I can. Thanks again for leaving so many comments. In your own way, you have made a valuable contribution to my cyberbook just by expressing how you feel about what you see. Please keep it up.

Phil Douglis		07-Jan-2005 22:46
Welcome to my Human Values Gallery, Zandra. I am glad you started your comments here with this image, because almost every point you raise in your own unique interpretation relates to a basic human value. Let's just list them: egotism, defensiveness, envy, preoccupation, territorialism, ignorance, reluctance, safety, and freedom. At least nine human values, and probably more, in the same picture, all expressed by four dogs, a circle, and a hydrant. You are right -- what you see going on here in this dog park is a macrocosm of human relationships and behavior and by extension, our own as well. It is no accident that you see yourself in this picture, Zandra. You express many of the same values these dogs seem to, only a bit more subtly. We all do. When we can load an image with behavior or symbols reflecting human values, we can make our viewers identify with them, and draw their imaginations into the image as they do. Thank you, as always, for your spontaneous reaction, Zandra, and for reading this picture in the spirit in which it was made and used here as lesson in expressing human values. Phil

Guest		07-Jan-2005 22:27
In our own egoistic mind our world is in the center of the universe. Each individual places themselfes there. It is natrual, a way of survival. Whe i look at this i get the feeling that the dogs (symbolising our selfes...me i guess) are slowly realizing that that is not the case. Tehy look out side of teh circle, ther univers and they see another world, where they don't seem to mena anything. Teh palying dogs totally ignores ther precense. They are ocupied by living in ther own litle universe, not yet aware of the world outsied teher bonderies. Yet, they are the once who are free, who runs outside the bouderies of the circle...is it so that ignorance can mean freedom...The black dogs still live happylie beliving they are the center of the universe. The dogs in the circle seem envious of them, as if they wish they did not have the knowledge they do. it is easier not to know...The shadows to the left indicates that there are even further worlds out there, that we don't see. ther is alwasy something new to discover but first you must dare to gp past the bounderies...physical or imaganetive. Sometimes the physical bond are not the once taht are teh strongest once. That is another feeligj i get from tis iamge. It looks as if the dogs are reluctant to leave teh circle, but yet, it is really no bounderie. it is easy to cross over it, yet they chose to stay inside...is it safer? In this context, the playing dogs becomes the symbole of the freedom you feel once you have crossed one of those bounderies. And this is all shown to us by using man best friend.

Guest		07-Jan-2005 12:44
Phil, now I understand that bringing meaning to a picture is the key. Before when I take a picture, I have been always looking for a pretty scene with less people in it to “capture” it. There are no life and no creativities in them. After bowering through your cyber book last few days, it really changed the meaning of photography for me. Thank you Phil, that’s a very valuable lesson.

Phil Douglis		05-Jan-2005 22:01
You are asking a very sensible question, Dandan. When I make a picture, I am always trying to say something to my viewers, not just show something. Yes, I saw that circle as a symbol for community before I made a single image, but I had no idea of the meanings I was about to express until I saw the images themselves. I anticipated that dogs would be attracted to it. That's why the hydrant is there. For them to mark their territory with urine. I waited for the dogs to come and they did, and the rest as simply a matter of being able to capture the interaction that occurred. The two dogs playing simultaneously in the background made this my image of choice, because it opens so many more avenues of interpretation. As you can now see, the meaning is this picture came out of the chance encounters between dog and dog. All i did was set the stage and wait for the actors to play their roles, right? I call this a post-visualized image. However sometimes i see subjects that express meaning to me before I make the picture. It allows me to do all kinds of things with my cameras to intensify that meaning. I call such pictures post-visualized images. As for why you could not immediately read meaning into this picture, I would guess that you simply are not yet used to doing so. That is why I post these galleries, Dandan. To help you develop not only your photograph eye, but to help you to understand the meaning present in the images of others, and the potential meaning present in your own. You are just starting your journey through my galleries. Take your time, enjoy, comment, learn. Ask questions like these. And pretty soon, you will be training yourself to look for the meaning expressed within an image and interpret it in your own way. i think this must be already happening. I see a string of Dandan comments waiting to be answered. And I will answer all of them. Thanks, as always, for participating in my cyberbook on expressive photography.

