DSS 84 - Grateful

ghinson · August 28, 2011

Knowing we were in the "cone of uncertainty" for a hit by Hurricane Irene, as soon as I read this challenge I knew I had to wait and see if it hit us and if made it through without any damage. Has been an amazing day, and, for the most part, the island has escaped any serious damage. A few trees here and there. A stinging exfoliation from the wind-blown sand at the beach. I have two shots from the day that seem to me like they might be challenge-worthy, because I am "grateful" that there was no more damage. Do either stand on it's own saying the same...

1. Goodnight Irene

2. Good Grip

lkbart · August 29, 2011

Glad to hear there was minimal damage there. And your skin should be glowing, right?! People pay lots of money for a good exfoliation!

I really like Goodnight Irene - the name is so fitting! I almost want the guy to be more to the right, but really think it looks good with him where he is & am afraid if you had to crop, you'd lose the lines at the bottom that add a lot of texture to the shot. #2 is adorable - great pp!

powder · August 29, 2011

I like the first as well. As a homeowner at the New Jersey coast (trying to avoid the words "Jersey Shore" for the less than flattering association they provide) I too am very grateful that we escaped serious damage. and was thinking of a self-portrait on my knees in front of the ocean

SeascapeS · August 29, 2011

#1 is fantastic. I figured the Irene shots would crop up in this Challenge! I'm glad you are okay! I wasn't near the coast, so didn't have that opportunity.

kwickers · August 29, 2011

I like them.

GretaPics · August 29, 2011

Was wondering how Irene was going to affect your area....glad all is OK. On that note, #1 stands out to me-really beautiful, while #2 is fun. GP

DonRicklin · August 30, 2011

#1 is a nice image but without the title I get no sense of the having been a hurricane and its gone, now. In otherwords the image doesn't speak for itself.

dunno

In that respect #2 is stronger.

My 2¢

Don

silversx80 · August 30, 2011

DonRicklin wrote: »

#1 is a nice image but without the title I get no sense of the having been a hurricane and its gone, now. In otherwords the image doesn't speak for itself. dunno

In that respect #2 is stronger.

My 2¢

Don

I'm with Don. Though it's a great shot, I'm having trouble reading "thankful" without caption help.

#2, while not its intent, I'm reading "thankful for gravity" over anything to do with a storm. Different interpretation, same meaning.

SeascapeS · August 30, 2011

With #2 though, I'd expect to see his hair blown back with that amount of force. His shirt would also be blown back and not hanging down. Toes pointed, etc. Not believable enough.

I'm sticking with #1 as the strong contender. As much as we don't like to rely on the title, I think it quite often does tie in the theme. My thought - without the title on #1, I would assume the guy walking is grateful for his life at the moment on a beautiful beach.

ghinson · August 30, 2011

Thanks for the comments. I can definitely see where background or specific titling is necessary to tie either of these to the theme. #1 will probably stay my entry until I can find something else. In the wake of all of the damage in NC and VT, I am definitely thankful that Irene brought us my beauty than harm. Context in #1 is that the foreground had been a high dune that separated the southern shore from a pond, but the crazy waves flattened the dune and breached the fresh-water pond.

The funny thing about #2 is that it wasn't faked. Well, okay, my kid was not hanging on for dear life in hurricane winds. But he was lying sideways (on a sawhorse that was masked out), holding on, in a 50 mph steady wind. Unfortunately, these are protected harbor waters behind him and you can't really see the wind in the pic. Those boats were dancing around out there and his hair was going crazy as he squinted to avoid blowing sand, but my exposure froze them all.

SeascapeS · August 30, 2011

I didn't necessarily think it was fake, it just didn't strike me as real enough. It does look pretty calm for 50 mph winds!

red_zone · September 1, 2011

I also like #1... it works. You can tell it's stormy, the subject has a great pose, and the ripples in the sand add a lot of interest. #2 I look at and just start trying to figure out how you achieved that effect... I thought maybe he lay on the sand and you moved him up, but then didn't see any space that was obviously patched.

DSS 84 - Grateful

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