Thanks to TIA Daily reader Wayne Kline for sending me to this link. This photograph shows the stern of an aircraft carrier, its deck full of F/A-18 Hornets, at sunset with a few crew members enjoying the view at the end of the day.
Let's start by looking at the sky. The wide open sea provides for an uninterrupted view of the sunset. The colors are fiery yellow, orange, and pink—almost looking like streaks of molten metal. The surface of the water—the waves and the wake—break up the sunset's reflection turning the water into soft cotton-candy clouds. Just above the horizon lies a low bank of puffy clouds blocking out the hottest spot of the sun. The combination of the low bank of clouds and the surface of the sea makes this ship look as if it is cutting its way through the tops of clouds, rather than water.
The very prominent and dark mass of the ship's stern might be indistinguishable if it weren't for the sunset colors reflecting off the surfaces of the resting Hornets. Without this reflecting light in the foreground, this image would be much less than it is--it might appear that the ship and its surroundings are disconnected. But here we see how beautifully the man-made and nature co-exist.
What I love best about this photograph is the way the Hornets look on deck. All the wingtips are folded up in their resting position. Huddled as tightly together as they can be, the Hornets stand down for the night. The spiky shapes of their wings and tails make a dramatic contrast to the soft cottony sea and sky. And the molten metal sky, all violent and fiery, beautifully contrasts to the calm deep blues of the deck of Hornets at a moment's rest.
Though the way the Hornets look in this image is my favorite thing about this photograph, it isn't my favorite thing about this link. My favorite thing is reading the comments posted below by fellow viewers. When I post a link to a photograph, I nearly always read all the comments posted about the photograph, though I usually find only a few such comments of interest. Depending on where the image was posted, you can "read" the audience by noticing trends in their comments.
On other sites, this photograph might be criticized for including something, anything man-made in the photograph of a sunset. But this audience isn't full of anti-technology greens; it's full of proud Americans happy to see our military out at sea. My favorite among the comments reads: "Peace through strength: Having spent hundreds of hours viewing scenes like this while in the service, I was often struck by the raw power of our ship blending so perfectly with God's finger painting, secure in the knowledge that only through the might that my ship represented, would others of future generations be able to sail within such beauty."
—Sherri Tracinski
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The Tracinski Collection — a "private adoption service for great works of art," selected by Sherri Tracinski. See our collection at www.TIADaily.com/art
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