Arch and cemetery.

I had a go at changing a few shots to B/W but wasn't keen on the end result.
These were the only ones I kept B/W



Touch of sepia on this one.

I really like the arch. I would do a bit of dodging and burning to get the detail out of the stone and foliage which would also boost the contrast. I would also burn the grey of the sky to darken the top down a bit and dodge the cloud to make it stand out more.

As for composition, I think it would have been better in isolation, without the building to the right but not sure if that would have been possible. It would have given a more 'abandoned' atmosphere though.

In the crosses shot, I remember one Vic posted ages ago where he was not sure of the composition and there was a short debate as to wether a higher or lower camera angle would have been better. It all depends what you are trying to do I suppose. In this, you get the feeling of a forest of crosses as you look through them. A higher angle would have given a field of crosses.

Either way, I personally like the tone and you have kept some detail in the white crosses as well as good detail in the grass and trees. I perhaps think in this case, a couple of steps to the left, just to bring the lefthand main cross onto the thirds line would have helped the composition a little as well as opening up even more crosses which is always an emotive image. You have captured a great depth though with a strong vanishing point and I think the meaning and message are well portrayed.

This post has been edited by Paddy on November 04, 2009 11:21 pm

I will attempt to tackle these ones, being B&W they are in my field so to speak..


I think the 1st one has a lot of potential, I have no idea how the conversion was done ( i may well do a post on how I convert to B&W, if anyone is interested that is )

I like the angle/ composition here, the lighting is good on the main subject, it is however let down by the sky. Not the fact that it's blown out, rather it's the wrong type, by this i mean the clouds are to big. I think it needs some lighter less fuller clouds, this way during the conversion you can really darken and moody the sky . This will in turn give it some more atmosphere. a little bit of contrast added and you'll have a nice moody picture.

The 2nd I like, it's the classic war graves shot, not to sure about the sepia, but again thats a personal thing. I put it on par with selective colouring and we all know how i feel about that. Sepia always seems to me to be a bit of a one button press method and I like to work a photo to get the feel right and have a little more control on the out come. Having said that i have no idea how this Sepia tone was arrived at. I would have liked the foremost stone to be given a little more room to the left and maybe more of a angle along the front of the headstone showing more of them, which in turn then brings home the large loss of life.


Vic

This post has been edited by Vic on November 04, 2009 11:22 pm

Interesting Vic, a simultaneous posting lol

yes, but i started mine yesterday morning!

Rofl

Thanks for the input guys .

Looking at it now I agree about giving the main cross a bit more space on the left. I think when I took the shot it did have more space, but I tried to neaten up the side a bit with the crop and lost the composition .

Vic the B/W conversion was done in CS3. It has a B/W conversion tool where you can alter the different colours from original colour shot one at a time in B/W.
I'm not really very good at it yet because I've only used it a couple of times but according to the photo mag's "it gives you full control over the conversion rather than clicking Greyscale" .

As for the Sepia colour. At the bottom of the B/W conversion tool there is a "Tint" checkbox. When I'd finished the B/W conversion I didn't like the look of it so I checked the box and adjusted the tint to the colour I wanted.

I think thats the best way to convert , as you said it give you more control over the out come