The kind of shot I wished to see and/or take. I really like it.
The finger placement looks a bit odd, especially for those viewers who might have to scroll the shot a bit to see it in whole. But a minor nit for me. On the technical side, the background isn't completely black from top to bottom, there's some slight texture up top, above the hammer, top left. Again that different monitor issue comes to play *sigh*. Overall, great job. Congratulations on the top20 finish :)
Beautifully done. Lighting, exposure, processing all done very well. Combination of textures and something interesting to look at that isn't "JUST" texture.
A different type of concept - this is an image that demonstates the subject matter of the challenge in sound fashion with excellant DOF and color control. Both a technical and artistic success that more than adequately meets the challenge subject in particular with the grayscale zoning.