Rules broken:
Details in highlights and Shadows (especially applies to portraits. We like a smooth transition from light to dark.)
No bright spots or spots of light. (Yeah they tend to distract from the main focal point. Spots of light though can help bring out the texture of objects. Imagine a tomato with no light reflection. Personally think it's the shape, size, location and frequency that matter)


Alrighty, why I think breaking the rules works...
First off the title is what this image is about. Finding beauty in inperfection.. http://nobleharbor.com/tea/chado/WhatIsWabi-Sabi.htm
BHLs are seen as imperfections most of the time. It also makes the shot appear more vintage, yet no grain was added. The bright highlights contrast the dark, even blackened shadows. If there where no overly bright highlights, what's the point of darkened shadows, to balance things out. Otherwise the shot would've appeared too flat. Plus I like how the C shaped shadow(left) and highlight(right) add another element of framing. Also can be seen as yin and yang. If this feels like a shoehorn, let me know ;) To be honest this is one of the few images I've edited where the BHL's do not annoy me. What about you? Processing was simple. B/W conversion was done via the Channel Mixer. Shot was composed with a centered theme but I did chop off a little from both sides for more of a sqaure crop. Levels applied. Resized and sharpened. The only selective editing that was done where to the shadows in the 2 holes to the left, to hide the grid material underneath.