Braving the remnants of Hurricane Dorian might be one of the more absurd things a person might do for a perfect photo.
But for Nova Scotian Logan White and his girlfriend Katelyn Wynne, snapping a photo while the post-tropical storm barrelled towards the Maritimes was a chance to channel people’s angst into a “sort of a middle finger to the storm."
White, a long-time resident of Halifax and Dartmouth, N.S., also saw it as a way to test his “East Coast resilience,” he told CTVNews.ca via Facebook Messenger.
His girlfriend’s photo of him overlooking the North Atlantic Ocean -- while holding a bottle of Alexander Keith’s beer and a Canadian flag -- has been making the rounds online since he posted it on Facebook on Sunday. The post had the caption “Dorian? Never heard of her.”
“After that, it just went crazy,” he wrote to CTVNews.ca. “I never expected it to go so far.”
The image of him overlooking the water at Cow Bay, N.S. has also been featured on several popular websites including Reddit, with many praising the composition and the effort that went into it. One person commented that it was an example of “accidental renaissance” art.
White thinks the photo has captured imaginations as a symbol of Maritimers’ resilience and character.
“I just wanted to make a cool photo for my friends to see but I'm happy that so many people have enjoyed it,” White said. “I think they resonate with it so much because us Maritimers are generally an easy-going and fun-loving people but we also love our country and our home.”
PHOTO IS 'SORT OF A MIDDLE FINGER TO STORM'
“I think people see my photo as sort of a ‘middle finger’ to the storm that's brought misery to so many people,” he explained. “The flag, the sea, the Keith's beer, it all just makes for a very East Coast photo and that was exactly my intent.”
While taking such a dramatic photo wasn’t out of the blue for White, who’s a part-time photographer, doing it in such strong winds was new for him.
“But no, I wasn’t scared. I've dealt with rough weather and hard seas before so I didn't really think it was a big deal,” he said, explaining the photo was taken on Saturday -- the same day Dorian hit Nova Scotia.
His longtime girlfriend Katelyn Wynne says she wasn’t scared either, and that the photo looks more dangerous than it was.
“It looks like we're close to the water but that’s all in the point of view,” Wynne told CTVNews.ca over Facebook Messenger. “ I went along with it because I knew there would be no immediate danger as we walk this beach weekly.”
“I couldn't hear what he was saying because of the high winds and we were drenched, that's about it,” she said.
'WE ALMOST DIDN'T GET THE SHOT'
White said Wynne has helped him with his photography in the past, “this is the first time she's done anything quite like this with me.”
He added, “We almost didn't get the shot because she … wanted to just leave but I insisted.”
“It was tough to operate the phone because our hands were so soaked it wouldn't register touches.”
He stressed that the photo wasn’t meant to diminish the plight of those affected by Hurricane Dorian, which is blamed for at least 50 deaths with thousands more missing.
“The photo was never intended to make light of what happened in the Bahamas and other spots who were hit harder,” White said, suggesting that he didn’t intend to offend anybody, and won’t apologize if he did.
“I won't say sorry for expressing myself and showing off our East Coast resilience,” White said, adding his only regret was not attempting to raise relief funds with the photo.
“Maybe I could have raised money for the victims if I'd have known the photo would go viral. I just never expected it to.”
