Weekly #410 - Working Hand or Hands Competition

The reason behind my choice of subject was the fact that I had been working on hands myself and I thought it would be very interesting to see what other people could come up with. I should thank you all folks for your participation with wonderful entries. The commentaries follow the order as first come, first served.

Norman the Sculptor by John Riley

I like your clever low POV and compo a lot, John. I would rather expect to have the hands well focused and to be the focal point, but in your photograph the blur of the hands and of the hammer and the chisel indicating action of the hands and the tools work well and function in the same way for me. Yours is not a straightforward approach to the subject; it is different, well thought and creative.
Although Norman was certainly aware of you and the camera, he managed to concentrate on his work and that adds another good aspect to your shot. Wonderful entry.

handwork by pipinmels

Nicely composed dramatic atmosphere taking advantage of the low light conditions, and I like the concentrated bent posture of the craftsman and the position of his working hands. I must say that the image would have benefited if the distracting label and signature and the diagonal line at the bottom left corner eliminated by closer cropping below the table. A little more light and conversion to mono might also help to enhance the image.

Freshen up by michaelblue

It’s a fantastic shot; I like the technical quality, the colours, the contrast, the exposure and the way it fills the frame. The heat of the working hand is conveyed so well in the work.

Sometimes a good game can be a hard work for a children by timt19

A well composed very sympathetic wonderful image. I like the nice use of DOF and the posture of the hands, especially the posture of the one holding the piece, for I think it reveals the working of the mind. Inclusion of the little sister (might be a boy, but looks more like a sister to me) using her resting hands to cushion her head when watching peacefully the bigger one with bored or sleepy eyes, adds more interest and emotion to the photograph. However, it multiplies the subject and divides our attention and sympathies, as the use of plural instead of singular in the title indicates. I must add that I’d prefer the hand itself to be sharper than the jigsaw piece it holds.

new hands at work by Kayling

This is the second sympathetic emotional entry. Great use of POV and it is a wonderful image of the basic instinct. I especially like pastel colours and the soft look of the photo that are very appropriate for the treatment of the subject, the holding hands of the feeding baby. I also like the nicely framing of the image.

Pulling Strings by SteveF

I like the square format and the quality of the mono conversion of this great work. It is nicely composed and very appealing and made good use of the natural
ambient light. However, I would very much like the hands pulling the strings more in focus than the head or rather more blurred by a slower shutter speed to emphasize movement.

Grandma and Granddaughter by davidhamilton

The third emotional entry focused on hands pressed on each other indicating working of the mutual love. I like the sharp details, the clarity of this photograph. I also like the way the hands fill up the frame. Personally, I would crop out the distracting elements on the right hand side to give the image a little more compact look.

Take Hold by bforbes

I can tell from the title and the image that these guys are wrestling, so the clenched hands are working with the weight of the bodies to compete. It’s a wonderful action shot with great DOF. I also like the B&W conversion. Cloning and cropping out of the cautious extra hand would make the image even better for my personal taste.

How things used to be made by ken2390

A very interesting wonderful shot taken during an interesting event. With the smoke and the dressings of the actors, the tents and all, the image displays the atmosphere so well, and there’s a lot to see in the photo. The hands are perfectly working well and they appear to be the important elements of the show. It is a well-composed shot, but I must say that the supporting pole of the tent, although a natural element, is dividing the characters. A different POV might have been chosen or a closer approach could help to focus more on hands.

Secret Working by Talete

Very nice shot of the hands with secret implications, most probably they are the hands of a dancer. It’s a great mono and I like the vignette. The shallow focus also works well.

Blessing newly weds by Noelcmn

Good title, nice image and great idea executed. I don’t want to be discouraging, but the photo is taken using flash and that appears to be not properly adjusted or bounced. The conditions perhaps made it compulsory to use flash, but fill-in flash might have helped. The wedding gown serving as the background is a little blown out; the shadows and the sleeves are more eye-catching than the hands. I believe that shooting it without the use of flash would have been a much better choice, for it would greatly help to eliminate these distracting elements.

Pricking out the Pinks! By drofmit

I like this great image of gently working hands. Well thought of and nicely executed. I think a B&W conversion would also work well.

Market Trader by paulb531

A very nice colourful entry. Well seen and executed shot, and I like the lady’s hand gently pulling out the sunglasses gently from the case. I also like the wristlet she is wearing as it adds a pleasant detail about both the character of the lady and the nature of her work. A wonderful image.

It has been a difficult task to choose the winner, but it had to be made. I chose the first for quality. I feel obliged to indicate that as the rules of the game implies this is only a personal choice. Thank you all again for your much appreciated contribution.

Winner: Freshen up by michaelblue for the stunning quality and implication of hot work
Second Place: Norman the Sculptor by John Riley
Third place: new hands at work by Kayling
A special recognition of the work of the fresh member timt19 who contributed this competition with his first upload on this site.

Excellent Nezih, well thought out competition and well thought out judging.

And michaelblue, you seem to be becoming a bit of a star, with yet more superb photography. That image would make an incredible magazine cover.

A superb winning image...
I just knew that would be the one to beat!
Once it came up, that is... John's powerful shot seemed to be the one at first.
That's why I decided to shoot for the comp, rather than trawl.
Lovely constructive comments from the judge...
I'll try a B&W conversion of mine and see if I like it!?

Thank you, John! I really needed this affirmation.

Excellent entries well judged Nezih

An innovative subject for a well judged competition. Thank you Nezih. Congratulations to an outstanding winner and your companions on the podium.

Wow! I've only just seen this . I was so convinced John's image would be the winner I tuned in to see what next weeks comp. would be
Thanks Nezih for choosing my photo, there were some cracking shots this time so I am really chuffed

Congrats also to John and Kayling and how nice to see 'new blood' joining in (timt19)
A fascinating subject too............thanks Nezih

Now............a subject for the next comp..................

Congrats to Michael - I picked your entry out too!

Thanks to Nezih for the thoughtful and perceptive comments.

Thank you all, folks! I am very pleased to see your agreement on my choice.