Thanks for the comments, everyone! The tub and duck belong to the boyfriend... the bathroom at my place is too small and cluttered to yield decent pictures. I'm glad y'all appreciate the grip description. It changes a little depending on the razor: the tang on my Harner is a bit short, so the index finger moves closer to the toe along the spine, and the scales are really light, so the index-thumb combo is enough to hold the angle; with the Wapi, I lean more on the ring finger, since the stainless scales are so heavy, and use more of the arm to drive, rather than just wrist movement with the lighter razors.
As for the blood, it took me about a dozen shaves before I stopped cutting myself all the time. The most common areas for a nick were the back of the ankle and the front of the knee. I started being more careful in that area and getting more comfortable with my technique, and now: no nicks! (Quick! Where's some wood I can knock on??!) ;)