@ George, I think the 'making of a fist' makes this seem like an angry shot? Maybe that's the conflict?
Just an idea.

Hi Ana, Yes, you make a good point. I had the same thought too when looking at it. If indeed that's the idea, then perhaps it just hasn't gone ALL the way with the idea of portraying dramatic tension having to do with being a married man. Thanks for your voice :-)

Wow, interesting comments. Thanks for all the interest!

To respond, I thought of it as simply the wedding ring being an almost universal sign (symbol) of marriage, and I guess all that that entails - lifelong commitment, fidelity (per Ana above), etc.

I didn't intend for any explicit sense of conflict - I just thought that the fingers curled under would make for a tighter shot and more natural crop (it isn't actually a fist, as my hand is laid flat, with the fingers curled under). But I *was* having problems with the pose, trying to get the right lighting, while still being able to focus on the hand without moving it!

As for the tone, I wanted it in duotone, and again, played around with a number of different tones before hitting on this one - but it is perhaps a bit too yellow.

It is shots like this, and all the commentary you get back on them, that make WS such a great way to learn. Thanks again.

I am so NOT good at this guessing thing, I really must apologise to both you, CraigMartin and you, King. Lol...it is fun though.
This is simple yet subtle, I don't know if I like the composition though.

Psychodudu, to have someone think one of my pictures was by King is a high compliment indeed! By the way, King, it is good to see you back.

Kyla, I bet you were surprised to see who submitted this ;-)

But here is a question for people - the lowest score (so far) is for image quality. What about the quality is poor? I think this goes again to my earlier arguments that "image quality" is a poorly used criteria.

CraigMartin,
I've been busy and/or out of town. Thanks for the welcome. I wouldn't be so quick to take it as a compliment to have one of my photos mistaken for one of mine (i.e., King's...how awkward). They mistaken party may think you are 1) old, 2)just trying to cause trouble, or 3) both.

Besides, I thought Pursang took this. Nothing wrong with the image quality in my book, but I'm not the harshest critic of that category. If the photo grabs me, you get a pass on quality.

@psychodudu,
No harm done, but you are as bad at guessing as I am. Maybe you should give it up.

P.S. - If these were my hands, they'd have been holding a wad of $100 bills.

Craig, I have been busy the last week so have not had much time to spend on WS but wanted to let you know that I really liked this take on the theme. I think the image quality issue might have to do with the bottom half of the hand where it seems to loose some of the good tonal range you have on the top half. Nice shot though.