There is a saying that the eyes are the mirror of the soul. And indeed, we can tell a lot if we look carefully in a person’s eyes, especially about emotions that are currently going through their hearts or mind, but maybe even a lot more. Portraits of people from various cultures subtly reflect the differences that occur between them cause their life paths have been different.
Photographer Omar Reda has noticed a very interesting fact; hands of people are telling the story as well. He started photographing hands and palms of people who are living in a different way, and differences are showing clearly on this unusual “hand portraits” series too.
If the eyes tell us a lot about emotions, hands and palms can tell us a lot especially about people’s hard work. In the gallery below you can see palms of a tribal boy, farmer girl, baker, holy man, driver… and notice obvious differences. Reda travelled through many different countries meeting and photographing people he met in tribes, villages, and cities.
Reda’s project is titled, “Hands: The Story of Life.” For more of his work check out his website.
“The hand, like the eyes, reveal what’s hidden below the surface,” says Reda about his hand portraits series
Tribal Boy
“It is essential for our evolution and survival. Early humans used it to ignite a fire, hunt, fight and other survival actions.”
Blacksmith
“The hand is the main part that helps us to excel our skills across all the industries since the beginning of time.”
Tribal Elderly Woman
“The palm lines in our hands unveil the underlying truth about our lives. They uncover our struggle, burden and life passage that we chose.”
Baker
Soldier
Potter
Mechanic
Holy Man
Gardener
Driver
Carpenter
Holy Man
Barber
Tailor
