A high five is a celebratory gesture made by two people, each raising one hand to slap the raised hand of the other — usually meant to communicate mutual satisfaction to spectators or to extend congratulations from one person to another. The arms are usually extended into the air to form the "high" part, and the five fingers of each hand meet, making the "five".
"The origin of the gesture and the term were claimed by Derek Smith of the University of Louisville basketball team, which won the NCAA championship in the 1979-80 season. Smith was quoted [widely] to the effect that he and two fellow Georgians on the Louisville squad, Wiley Brown and Daryl Cleveland ... [created the] high five during pre-season practice and introduced [it] to the nation in 1979."
The first records of the term in print are from 1980. For example, this from Maclean's Magazine, October 1980: "They used to slap palms ('Gimme five, man'), but what they do now is reach high and bang hands up there ('The high five, man')."
The gesture became very widely used in the latter part of the 20th century, especially amongst black communities in the USA. It has subsequently fallen out of use somewhat and is now seen as unstylish. Other variations have taken its place, for example, the flipside or windmill. This begins with the normal high five but continues with the hands swinging to clap again low down.
If one initiates a high five by raising a hand into the air and no one consummates the celebration by slapping the raised hand, the initiator is said to be "left hanging." This is considered to be a somewhat embarrassing faux pas.
Great idea with lovely silhouette of fingers. Nicely composed and well used wide angle, the composition is very expressive. Thanks for the very detailed description of it. Nicely done my dear friend!
Hi Laura, This effect was intentionally given by the 12mm wide-angle which distorts the lines and proportions of the subject where the closer the subject is from the lens the larger it appears. Thanx for your concern and comment, Khaled.
The distorted scale of the fingers is very interesting. Did you create this effect post-camera? Or was it the wide lens that gave the image this disproportionate look?
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{K:80636} 2/10/2008
