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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eight: Light and shadow shape meaning > Quick read, Shuhe, China, 2006
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31-MAR-2006

Quick read, Shuhe, China, 2006

A local shopkeeper savors a read and smoke at high noon. This is by far the worst light of the day, offering harsh, unforgiving contrast. But I have two things going for me here: indirect, reflected light off the paper is softly illuminating his face, and the sun is just grazing the end of the top of the end of his cigarette. I use the spot meter to expose for the newspaper, which intensifies the shadow areas instead of graying them out. While the fingers, newspaper and chair are strongly lighted, the face and cigarette, which are the most important elements in this image, are subtly illuminated. His black hair and sweater have absorbed much of the light that strikes them, but just enough of his chest and hair show to give his body form.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30
1/640s f/8.0 at 60.0mm iso80 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis20-Apr-2006 16:59
You are right, Mo -- silence is elusive in a country of one and one half billion people. Actually, while this image looks peaceful, it is not. He is sitting in the street in a busy area near a village restaurant. I abstract him in a cloak of dark shadows, making it seem as if he is alone.
monique jansen20-Apr-2006 13:35
Very intimate portrait of a guy reading a newspaper. You feel like everything is quiet although it almost never is in China.
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