Each of these photographs depicts either my right or left hand however I attempted to use design techniques to give each image a different implied meaning. The first image depicts my left hand lying on a blanket with dark artificial lighting. The palm is open and much of the forearm can be seen. My thinking was that the dark, cold lighting combined with the relaxed look of the hand would make it appear limp and lifeless. I also positioned the camera close to my arm and made the arm fill the frame to give it an almost first person perspective and in theory make the image feel more claustrophobic. The next image is of my right hand in a fist with a white background. It shows less of the forearm because I wanted to focus on the power and aggression that the central image of a fist evokes without the distraction of an overly detailed background. The next image, similar to the first is of an open palmed hand from a first person-esque perspective however there is more depth in the background to denote a more real world setting and the image of the hand is more off to the side. My intent with this image was to evoke a sense of panic and motion by making the hand not resting against anything and partially out of frame. The final image is my left hand in the reflection of a window, as with the previous image the hand is not in the center and is even difficult to see however the framing of the parallel lines of the window and the red lights outside work to underline it. My intention with this image was to grant the hand a surreal, even ethereal quality by borrowing the transparency granted by the window.
Daniel de Castro 