EVen though it is an accident...i cannot help but wonder how you get these lovely captures...I loved this photo the moment I saw it...BW toning also goes very well...

I'm not sure why, but for some reason I find this shot creepy.

Did he let you take that? Or was your camera just hanging round your neck and you took it on the sly?

It look creapy, but nice though.

those elegant men and their gestures...

The simplicity and DOF of this shot is great!

This one has a kind of conference feel to it... The kind of situations I hate, when everyone stands around talking shop, trying to impress. I bet this guy was in the middle of a tall story when the shot was taken!

dave: this was taken during the conference lunch, by which time everyone was pretty much used to me poking a camera at them.

Great one! Briefly: DOF + shades + situation. Greets :)

Bad composition.... and pretty boring too. Good choice with black and white though. I'm pretty sure though that if anybody else (minus ddoi) had posted this, it wouldn't receive any comments becaus of its dullness. But maybe I'm wrong.

I've been following this site for a couple of months now but never commented before, however this shot brings out the people-watcher in me. From the look of it there is no wedding ring so I'm guessing the guy was relatively young. He obviously looks after his appearance as the fingernails are neatly clipped and clean. I'm also guessing he didn't have a beard as he doesn't like the fact he's quite hairy, as it appears he shaves his hands.
How did I do?
Love the shot by the way.

People shave their hands???

I like the the composition of this shot. Great DOF, I can still make out the hand behind this hand but it's blurred enough not to be a distraction.

Nice.

Don't people typically wear wedding rings on their left hands? His hands do look shaven, but they do not look young to me. If he is so concerned about his appearance, he may have had a pampered life and his hands may have not met much hard work. But, I do see the inklings of some wear (crevaces, wrinkles) in his knuckles. So that in combination with a pampered life could put him at an older age?

The other thing I noticed is the odd bend in his middle finger. This could be an indication of his age, or that he cracks his knuckles?

What's the expression about stepping in it and still smelling like a rose? Your "accidents" put most people's best efforts to shame.

This is a wonderful shot with many, many things going on. I also wonder about that apparently once-broken finger. Shooting it off in the wrong place? Young hands with paunchy belly? Is this a fish story or were they really this big?

Wonderful light (for b&w). Just so well done.

come on guys, the guy was a goaltender , and his finger got broken stopping a high hard one during his salad days, and now he spends his afternoons at the pub knocking back a few and talking about the good old days. it's the bent finger that makes the whole picture.

Great shot. DOF is perfect because you can see his other hand. Would be a completely different picture without that.

As stated by other viewers/readers: This pictures tells a story and still leaves enough details to guess. Even if this effect was not intended while shooting, you captured an interesting motive, something to think about.
For me, photography and especially people photography is about watching and documenting. This doesn't mean that these shots can't or even should be visually pleasing, but they have to have a meaning or to tell a story. Like this one. Great work!

You see, your judgement and ours is one and the same. Stop messing with our heads by posting mediocre shots, there's a good boy ;)

I like this image, as I always say, an image should allow the observer to write a story in their head. You could write a thousand for this one. The lighting is great.

I'm not sure this picture is of an amputated digit. I think it could be wrapped around the glass at an angle that leaves it out of view of the lens. If not, he's adapted extremely well to supporting a cylinder with only his thumb and a short piece of his remaining finger. I think he would have gotten used to gripping with his other fingers by now.

That forefinger is wrapped around the glass, otherwise, the glass would fall. And I can see a tiny bit of it on right side of the lower portion of the finger. It never occurred to me that by "accident" you meant amputated until I read Tom's post - I assumed by "accident" you meant simply that the pose of the other three fingers sticking out was not a "pinky drinking tea" gesture but simply a matter of catching him gesturing while holding the glass.

I love the guessing game about him based on this photo. I'm going with young-middle age (ie, late to mid 30's). Not sure about the shaving... perhaps he has light colored hair and you just can't make out the individual hair strands? I'm also going with the broken middle finger (maybe from a rebellious youth). Does it look like he has a scar at the base of the middle finger? Perhaps he broke the finger at the same time he got the scar...

Or maybe that scar is from shaving :)

creepy... looks hitchcock-ish. and what's that dark fleck on his middle knuckle? looks like some evil bug

Beth's right of course, there's no mystery to the fingers sticking out because you can see his left hand in the background making the same gesture. He's gesticulating!

Good photo!

It's Tony Blair, isn't it!

Even when he's having a glass of wine, he still can't stop doing that hand chopping thing he does in his speeches. < tsk tsk >

;)

Yep, Skauce, you're wrong. Also, I think Dave would appreciate real constructive criticism rather than just "bad composition" and "dull." Elaborate. Comments like that without any reasoning behind them are without merit IMO.

"Yep, Skauce, you’re wrong.

Also, I think Dave would appreciate real constructive criticism rather than just “bad composition” and “dull.” Elaborate. Comments like that without any reasoning behind them are without merit IMO."

Something about those two parts doesn't seem right... And really, what's wrong with calling a photo dull? Sometimes, they are. Personally, I'm not a fan of this photo. It is a little dull.

Generally, the abundance of positive comments made here makes the fewer negative ones stand out glaringly. They really shouldn't - there's nothing wrong with saying "I don't like xxx." It's not, in and of itself, a personal attack, even when posted to Dave's photoblog.

Thanks everyone.

As for negative comments: bring them on, but I would prefer them to be constructive; i.e. 'bad composition' is fine as a statement of opinion, but pretty useless as critique if it's not elaborated. Seriously, if people can tell me something that would have made a shot better I'm always willing to hear it.

Two points:

More importantly (I think), welcome back! (from all that shit you've been wading thickly through of late) -- Your creative brilliance (and magical enthusiasm/eye) is definitely starting to shine brightly again!

Secondly, I grew up bowling (American-style tenpin bowling with a sixteen pound ball, as opposed to European "Lawn" Bowling)... My first and second fingers had quite a curve just like that for most of my life. Though the middle finger has subsequently straightened somewhat, my "first" finger is still quite sharply curved at the tip. There are all sorts of possible stories about this guy's hand! (Most of which we haven't even thought of yet.)

I quite like this photo, and the longer you look at it, the more you understand.

I am suprised by how much a title can influence what you see in a picture. I don't always read the information you post on the archive page, and 'Accident, not design' along with a picture with only half a finger left me wondering what had happened to the poor man. Later reading of the information clears up the fact that he does infact have all his digits intact.

Anyhow, I do like this photo. The DOF and the B&W work nicely, although I do find the lighter hand behind the main subject slightly distracting.

I quite like this photo, and the longer you look at it, the more you understand.

I am suprised by how much a title can influence what you see in a picture. I don't always read the information you post on the archive page, and 'Accident, not design' along with a picture with only half a finger left me wondering what had happened to the poor man. Later reading of the information clears up the fact that he does infact have all his digits intact.

Anyhow, I do like this photo. The DOF and the B&W work nicely, although I do find the lighter hand behind the main subject slightly distracting.

Great capture. I get an immediate feeling of being immersed in the man's conversation as I look at it. Lovely.

Genial!
Creepy? No, I don't agree. It seems to me fresh, very expresive. Esa frágil humanidad que somos.

Gracias

Excellent DOF. There's something about the appearance of the tie in the shot that I like. I can't put my finger on it. The hands help me to visualize the conversation.

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