BillFeffer Loc: Adolphus, KY

In a church graveyard. The church is long since burned down and the graveyard minimally maintained.

(Download)

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

Nice use of monochrome.

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Hi, Bill,

An interesting, impactful image (gravestones are always “grabbers”!).
Technically, The image is a trifle “flat” and lacking a bit in mid-tone contrast...and is a bit brighter than needed, unless there was an intent to approach sort of a high-key treatment of a graveyard (?).
Your use of a shallow DOF is a strong contributor to depth, as is your compositional use of placement of similar shaped elements of size that decrease with distance.

Impact: 4.5/5
Tech. 3.0/5
Comp. 4/5
Total: 11.5/15

In summary, an interesting image, a bit tonally flat and bright considering the subject, with good depth and composition.
Good job.

Dave

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I agree that this is an interesting image. I have a family graveyard that is similar. The broken stones can be fixed, but somehow that would ruin the feel of the place. For my tastes, this is a bit light and lacks contrast.

Bullfrog Bill Loc: CT

When you show text everyone will try to read it and this image frustrates me that way. Try increasing mid-tone contrast.

GeorgeK Loc: NNJ

Engaging photo. I like some of the suggestions above and would like to comment on the composition. I find my eye moving from the the bottom left to the upper right sections where it loses focus due to the shallow DOF and leads me to an uninteresting area beyond the gravestone.

What about cropping on the right to almost the edge of the far stone and tightening the top and bottom crop slightly? I played with it a bit and was not happy to lose the "L" shape of the tree limb but also found that the depth was preserved and it seemed to tell somewhat of a different story - maybe more personal.

My comments are not meant to be critical. I am relatively new at this and am trying to learn about composition.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

I'm pretty much with everyone else. It lacks punch. No real blacks, no real whites. Try futsing around with it a little more.
...Cam

BillFeffer Loc: Adolphus, KY

Thanks all for the helpful and excellent comments.

BillFeffer Loc: Adolphus, KY

Comments appreciated. I reposted in another section for additional critique.

Nightski

Composition and light are so important in B&W photography. I have been following Joel Tjintjelaar's work for quite some time now my quest to create better B&W photographs. I think I'm still terrible at it, but I am starting to see what makes his so successful. Let's start with your composition. Your subject is the gravestone. You've chosen the one behind the fallen tree limb. The limb is a tiny bit sharper than the branch. The eye always travels to the brightest and sharpest area first. The question is, where do you want the eye to travel. It's important to have a sweet spot. That spot should have the best light and the best focus. This presents a problem for you. A foreground item that has shape and is blurred is a distraction, so it may not work to blur the tree limb. From what angle could you take this shot so that your subject is clear? That is the question to ask yourself when you're in the field.

Secondly, the photo has pretty much the same light on everything. This is where processing comes in. The parts of the photo that aren't the subject should have less contrast and less light. Use the light to shape your gravestone. The front should be a different brightness than the sides. Contrast at the edges gives shape to your subject. Make it come alive with contrast and light.