For Michael Linder

In one of Rome's many historical gardens full of statues and columns (I don't remember the name anymore) I photographed the hand of a fellow student on the base of a column. I would like to know how you (and especially Michael of course) would interpret this image, if you would be so inclined. Your comments are very welcome.

Vincent, the image's title pleases me in the sense that you value my feedback. (Please don't think that reciprocation is needed. It's your work and your educated opinions on photos you review that speak to me and that I value.) One of the elements I prize whenever I look at various genres of photographs is ambiguity and/or mystery. That's exactly how I see the role of the hand in this image. When I first viewed the thumbnail, the hand is what I noticed before anything else. Its presence in the image offers three possible stories: (1) that the hand belongs to a person whose full body isn't in the frame; (2) that the hand is a part of the statue; or (3) that Descartes' evil genius placed a disembodied hand in close proximity to the statue to wreak havoc with our rationality. Personally, my strong preference is (3), since thinking about the hand's role in the image put me into a tailspin!. On another note, your camera settings obviously were spot on, resulting in the blurring of everything except the hand and a small part of the statue's pedestal. My best always, professeur honoré - - michael (PS The French is thanks to Googler Translate.)

Hi Michael,

 

I posted this photo to express my appreciation of the way you give feedback on images, not only mine, but also those of others. It's not that I feel urged to do so; I just liked the gesture you made. I photographed this with the focus obviously on the hand, that looks out of place being an organic presence in a largely man-made environment with round and square stone elements. If I wouldn't have titled this photo as I did, it would probably have been titled 'natura magistra artis' ('nature is the teacher of art').

Interesting image, Vincent! I read your comments and Michael's comments. Version number 3 is excellent. You can also look differently. In all religions, the hand is a symbol of some action and the picture allows different interpretations. And if we distract from all sorts of symbols, I see this hand, weightlessly lying on the surface of the base of the ancient sculpture. This is a beautiful gentle gesture of touching the past. Bravo! Sincerely, Tatiana

Hi Tatiana,

 

I quite like your out-of-the-box interpretation of this image; touching the past is what people do in Rome, and certainly what I did when visiting Rome long ago. When I shot his photo, I just liked the juxtaposition of the hand and the stone. It wasn't until later that I started thinking about what I did and why I did it. Thank you for this enlightening comment! Kind regards, Vincent

I like this image because it shows you something but not enough to identify what on the other end, Vincent. A bit of mystery. The centered composition and DoF immediately highlights the hand. Everything else is OoF. Excellent and defining image. Best regards, Paul.

Hi Paul,

 

it's very nice to read your insightful comment on this image, thanks! Indeed it's not clear what's on the other end of the hand. Kind regards, Vincent