Hands.
I don’t have a fetish for hands, but I am definitely fascinated with the different emotions and feelings that can be conveyed with them. Combine that with my love of darker lighting and various perspectives and I could shoot hands all day.
Rachael has long, slender fingers on strong hands with a ton of character. At one point during our first shoot together in June 2019 she moved hers just in front of the overhead lighting, and I froze – those strong, expressive hands were outlined in a silhouette against her over-lit body, and as she began to work with that setting…
sigh
At any rate, Rachael and I share a mutual fascination. While talking yesterday with her about this I realized: we need to mine the shoots, pick our favorite photos where the focal point is her hands, and post them here!
From Rachael:
Growing up, the touches I received were unwanted, invasive, and unkind. My experience with it has rarely been positive. Yet, I have always loved hands. My fascination with them began with my mother. Hers are rough and strong, yet comforting and sure. She could lift a grown man while gently wiping a tear from your cheek.
I think I adore them because of how different they are on everyone. And how quickly they can change from hurting to healing. You can tell so much about a person from their hands. The way they move. How they touch the people they love. The cracks and scars tell stories like ink in a book. My hands tell a story. One of pain and suffering. But also one of love and growth. What do yours say?
Included in this set are photos taken across our dozen or so shoots from the past six months, some digital, some color film, and some B&W film. The one shot includes Em being embraced from behind by Rachael.
Which one is your favorite? Leave a comment below, and tell us about your own fascination with a specific body part in photographs!
I am fascinated by hands. I have a huge folder of curated photos of hands. I have several art photo ideas that I want to create with hands.