frmckee

still working on my b/w"s, tell me what u think,and how can i improve.

ThomasS Loc: Colorado

It's a nice shot, but the barn is blending into the background. I would boost my blacks in that barn a little, to make it stand out better.

sinatraman Loc: Vero Beach Florida, Earth,alpha quaudrant

i'm trying to figure out what is in the front left corner is that a log, distortion or what? you might want to crop it out. I like your subject matter old buildings look great in black and white. i would get closer

phoneguy55 Loc: upstate NY

I agree.....very nice composition actually,... but higher contrast and a little bit of sharpening ( maybe)...would make it snap.

I tried it in PSE and it gives it a different look altogether. I even stretched the limits a bit, and made a high pass layer with an overlay blending mode , at about 60% opacity. That makes it almost gritty.....like a minimal HDR shot. ( sort of )

If you just want a simple fix, play with contrast and lightening/darkening .......possibly. ( ?)

Finch585 Loc: Northern California

I'd actually like to see it in color due to the low contrast with the fore and backgrounds

chuckjs2001 Loc: Bessemer MI.

leave it like it is Nice]

ThomasS Loc: Colorado

I think it is an old fence post, but you are right, it is a distraction and should be cropped out. I think he was trying to get it in the picture for perspective, but there is too much foreground in there.

Actually, I just looked at it again and if he crops it, he will take too much out of the picture and the composition will be messed up. Either brush it out and let Content Aware (if he has SW with that capability) fill in the grass, or leave it alone.

matrix1a Loc: Orlando, FL

I reprocessed by removing blue tone and cloned out the fence post. What do you think?

light_painter Loc: Mose Lake WA

Persoanlly I would taken a closer shot, zoomed, in, or possibly shot from a different angle. There is too much emptiness in the foreground. After taing a second look, I might shot from a lower position. I would placed the top of the barn right on the top horizonntal third. That would eaten up some of the vast foreground and added a unque perspective to the image. I actually like the fence post. If it were to contrast the ground more, it would show depth more. I do not like taking away from an image. I did not find the fence post distracting. The fact it was hard to determine what it was distracting. The fence was a natural part of the scene.

The really cool thing about photography is that 1000 people can look at an image and come up with a 1000 ways to shoot it different. You were there and you shot it the way you liked it. That makes you right and all of us wrong. LOL Photography is an art. The best way to get better is to shoot, shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. Shoot at eye level. Climb on something and shoot down. Crawl on belly and shoot up. Shoot facing the sun. (Silhouttes) Shoot with sun at a 45 degree angle (side lighting)Keep your image simple. Ask youself when you look through the view finder, does the fence disract or add to the photo? Not sure? take an image with and without. The cool thing bout digital is you don't like it delete it. I think personally you should only delete in camera when you accidently over expose, underexpose, or move camera while shutter is open. With digital darkrooms, just about any flaw can be fixed.

matrix1a Loc: Orlando, FL

Cropped the field.

cosmo54 Loc: Easton, PA but will travel for photos

I thought I loved the original........until I saw this version!!! I've got a lot to learn from everyone here. I'll try to get up the nerve to post something. :)

GlensLens Loc: Davenport, IA, US

I used FastStone, (@.org) a free downlaod, to sharpen and reduced gamma to 60% and increased contrast.
This helped to darken the blacks but not make the image to dark.
I couldn't get my Corell P2pro to work for me so I didn't clone out the fence post.
Overall I like your photo. Have you tried any colored filters on your lens?
(:o}>gm

dongrant Loc: Earth, I think!

It is a nice shot but, the most important thing is , what do you think of an image not what someone else thinks. Does it show what your mind saw when it got your attention? If you do or don't like it the opinions of others will carry less weight (except when for sale or in competition). Taste will always vary.

On another note, if you don't have an editor that has curves, levels, and local contrast, you may want to think about getting one. And looking at the image I assume that you don't.

Carmen Loc: Northeast Georgia

I love old barns & outbuildings. One of my favorite subjects. Glad to hear other comments about the tones blending into the background. That was my first take on the first image. Second image was much better. You also have to take into consideration that everyone's monitor is a little different, although you get the general idea. Thanks for sharing!

PitchurMan Loc: Michigan

My recommendation is to return to the scene, spend some time exploring the building, decide what the subject matter really is and take lots of shots that convey your impressions of that subject. What is it about this place that made you point your camera and press the shutter release?

You have essentially presented a record shot of a falling down building, something an insurance agent might capture for the claim forms.

If you take time to "explore your subject" you will see many interesting shapes and textures, for example, the open doorway with the "Z" door next to it. Explore alternative points of view, try different shots with a wide angle lens, and then telephoto. Check it out at different times of the day, in different kinds of weather, etc.

I hope you are not offended; there is much potential in this building and in simply taking the picture you have recognized that fact, but you took the easy shot, which wasn't fair to either you or your subject.

In my photography seminars & workshops the first lesson is "what made you look? Identify that emotion/sensation and give it words - what was the "Wow" factor? Think adjectives: happy, sad, brilliant, somber, quiet, exciting, old, new. Consciously consider what it is that made you look and then illustrate that concept.

Hope this helps.