Guest		05-Jan-2005 09:28
Phil, I have to be honest, when I opened up this picture, all I saw was 4 playful dogs, and nothing more. But when I read through all the comments from everyone, especially those with deep analysis, I relook at this picture with a totally different view. My question is why I didn't see it at the first place. Is it because I just have a simple mind, or because I haven't been trained to look at the meaning behind a picture? When you took the picture, does all these meaning already in your mind? Am I asking really stupid question here? :-/

Phil Douglis		24-Dec-2004 03:12
I agree with your reasoning here, Mikel, and am glad this image has sparked such thoughts. That was part of my intention in posting it. As I suggested in my explanation, these dogs are displaying many values that we share as humans. Dogs are social animals, just as we are. And that is what this image is all about.

Guest		24-Dec-2004 00:22
* I ment not anymore Austrolopeticecus... :S

Guest		23-Dec-2004 21:41
In the end we are animals too Phil, perhaps our brains made us up in an artificial enviroment, but in the end isin't the house the same as a shalter for any animal that they protect from any intruder, as we wold doo? Don't we mark our territories with a fense a terrain scripture, etc.? Perhaps we don't pee anymore for it perhaps since we were still Australopeticecus... Love, hate, greedeness and almost any feeleng that we have can be transformed as an animal instinct. Fact, we can be far worst, this marvelous evolution thing called brain and how it developed in our speeces made us survive over the strenght, agiliy, speed that other animals have but on the other hand it makes us be as cruel or worst, we can bee Makiabelic, despotic, cinics,etc. though it also have given us good things as love, coomprehension, comunication, empathy, etc.

Phil Douglis		19-Dec-2004 01:21
What a thoughtful analysis, Peter! This image has given much to you, and you have given much back to me, and to all who will read your words. i agree with every one of your comments, and they make me look at this image with new eyes. You amplified the reasons we see sociability, friendliness, competitiveness, wariness, aggressiveness, inquisitiveness and enthusiasm. Add adaptiveness, a sense of space, dependence, too. Thanks much, Peter.

Guest		18-Dec-2004 21:25
How wonderful to present human values without humans being directly present in the image. I see the human values in number of ways. One way of looking at this image is being able to adapt to new circumstances, changing situations. Here we see useless hydrant, which all of a sudden isn’t so useless because these two fellows use it to exchange smells (information), rituals, or even make a playground out of it. We humans do the same, old garage can be turned to trendy bar, tires are used in playgrounds, and war movies are entertaining. There is also space issue, we see two dogs just romping around and having fun, while the other two are working methodically marking their scent, posturing, making circles around the most critical point in the area, the hydrant. As humans we also adopt and take advantage the best we can of the area we are given, it simply has to serve as for multiple purposes since the space is limited. There is also another value being present which is dependence. We depend on each other which are present in the interplays or interactions of dogs, the only way to achieve our goals or express our feelings is to interact with others at one point or another. I also see a dependence of species, which IMO is represented by the human shadow and the collar on the dog. Dogs rely on us for food, water and love, we in return get the feelings returned in more ways than one. The changes in one species affect everything else on earth. Lastly we as individuals have a certain way of thinking and we tend to assume others should think the same way. This leads us as a group to humanizing other species and there is nothing better than canines to do it with, hence we see our values in the canine world, which in fact is very different from ours. Peter

Phil Douglis		09-Dec-2004 20:08
Thank you, Jen, for coming back to add this comment. Glad you now get even more out of this image. And yes, I do remember your similar shot. It's at:http://www.pbase.com/angeleyes_zyl/image/36162147. I think your shot could also be a metaphor for human values. It is as rich in contrasts as mine, but it does not yet offer as many levels of meaning. Based on your response to my picture, Jen, I am sure you are now considering all kinds of ways you might have added more substance to your image.

