This is Mike, a fellow rockhound, holding one of my prize finds, a rare local geode. He is a jack-of-all-trades in home improvement, but mostly loves to work outside with rocks. His hands are riddled with scars, smashed fingernails, half a finger lost, and numerous scars elsewhere from his many adventures in life and with rock work. He keeps himself in shape by staying active and limber, doing hard heavy work, and moving piles of rocks in his front yard that are awaiting a space in one of his beautiful rockface walls, stairs, or gardens. He can often be seen doing hand-stands on anything that will hold his weight. Having grown up working on the famous Hearst Castle ranch, with the Hearsts themselves, he has countless stories to tell, and his hands alone show so many stories of their own. He's also a 52yr old proud grandpa of two! Did you guess any of that from this shot? If you did, success!
Statistics
Place: 24 out of 185 Avg (all users): 6.3394 Avg (commenters): 8.1538 Avg (participants): 6.3333 Avg (non-participants): 6.3431 Views since voting: 2127 Views during voting: 445 Votes: 218 Comments: 32 Favorites: 4 (view)
Bea, this is a great image and I am surprised it did not do better. But, whatever, it endures long past any challange date. No shelf life for this one.
I thought this had the capacity to ribbon when I saw it in the challenge. Still a great finish and I appreciate the story behind the image in the comments! I did guess most of what you said about him from the shot except I thought he had three grandchildren, not just two. ;-P
This is very strong and interesting. The detail of the muscles, veins and hands is powerful. I like the lighting. Mostly mid tones and shadow, which works. Bumping up.
This is good - your choice to emphasise the extraordinary/bizarre muscle structure of the shoulder works well, and the bluntness and strength of the fingers; hands are, one would say, even more expressive than faces: we're used to composing our expressions, both as photographers and as the photographed - but life and experience show more in the hands. The subtlety of the missing finger end, the half-lit nature of it, just adds impact.
Fantastic is really the only word to describe this. The only negative I have is the rock is almost too "interesting". I think a more normal looking rock would have complimented the subject better and keep the focus there.
I'm totally believing that this is Rockman. He looks like he could be carved out of rock himself...or maybe he spends his days clawing rocks from the earth with his bare hands. This picture makes me want to know more about Rockman. Great job!
I don't know what it is about this image, but it really appeals to me...it must be the differing textures between flesh and stone...the tense muscles add another dimension...very creative and dynamic image..well done.
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
