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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Nine: Composition -- putting it together > Monastery Fence, Huay Xai, Laos, 2005
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18-JAN-2005

Monastery Fence, Huay Xai, Laos, 2005

The lotus, an emblem of Buddhism, adorns the posts of this monastery fence. I organized this image in a series of three layers. The first layer, focal point of the photograph, is built around the fence and the lotus sculpture, the subjects of this image. I placed the lotus just to the right of the softly focused door in the background wall, the second layer. The eye exits through a softly focused gateway at right, leading to the third and final layer, a shadowed wall with a painting on it. I wanted this image to express a sense of serenity and quiet, which is very much the nature of the monastery it represents.

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Phil Douglis13-Apr-2007 20:15
Thanks, Chris, for recognizing the critical importance of the placement of the foreground lotus. The lotus drew me to the image, and I kept moving my vantage point until it "connected" with the door, window, and gate in the background layer. This was the spot that worked best. When photographing inert subjects, we can always make them "move" by just moving the camera until they shift position.
Chris Sofopoulos13-Apr-2007 08:58
Amazing the way you placed the lotus between the door and window!
Phil Douglis31-Mar-2005 16:56
Your word "order," Benchang, is at the heart of photographic composition. Some people think the composition is essentially a matter of following certain rules. They are wrong. Composition has nothing to do with rules and everything to do with a sense of order. I always try to place the elements of my photographs into a relationship with each other that makes sense for my purposes. I try to organize my images around a focal point, which in this case, is the lotus post. It was the lotus, after all, that first drew me to this scene. I then saw the door and window, and two more lotus posts in the background. From that point on, it was simply a matter of shifting my vantage point and frame until all of these elements fell into order, helping the eye of the viewer to move through this image with ease and creating a sense of balance and harmony in the process.
Benchang Tang 31-Mar-2005 12:56
I noticed there are two squares and two rectangles across the corners, and balanced in size. And the density of the two upper blocks is just even to its lower counterpart. A simple and balanced layout makes the lotus to stand out. A picture in ORDER.
Phil Douglis01-Mar-2005 00:12
You feel this image well in light of its purpose. A monastery is a contemplative environment. The title gives us that context, yet the image goes far beyond in expressing the nature of contemplation itself. Serenity and quiet, as I put it in my commentary. Restful as you put it. I tried to make everything in this image harmonize to express that purpose. The way the image occupies space, how the eye moves through it, and the quiet neutrality of the colors. You are right. It is the composition, as much as anything else, that gives expression and meaning to this image.
monique jansen28-Feb-2005 12:32
There is a timeless and place-less quality to this picture - you really cannot see from the picture where it is taken, you need the title and explanation for that. It is very restfull because of its composition, and color (or lack thereof, almost)
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