Silly me. And I thought Ganzo's pic can not be matched. It's a very good pic.
On second thought, the posture of the hands seems a bit not real. When someone begs for money (well, at least in Israel) it reach out with only one hand and the palm is not stretched but a bit more bent, as if forming a sort of bowl.
Fantastic work Scott, I like how you've contrasted the grunge of a beggar's situation with a clean, clutter-free composition, leaving us to contemplate his social standing with just his hands as a thought-starter; rather than showing us a whole scene to keep our thoughts on the visible. The shiny new quarters are a nice touch as well, it's as though they've been tossed into the poor souls hands by some affluent banker...
Good images give just enough to get the imagination going, and (for me) you've accomplished that with this image. Nice.
Another super entry, simply composed, very nicely exposed, carries the message 'charity' very clearly. Converted very well to B&W also. Not bad, considering you were at a loss!
Nice shot. I agree with Yakim about using a single hand, or perhaps a more cupped form, but I think the gesture still conveys the intended meaning.
The only thing that sticks out to me is the pile of coins. Maybe because they are all the same denomination, and all apparently newer. I think I would have used a more random handful from my pocket (or money jar).
On second thought, I might actually assume this picture is someone giving, rather than receiving. Which was your intent?
I appreciate everyone's comments and I do agree that hands are a little unusual however there is a subtle message within the hands. I did consider using only one hand but found the image rather uninspiring and rather dull, by using two hands in this position, those who are Catholic will recognize that the hands are in the same type of position as when one receives Holy Communion by hand, thus symbolizing an entirely different type of 'charity'.
The coins were deliberately chosen to be bright and shiny as a way to show the difference between the "Have" and the "Have Nots". The coins are actually golden dollars but didn't look right in the color image which is one of the reasons why the image is B&W now.
I think Jason (Jazno) summed up my intentions very well with his comment. This was difficult assignment and I actually was going to skip it but this idea came to mind so I thought I would go with it.
Once again, thanks everyone for your comments.
Scott
Nice submission. I think you caught the theme very well...I would have liked to see a slight different posture of the hands, but this still works very well for me on several levels. Well done.
Yakim,
Please don't read anything into that statement other than for face value, it is not intended to be a statement in anyway towards ones religion but rather as something that is familiar in one segment of society (at least here in the US). Just a little personal FYI, I am not Catholic either.
Scott.
