The International Handshake

It reads 25 deg C

This was a collaborative effort between my flickr friend David Swart (dmswart) and myself. The idea for this collaboration was all Dave's idea, and we both had a lot of fun doing this project.

NOTE: Dave and I have never met in person!

We decided to each have our own take on the same idea of us shaking hands out of bounds over some kind of meshed image that represents where each of us hails from. Since I live in the Bay Area in Northern California, I decided that the golden gate bridge would be my representation in the background. Dave lives in Southwestern Ontario and so Niagara Falls was his pick. Each of us did our own version of the merge between the two landmarks, sent one another a handshake image and went from there.

See Dave's imagehere. Personally I like his background much better because it is large enough so that you can actually see the background and make sense of it.

This image was published in an issue of Multilateral Magazine, but they never sent me a copy.

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Comments

dmswart says:

Nice and crisp - I like the D.o.F. effect. - and of course here is my version.

Josh, this was fun. And I'm glad you didn't shave either. Doesn't make me look so bad :)
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

alison lyons photography says:

Pisco Bandito, I think you are having way too much fun in Photoshop!
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

Rareimage Photography says:

Beautiful Art!!!!!!!!!!! :)

This is an excellent photo!!!
Accept this symbolic ancient prize and admit your photo to a noble contest among the finest in:
www.flickr.com/groups/ysplix/
and please remember to tag this photo Ysplix
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

1Ehsan says:

Good Idea And Good creation ...

--
Seen on my Flickr home page. (?)
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

Lil Snoop says:

Great art work!
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

the awful din (Ben Wester) says:

Very cool. It makes me want to do something similar. All I need is an international friend to correspond and collaborate with....oh, and and about ten more years experience with digital imaging...lol Another great one, Josh. You continue to blow me away.
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

Josh Sommers says:

Thanks Everyone!

@Dave- definately fun, I think we should do more collaborations. And not shaving can be our signature. Lord knows I shave about once a month.

@the awful din (Ben) - Thank you! Finding an international buddy shouldn't be too hard here on flickr, so many talented folks from all over the world. At the rate you're learning and progressing you won't need anywhere near 10 years to get to where you want to be. Plus I'm more than happy to share with you everything I've learned over the past 14 years (wow. I've been using Photoshop since 1993 starting with version 2.0. I think that officially makes Photoshop my 2nd oldest friend).
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

KayCpics says:

Great idea and well done.

--
Seen in my contacts' photos. (?)
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

donpar says:

wow! this is very creative. i love it.
your imagination has no limits. keep up the excellent work.
another great one found on your photostream.
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

mariana! says:

super cool!
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

anemonvirafisa [deleted] says:

very funny and cool! :)
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

Iza Palubicka says:

Great idea & well done :-D
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

Der Kremser says:

fantasic and very funny idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

Destinys Agent says:

Very cool idea and well executed the both of you :-)
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

boss_pedro says:

Wonderfully creative! Instant fave! Cheers!
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

handshake says:

how is this possible?
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

Josh Sommers says:

handshake- All through the magic of Photoshop! :)
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

handshake says:

mmmhm i dont know if a photoshop handshake is a real handshake... but anyway nice one!
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

blynaffit says:

this is fantastic!
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

ryran says:

you guys are too cool. what a neat idea... and great execution. I like the handwrittennnness of the locations on yours. :)
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

cam β. says:

But Petaluma is not a state
Shouldn't it say a town on the Canada polaroid not a province?
Or California, USA
if you follow Ontario, Canada
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

teachimp™ [deleted] says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Feelgood Photos, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

ßlϋeωãvε says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Out Of Bounds (OOB) Creations, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

kabils says:

Nice idea. Wonderful OOB. Well done.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

TabaMajic says:

Well done!!

Seen in the Out Of Bounds (OOB) Group
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

dela7 says:

Could have sworn I had commented on this last year. Well it deserves a comment.... Great collaboration of the two in different parts of North America. Well done.
Seen in

Out Of Bounds (OOB) Group Pool
This was my comment last year. Guess it was to David.
dmswart.... Very good merging of the Niagara Falls and the Golden Gate Bridge. Also the hand shake. Great OOB work there.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Mr Yankee says:

Very cool, nice idea
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Vegardig says:

Hey, cool photo you've worked out. Nice idea! I illustrated one of my blog posts on cooperation in international teams with your photo. Thanks!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

maurice flower says:

Ha, ha! This is just great! Love it!

I click ”the red Favorite star” at once!

