It's just a hand

On Friday afternoon I went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston with L (definitely the most cultured part of the day). There was a small section showing photographs, and I have to confess that I didn't get most of them. Perhaps they were a bit too conceptual for me, or just didn't connect in some way... There were two I loved however, and I intend to imitate both.

This is the first one, which was of a hand. It was beautifully lit, defining every contour of the fingerprints and every line in gorgeous detail, while at the same time feeling soft and visceral. Perhaps as a technical kind of person I saw the immense technical challenge that was producing it, but L commented "it's just a hand" and of course she was completely right. Now me being me (and a geek by nature) I explained why loved it - the light, the detail... Why I would love to be able to take a photo like that...

I set myself the challenge of taking my "best effort" impersonation in 30 minutes (setup and processing) just to see how much I could achieve. In some ways, this is one of the images I have produced that I am most happy with. More than anyting though, it emphasises to me the immense gulf in time, committment and talent that lies between what I do and fine art photography.

~~~~~

I still feel tired and a bit spaced out with the cold. MrsCyclops (who has caught up with her back blips now) has got the lurgy too. She reckons I passed it to her over skype. I get the blame for everything. Still, we had a lovely long chat earlier which is always good for my spirits.

Sorry I'm still being terrible at commenting. but it's nearly 10pm now and I still have one more thing to read for tomorrow before I can sleep...