Try to change what you can't accept, but accept what you can't change. Please CLICK HERE to see my journal! Feel free to save my images or to add them to your favorites.
As I would agree with and echo some of the comments above.. in that I like these kinds of images. Good good DOF.. and that of the subject matter itself/themselves.
I hope you don't mind what is to follow, as it puts my thoughts to that of an image:
Think it was the angle of your original that I found.. what's the word.. 'disconcerting'?
dis.con.cert.ing
adjective: disconcerting causing one to feel unsettled.
Rotating and then, cropping solved that.. for me, at least. And now, the two chess board squares that were creating mergers with the bottom left-hand frame are gone as well.
Looks.. cleaner, simply put, and to my eyes and in my humble opinion. With just that of the blonder wood of the board now in that bottom corner alone. And reiterating, correcting for the 'tilt'.
Still, with all that said.. brought me in for a closer look. A few times, so.. creative mission accomplished.
And.. but, of course.. thanks for sharing this one with us.