Jennifer Zhou		09-Dec-2004 13:53
Phil, I think there is so much more in this picture, and I believe everything in the frame has the reasons to be there. I have a similar shot remember? But mine idea is simpler. You show me here how to improve that! Thanks! Jen

Phil Douglis		08-Dec-2004 22:32
Hi, Jen. Thanks for this great comment. You should know my work well enough by now to know that I try never to do anything by accident. Everything in my picture has a purpose or it would not be there. As I told Nut in the preceding comment, the white circle represents to me a community where dogs come to socialize. I wanted to isolate that community in space, so I allowed rom on both sides of it, and kept even more space on the bottom, which makes the viewer more of an observer than a participant. (This picture is about dogs, right?) Your interpretation is fascinating -- a unit, like a family or marriage, is a form of community, is it not? I did not see the fire hydrant as a symbol of safety, because it is not being used in this context to protect us -- or the dogs--from fire. Instead, a fire hydrant is traditionally where dogs go to claim their territory by leaving their scent. Dogs are territorial, just like humans. We put up a fence around our territory. Dogs mark it with their urine. You interpret this image as representing two life styles -- life within the confined territory (a safe life) vs. life on the outside (uncommitted, having fun). And you ask us -- as humans -- to choose between them. A perfectly valid idea. Whereas I was just trying to say here that dogs seem to have behavioral values very much like their human owners. Within the circle -- the community -- they behave territorially, respecting the scents of other dogs. Outside the circle, they fight and play games to see who will be the boss. There are human parallels here, too, Jen.

Jennifer Zhou		08-Dec-2004 14:46
Phil, I notice you put this circle in the middle of the picture, and place the two dogs in the upper corner and leaving all the empty space in the bottom. Did you mean to put emphase on the circle suggesting something to us? If so, my interpretation is that the circle is like a unit of the society which has been encouraged, like a family or a marriage. And some others are feel like to have some fun first, no rush to take the commitment like that two black dogs. There is a fire hydrant inside the circle which means safety, but at the same time they have to give up some freedom. There are two groups and two kinds of life. Which one will you pick? To me that's the question this picture asked. Jen

Phil Douglis		06-Dec-2004 22:52
Thanks, Nut, for this comment. I think the white circle represents a community. A place where dogs come to be sociable. Just as humans do. The fire hydrant, of course, is where dogs claim territory by leaving their scent. Humans are also territorial, but claim territory in different ways. Dogs also compete, just as humans. At upper right, there is a friendly game going on to see who the boss is. (As you say, seniority is at stake.) Their owners behave similarly, except they don't mark with their scent. There were people there for every dog, and I'm sure some of them came to compare their dogs to others and see who had the "best" dog. Yes, this image is about all you say it is, Nut. Yet it also reminds us that humans often behave just as these animals do.

nut		06-Dec-2004 22:03
Care-Excite-Joyful & Free I see "Freedom and joyful here on the top right, they didn't fight to each other. They played together. This reminded me "seniority" compared with human. Dogs won't jump in this way for fighting. The white circle separated four dogs into two groups. Four dogs are pairs and separated into a pair, right? "A pair of pairs" is about dogs and their owners. Dogs can represent to their owners too.

Phil Douglis		06-Dec-2004 19:25
Thanks, Marek for suggesting a "Canine Values" gallery! Actually, canine values often parallel human values. It is not an accident that dogs and man go back hand in paw together to the dawn of time. And yes, we do have contrasting examples of social behavior here, old friends on top, potential friends on bottom.

Guest		06-Dec-2004 13:17
Perhaps this should be in a gallery entitled, Expressing Canine Values ;-) It's a fun image, and my take out from it is that the two black dogs, obviously of the same breed, are joined in dog abandon, whilst the two around the fountain approach one another with cautious curiousity.

Dave Wyman		06-Dec-2004 00:56
I've heard of squaring a circle - you've brilliantly managed to circle a rectangle. "our pets can be extensions of our own behavior, attitudes and values" True enough, but here I think the differences between humans and dogs are also illuminated, too, and I don't just mean that I have never used a fire hydrant as a urinal (not while sober, anyway). Dave

Type your message and click Add Comment

It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest. Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help	private comment

Type your message and click Add Comment

It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest. Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help	private comment