Lange...I can understand and respect that. Everyone has different tastes. I am most comfortable doing landscapes and such. This was an attempt at using a little more artistic, abstract approach.

In the original, the treatment was much more subtle, but the DOF was still shallow. The musician is my youngest son and he really dislikes having his picture taken, but will co-operate a little for these kinds of shots.

This is actually a redo of another shot that actually sold for a nice amount of money at a charity auction. Of course, the auction was for the benefit of a local orchestra, so practically everyone there were orchestra musicians, pro and amateur, so they really appreciated the shot. I was shocked to find out it sold, and even more so to see what someone was willing to pay for it. I had 2 shots there and they both sold. the other was a landscape of a NJ Farm.

It was funny because the frame shop had it in front of their counter and people kept asking to buy it. When I picked it up, the shop owner told me that if it didn’t sell at the auction, he wanted to buy it. Ironically the original version was shot the first day I had the DSLR, using the in-camera flash after not having touched an SLR at all for the better part of 25 years. This version was taken recently with my new flash.

The first version of this shot was the first one I submitted here for the Hands theme. That shot and the other one from the auction, lead to me getting my first “job” which is next weekend.

I didn't mean to write a novel here, sorry.

Thank you for the information! And to me it is not a novel... it is a story behind the picture. As a person who is trying to learn more and develop more in photography, I thank you for the time you put in to your response. It helps me to grow in knowledge and understanding.