Working Man's Hands

A couple of weeks ago I researched photographing hands on the internet.  I came up with a few ideas and thought about a friend who would be able to help me.  I made some notes and waited for my friend to come over. 

My friend has working man hands. This man repairs machines all day for a living and when the day is over his hands are, well, gross.  Dirt and grime is stuck underneath the nails and cuticles.  When he came over, I asked him if I could photograph his hands. 

Afterwards, when we were looking at the photographs and he said that he didn't realize how dirty they were. I assured him that was the look I was going for in the photographs. 

Real men sometimes have dirt underneath their fingernails and it is OK.