First critique post.

[35mmHero]

Hello, all! This is a picture on took a few months back on a photo trip to Badlands/Bighorn Mts/Yellowstone/Jackson Hole. This picture was taken way back on some dirt road in Gardiner, Montana.I used my Olympus E volt E-500 then used Adobe Photoshop to change contrast, dodge, etc and converted it to gray scale.

Fire away!

.Johnny.

 

[markc]

First off, it looks too dark to me. Bringing it into Photoshop, I see that you have a Gamma 1.8 profile embedded into it. I have my system set to 1.8, so it looks better in PS, but a lot of browsers expect sRGB. If you embed any other profile, you run the risk of having the color data misinterpreted. A lot of Windows systems also have their gamma set to 2.2.

Even considering that, it's still a little dark for my taste. A little boost of brightness using curves livens it up for me. Adding a touch of contrast while there is even better. I'd also crop out a bit of that sky, like a 4:5 ratio. Dodging it a bit would bring out the clouds more, or better yet, use a curves layer masked to just the sky and the mountains in the back.

Overall I think it's a nice image.

 

[simonkit]

Perhaps the shot taken from a slightly lower perspective making a stronger foreground ?

simon

 

[cosmonaut]

There are many ways to convert to B&W in PS without just clicking gray scale. Before you do check all channels red, blue and green to see which one stands best, then convert to that channel for adjustments. I think you could bring out alot more detail in a great sky you have using curves and level adjustments. But the less you do the better it will be. Great first picture. I think it might have looked great in color, and just desaturate it some in the Hue/Saturation palette. Looking forward to seeing more....
Cosmo

 

[35mmHero]

Thanks to everyone for tips on editing! I'm totally new to editing pictures with PS. Most of my experience with it comes from manipulating stock & concert photos to make windows wallpaper or fliers for bands. I was completely and totally against digital photography for a long time. I did my best to concentrate on alternative process in the darkroom and do quit well without a mouse. Haha.

I'm still a hands-on kinda guy, but I'm attracted to the ease of taking my DSLR and my laptop and going on a road trip. Instant gratification!

I agree that the image definitely looks dark, but when I printed it out it looked fabulous, so I accomplished my goal there. Once again, this all a learning process for me and I appreciate any and all pointers.

Here's the image in color, which I actually like a bit more.