The Photo Contest: Hands

In the late 1970's I bought a great book called Discovering Yourself Through Photography, by Ralph Hattersley. It is full of ideas to help the amateur or professional photographer understand photography and him or herself more thoroughly. I have used it for inspiration for many of the classes I teach, as it is full of challenging assignments for both the camera and the mind. On the topic of hands, Hattersley wrote,

"They're surprisingly photographic, once you really look at them.  Hands at prayer or on a sacred text, nervous hands twisting and sweating, ancient hands, young ones, hands talking, wrenching, thrusting, striking.  Holding hands -- in how many ways can it be done?  You can go ape, too; a stack of fists two feet high, silhouetted picket fence made of fingers, five clutching hands and a face, a hairy hand painted white, hands as dancers, hands posed like flowers or entwined like snakes.  Once you learn to see them, hands are terrific."

The entries in this contest proved how true these words are. We received almost every kind of hand photo. What was particularly interesting was that almost all were done in black and white, and almost all communicated an emotional content that might surprise many people. Who would guess that the hands could communicate so well!

I chose Jim Austin's photo "Family of Hands"  for the grand prize. I liked the lighting and composition, as well as the arrangement of the hands and the way the image was printed. I also liked the concept of a hand portrait of an entire family. Kudos to Jim.

I chose "He's Mine," by Brook Garrett as runner-up. Again, as in Austin's photo, the printing and composition are especially strong. The single hand, being lighter in tone than surrounding skin tones, jumps out at the viewer. Furthermore, the hand is not just lightly touching the arm in the foreground, but obviously has a firm grasp, communicating the title's sentiment. I also liked the way the scars on the man's shoulder in the foreground and the prominent vein along the bicep lead the eye to the grasping hand. This is a very nice image.

The others were chosen, as I said above, for composition, lighting and emotional content. Congratulations to everyone.

Click on each image to see larger version.

All images copyrighted by the individual photographers. All Rights Reserved. These images are for your viewing pleasure only and not be downloaded for any other purpose.