Tim Booth - A Show of Hands

Tim Booth produced this project - A Show of Hands - to capture story telling images of hands. He wanted to capture the greatness of the world through people and things we do to help the world turn around. The project enables you to look at an image within it and know about the persons character whether it be based on a hobby, career or lifestyle .

To the right is the favourite shot from the project. I love this shot as it tells you a lot about the character of the guy in the image. Instead of using a typical style of portrait, the images all include hands only. You can tell by the way the image includes sheep and a stick that the guy is a manual worker who is a shepherd. You get this from the sheep which is what they herd. The hand is positioned so that you can see his worn down, grubby hands and fingernails to emphasize a hardworking man. The tones in the image contribute to the story behind the personality as it goes from dark to light ever so quickly. It's very bold and has a clear statement within it. The use of depth of field has been very effective in this piece as it highlights a piece of information in the background as well as showing you a major detail in the foreground. There's a lot detail within the hands of the man which adds story-telling depth.

The second image I really like is this one below. I really like how the flour on the hand is what tells you a story of the character. It's such a simple image but that is what makes it so bold and striking. I love how the piece is composed so simply yet because of the black background and the tonal range of the hand it's very strong and eye-catching. The strong lines and wrinkles within the hand tells you a rough age of the man which is backed up by a career or hobby. You know that this person is a baker of chef who either does it for a career of in spare time. The tones in the image pull the hand out to add a huge depth behind the personality and personal identity.