Week 7

Ruth is 95 years old. On March 7th she will be 96. She lives in an apartment on her own. She has almost lost her eyesight and her hearing is nothing to brag about either. She used to watch The Bold and the Beautiful every day. She used to solve a lot of crossword puzzles. She used to read. She used to make delicious food. She used to do a lot of gardening. She used to have a lot of stories to tell. She still has a lot of stories to tell. Her long term memory is fantastic. Better than mine, I’d say. She’s a great woman with a huge and strong heart. She’s brave and courageous, kind and gentle. She’s my heroine, my grandmother.

I knew from the beginning of this project that I wanted to shoot grandma’s hands this week. I’ve always loved her hands. I think they’re beautiful.

WEEK 7 - Portrait: Faceless - Tell someone's story without showing their face.

"The Hands of My Heroine"
ISO 100 - 100mm - f/2,8 - 1/200sec

I took the picture by her kitchen table. I think she was a bit uncomfortable in the beginning, but also flattered that I wanted to shoot her hands. She quickly warmed up and I couldn’t have asked for a better model. I had a black rain cape as background and a speedlight pointed right at her hands. I wanted a sharp contrast between her hands and the background, but I chose a shallow DoF to make the transition softer. I’ve adjusted the photo in Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro 2.