A couple of pics, harsh CC please

[johng25]

Hi, guys! I took some pics at the school today where I work. I wanted to upload several pics, but I didn't have time to PP them (should I be PPing at this point?). Plus I discovered I was shooting all day at ISO800! Grrrr... Anyways this is the only pic I had time to work on. What do you think? CC please and lots of it!

Here are the exposure stats:
Nikon D80,
Sigma 17-70mm,
aperature f/8,
shutter speed 1/200 sec,
ISO-800,
focal length 50mm

Original first:

ONe with PP
I converted to B&W, toned down the brightness a little and put more contrast in it. This was done through Gimp.

Thanks so much!

John

 

[ATXshots]

Nice, I like the b&w version

 

[LaFoto]

The blue sign - albeit very blurred - takes away a lot in the first version, which is why I clearly prefer the black&white version to the original colour one. The black&white focuses more on what you meant to photograph: the taps/faucets, their repetition and the clear focus on the first. The colours take away from the repetition and simplicity of the photo and I feel you went for simplicity in your composition (?)

 

[johng25]

Yes, I wanted it to be simple and I agree that the blue was really distracting, hence the B&W. Thanks for your input. Any more suggestions???

John

 

[plastii]

I like the BW version too, but to be honest it doesn't look like f8 to me.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

What are you trying to say with this photograph?

 

[chris21908]

i like the B&W better. the one in color can also look great if you boost up the contrast and maybe a little bit of the saturation.

 

[jwsciontc]

b&w is way nicer looking

 

[johng25]

Thanks for the comments so far.

To plastii:
As for the aperature, I checked and quadruple checked and it is f/8. I agree that is a shallow DOF to be f/8. Can any settings other than aperature affect DOF?

To sw1tchFX:
EVentually this pic will be one of several I hope to make showing KOrean school life at the school where I teach. The picture in and of itself isn't meant to tell a story, but maybe, eventually, when put together with others, it will. The other idea I had read is that simple objects and every day objects, when shot in an interesting way, seem to be the most looked at and liked pictures. So I also had that aspect in the back of my mind when I shot this photo. I'm still a noob and just trying to take a good shot (technically) is just as important as the artictistic side is, for the moment. I hope that clarifies things a bit.

Thanks guys/gals and I really hope to get some more feedback. Thanks in advance.

John

 

[photogeri]

The B/W looks better to me as well...I know this doesn't really matter but why not turn on one or more of the faucets. The water drops are always interesting to look at and add a nice flow to your photograph.

 

[johng25]

Photogeri:
I plan on taking some photos tomorrow at my school again. I think a reshoot of the faucets is not a bad idea and might try to turn the tap on and see what kind of effects I can get with the water.

If any old hands here can give me some tips about reshooting these faucets, I would love to hear them. Thanks.

John

 

[Sebastian 16]

just a suggestion but try new angles, focusing on faucets in the middle of the line etc... what you think matters

 

[Sw1tchFX]

EVentually this pic will be one of several I hope to make showing KOrean school life at the school where I teach. The picture in and of itself isn't meant to tell a story, but maybe, eventually, when put together with others, it will. The other idea I had read is that simple objects and every day objects, when shot in an interesting way, seem to be the most looked at and liked pictures. So I also had that aspect in the back of my mind when I shot this photo. I'm still a noob and just trying to take a good shot (technically) is just as important as the artictistic side is, for the moment. I hope that clarifies things a bit.

It's all about the details

A photo does not relay what the photographer is trying to say[...]Photography doesn't say anything about the photographer[...]which only says he was crouching down.

You're kidding me, right? :raisedbrow:

I believe you need to do some serious soul-searching on what you consider fine-art photography, or commercial photography, or personal photography, or even snapshots for that matter. Each photograph anyone makes always tells the viewer something about the photographer, no matter how small or deep.

 

[Chewbecca]

I like it. And when I opened this thread and I saw the color version, that's all I saw at first, and I thought, "MAN, this would look GREAT in black and white"
Then I scrolled down and you had already converted it, in GIMP of all things.
I use GIMP for ALL of my black and white conversions.

I agree that it would be interesting to turn on one or two of the faucets.

I think that how far or close you are to your subject is going to affect the way the bokeh appears in a photo.
You were probably standing close to the faucets when you were photographing them, so that could be why only one is in focus, I think. I believe I have that correct.
Example: I took this shot @f7.1, and I stood as close as my 50mm would allow me to get the shot.
As you can see, only the center of the picture is really in sharp focus.

I like your shot, actually. And if you ever want help with using GIMP and converting to black and white, feel free to ask me.
Did you use your channel mixer to convert that shot to black and white?

 

[zubair851]

b&w is nice... good job...