This is what Flickr is for me – many times. I also think this image for many Flickrarians very well illustrates what Flickr mainly is for them.

I would surely like to do this kind of ”polaroid-handshake-over-open-land-and- seas” with many of my dear Flickr Friends from all over the world!!

This reminds me that I really need to send a ’real’ snail letter
to my dear cousine in San Francisco! Plus I will send him this picture separately by email!
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

matuko amini says:

really cool and an awesome idea!
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

maurice flower says:

Thank you for so generously posting this picture in such a high resolution.
This makes it even better. Nice to be able to see all the details in the polaroids. Flickr really rocks! Amazing! For only 25 us dollars per year!
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

maurice flower says:

I notice that you have mixed ”the waters” of Canada with ”the waters” of USA.

I actually think that the Flickr Corporation could have this picture / this picture idea – or similar – as a ’theme picture’ for Flickr in all! Why not contact them and suggest them this. Give them a greeting from me if you will do this. I think it would be great if this ’picture solution’ could be used with many people handshaking like this; women, men, children...all kind of people around the world. I also think that Flickr could use this theme in a 90 second video where the polaroids being snaped, comes flying through the air, the people in the polaroids comes to life and reach out and grab each others hands and are greating each other. And underneath the two pictures a text could show up giving ”the pay off”; a dear message. I think it would be a good idea with something about brotherhood, sisterhood, peace, friendship, intimacy, love, openness over cultural boarders, change...

”The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh

”A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend, one human soul whom we can trust utterly, who knows the best and worst of us, and who loves us in spite of all our faults.”
-Charles Kingsley

”What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?”
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau

”There is overwhelming evidence that the higher the level of self-esteem, the more likely one will be to treat others with respect, kindness, and generosity.”
-Nathaniel Branden

”We seek the comfort of another. Someone to share and share the life we choose. Someone to help us through the never-ending attempt to understand ourselves. And in the end, someone to comfort us along the way.”
-Marlin Finch Lupus

”Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.”
-Muhammad Ali

”One forgives to the degree that one loves.”
-François de la Rochefoucauld

”We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
-Cummings

”The greatest gift you can give another is the purity of your attention.”
-Richard Moss

”My creed is that; Happiness is the only good. The place to be happy is here. The time to be happy is now. The way to be happy is to make others so.”
-Robert Green Ingersoll

”What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”
-Joseph Addison

”One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others.”
-Robert A. Heinlein

”Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear
and the and the blind can see.”
-Mark Twain

”Kindness is an inner desire that makes us want to do good things even if we do not get anything in return. It is the joy of our life to do them. When we do good things from this inner desire, there is kindness in everything we think, say, want and do.”
-Emanuel Swedenborg

”Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything.”
- Katharine Hepburn

"Love is always open arms.
If you close your arms about love
you will find that you are left
holding only yourself."
-Leo F. Buscaglia

”We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.”
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

Star-Key says:

WOW
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

Josh Sommers says:

Thanks for all the kind words Maurice! Cheers.
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

maurice flower says:

You are welcome :-) Still, maybe you don’t think my idea is useful...
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

Josh Sommers says:

Maurice- I think your idea is good, but knowing flickr I just don't think it would get much traction coming from our side of things. If someone over at flickr came up with the idea, then sure, but I bet they get a lot of suggestions that they ignore.
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

Andreas Guther says:

Great concept and realization. Very well done.

--
Seen in your Published set. (?)
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Panda J's flickr says:

yes! i prefer to this one...:)
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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Taken on August 3, 2007
Viewed 5,333 times
Replaced on August 3, 2007

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The International Handshake

Comments

dmswart says:

alison lyons photography says:

Rareimage Photography says:

1Ehsan says:

Lil Snoop says:

the awful din (Ben Wester) says:

Josh Sommers says:

KayCpics says:

donpar says:

mariana! says:

anemonvirafisa [deleted] says:

Iza Palubicka says:

Der Kremser says:

Destinys Agent says:

boss_pedro says:

handshake says:

Josh Sommers says:

handshake says:

blynaffit says:

ryran says:

cam β. says:

teachimp™ [deleted] says:

ßlϋeωãvε says:

kabils says:

TabaMajic says:

dela7 says:

Mr Yankee says:

Vegardig says:

maurice flower says:

matuko amini says:

maurice flower says:

maurice flower says:

Star-Key says:

Josh Sommers says:

maurice flower says:

Josh Sommers says:

Andreas Guther says:

Panda J's flickr says:

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