Mekong Taxi, Khone Island, Laos, 2005 by Phil Douglis

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Five: Using the frame to define ideas > Mekong Taxi, Khone Island, Laos, 2005

previous | next


29-JAN-2005

Mekong Taxi, Khone Island, Laos, 2005

There are precious few bridges over the Mekong River in rural Laos. Yet villagers must often cross it. If they don’t have their own boat, an inexpensive taxi ride will get them across. This one holds seven. The taxi has become their bridge. I turn this image into a bridge as well, making the thrust of the boat, the lean of the passengers, and the ripples in the water seem to move even faster by cropping this image into a long horizontal frame. The shape of this frame because part of my story – a metaphor for the bridge this taxi has become. I also abstracted the image with shadow, removing the identities and creating more symbolic picture in the process. The color tells us it is dusk, time to catch a taxi and go home.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
1/500s f/5.2 at 15.8mm iso80 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto

previous | next

Phil Douglis		26-Apr-2005 20:30
Thanks, Clara, for your comment regarding the need for more context here, in order to know that this is a water taxi taking people back and forth across the Mekong River. I feel that expressive images, which rely on symbolization and abstraction to trigger the imaginations of viewers, should usually show less in order to say more. I deliberately move in on this subject to crop out the whole river, and show only a distant bank, and I leave the rest to the imagination of the viewer. I also believe in the power of words to add context to expressive images, and place great store in my captions to add meaning and teach the principles of expression. I do not see this picture, or any of the images my cyberbook for that matter, as a stand alone work of photographic art, but rather as a teaching example, working in partnership with words as context. The framing here, as you note, conveys a notion of soft movement. It is long and wide, just as the boat and river are long and wide. My caption, which is essential, provides the rest of the context, which adds additional meaning.

Guest		26-Apr-2005 19:28
Because the position of the boat within the whole frame, showing one shore only and the direction of the boat parallel to that shore, I can't know the distance the boat is crossing, or if it's having a trip from one village to another along the river (it also could be a lake). Now I read is the Mekong River, and that this is a taxi crossing from one side to the other. The image framing is counter intuitive in my opinion. The image alone gives me the notion of soft movement, but I would like more context.

Phil Douglis		31-Mar-2005 00:06
Thanks, Shermeen, for your wonderful questions. Here are your answers: Look at the abstracted figures in the boat. They are enveloped (surrounded) by the warm color of the smooth water that works its way around them. Now look at their reflections in the water. The ripples in the water seem to fragment (detach) them, and separate them from the boat. The reflected figures do not seem to be warmly enveloped, but rather, cooly detached. As a result we have a contrast between the reality and the reflection. You are correct about the front and rear spacing. The water at the front is calm, waiting to be entered. The water behind the boat is all broken up. I wanted to propel the boat forward, giving it room to flow into. That is why I cropped it in this manner. My friend Tim May said it best -- "the boat seems to be like an arrow shooting across the glowing water to the warmth. I do not recall ever thinking about putting more space at the top of this picture. I wanted to make the picture as long and narrow a possible to echo the shape of the boat as a stylized "bridge". If I added more background at the top, it would become less long, and less narrow, and include more of the shore, which had various distractions such as telephone lines and houses on it. I would not want to show the location here, because the image would no longer be as abstract. This picture is about the experience of riding in this boat, and has nothing to do with the passing landscape. Thanks for the good questions, Shermeen. I am glad to help you understand what I've done and why.

Guest		30-Mar-2005 15:16
what does it mean by warm envelopment vs. cool detachment? i get the idea why there is more space in front, if the space is at the back instead, the feel will be different, it won't look as calm and relaxed as it is now. what about your idea of putting more space on top? to show the location?

Phil Douglis		10-Mar-2005 17:20
Thanks, Tim, for pointing out the role of color here as expression. Contrasting abstracted figures to warm colors often triggers thoughts of warm envelopment vs. cool detachment. I was so focused on the long frame here as a bridge, echoing he function of the water taxi itself, that I overlooked the role that color plays in this image. Glad you like it as much as I do.

Tim May		10-Mar-2005 16:43
Several element combine to make this image work for me - I love the yellow-orange glow - it feels warm - yet your abstracted shadows seem un-attached, separate - cool and detached. The boat seems like an arrow shooting across the glow to the warmth, but the people in the boat are awaiting the warmth and not feeling it yet.

Phil Douglis		28-Feb-2005 23:32
The boat is not centered -- there is more space in front of it than behind it, and more space above it than below it. As for the boat as bridge concept, all you need to know the make the connection is that this is a water taxi which is in the title, and the long narrow crop. In my galleries, words function as equal partners with the images. My images are not intended to stand alone. The words always add context, both for meaning and for teaching. In the real world, most images function with captions and titles and headlines. Even photographs displayed in art museums have titles with them. No image really functions in a vacuum.

monique jansen		28-Feb-2005 12:16
I am not sure that without your extra information I would have "got" the idea behind this picture, boat as bridge. I know I have seen a better water/sunrise/sunset picture amongst your Laos/Birma pictures somewhere in any case, one that appealed to me more. Maybe if the boat was less centered???

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