Saturday, October 8th, 2016 was a day that will be remembered in history for the South Carolina coast. It was early in the morning, not even time for the sun to rise. Winds were howling at speeds up to 100 miles per hour in the small coastal town of Edisto Beach. Water came in at record levels, leaving washed away dunes and damaged property. The wall of water was so great, it came all the way to the inland roads. Hurricane Matthew had made its appearance. Many people had fled inland in South Carolina for safety, leaving Edisto Beach a ghost town.  As the storm made its way up to coast and left Edisto Beach, pictures of the damage began to overwhelm the internet. One picture in particular caught the eye of many. Here an Edisto Beach police officer stands over the remains of a house which was leveled by Hurricane Matthew. It is the focus, color, and items found in the shadows can give someone a wide range of emotions, but the picture brings a sense of both sadness and hope to one’s mind. 

When first looking at this picture, your eyes seem to be drawn to the wreckage of the house. This is in fact due to the focus of the picture. This is what the photographer wanted people who view this photo to see first. The reason this was his intention was because he focused on the rubble, blurring the objects in the back ground.  This is how the photographer could pull the emotion of sadness from his viewers. This was someone’s home where memories were made and within hours it was all lost. When looking at other parts of the photo, there are other things that are seen to no be in focus. One thing that is seen is the other homes that are still standing. These homes seem to have withstood the strong winds. By seeing this, it shows that not everything at Edisto Beach was a lost. This gives the people of Edisto Beach a sense of hope that maybe their home was not damaged in the storm. The last thing that is not in focus in the picture is the police officer. During the storm, there were some first responders who stayed on Edisto Beach. They were the first ones out to survey the area and check the destruction. By seeing him standing over the rubble of the house, it gives a sense of relief. This is due to the fact that it gives people a sense of community. Whether it is the first responders or neighbors, as a community they will come together to rebuild Edisto Beach. By having the wreckage of the house in focus, and things such as the two houses and the police officer out of focus, it allows the picture to sink into its viewer to pull out these two emotions. 

{The next aspect in this picture are the colors that are present. In this photo the two main colors would be blue from the clouds and the brown from the rubble. The reason these two colors are important in this picture, is because they are two contrasting colors. By them being contrasting, it allows for them to be easily distinguished. The brown of the rubble brings out the negative aspect of the picture. Brown is an earth color. It is usually associated with a positive meaning. Here in this picture however, the brown color in found in the rubble. There is nothing about rubble from a house that is positive. Brown in this case gives a viewer a sense of under certain circumstances. The uncertainty if everything will be ok. If a person who lives in Edisto was looking at this photo, it would bring about the uncertainty of if they had lost their home as well. This a very sad way to look at this picture. The brown of the rubble leaves the viewer with many of these uncertainties, but no one at the time knew if anything would be ok.  The viewer of the picture can find peace of mind in the color of the sky. The sky appears to be setting in this picture. This causes there to be the colors of blue and orange within the sky. To the human eye, blue is a calming color, thus allowing it to be viewed this was here. Even though the color is found in the scary looking clouds, one can still get a sense of hope out of this devastating event. This is in part because the storm is over. Things may not be alright, but the event is no more. Things such as a house can be replaced, but a lives cannot be replaced. The last color that is seen in this photo is orange. This color is very important as it brings out emotional strength in difficult times. By seeing this color, especially in a sun set, it brings an uplifting feeling to the viewer. They know that they are fortunate to have survived such an historical even. So, with these colors, they show both the positive, as well as the negative aspects to the event. They help to pull out the emotions of sadness, but also hope due to their symbolism.} 

{Finally, with the sense of sadness this picture projects there is still a feeling of hope that can be found in the shadows of the picture. The devastation at first is overwhelming, but a closer look helps to easy this feeling. In the shadows, even with one home being destroyed, two stand. These two show strength in times of darkness. By withstanding over 100 miles per hour winds, it shows strength. This strength can then be radiated into not only the viewer, but those of Edisto Beach. This strength will allow for the rebuilding of the beach, as well as the community. The police officer in the picture also holds significant value. He helps to remind us of the future. He is one of the reasons this picture is so powerful. The world we live in today seems to have a negative feeling about police officers. People seem to hate them, and in some cases even want to hurt them. In this picture, here is someone who risks their life during Hurricane Matthew to make sure those who stayed were safe. They made sure homes and the businesses of Edisto Beach were not looted during the storm. By seeing this police officer stand over the rubble, it provides a sense of comfort. The comfort then leads to a sense of hope. A hope that things will be alright and will be rebuilt. Even with the negativity police officers are facing, this shows that they are still doing their job. A job which allows for them to protect and serve. With the shadows being the last thing looked at in the picture, it helps to tie everything together. The key details found in this picture bring hope.}

Due to the elements of focus, color, and what can be found in the shadows of the picture, all these elements come together to give the picture a sense of sadness at first, but hope as it is studied in more detail. What makes this picture such a powerful image is the fact that it can hit home to not only people affected by the Hurricane, but people around the world. For the people of Edisto Beach, as well as all those affected by the storm, it shows that there is hope in a time of destruction. Yes, this a very sad time, but the homes that have weathered the storm give strength. The police officer standing shows there will be help, and things will be safe. To the people around the world, it shows not all police officers are bad. It shows that many of them are good people just trying to do their job. Hurricane Matthew was one of the worse hurricanes to hit the South Carolina coast, but this photo shows that in the long run, things will return to normal. Homes will be rebuilt, and Hurricane Matthew will be a distant memory. A storm may shake us, but it will not break us.
