C&C please on this b&w landscape

The red light in the lighthouse was overpowering this in color so I converted it to b&w. This is not something I have a lot of experience with. The shot was pretty dark to begin with and I somehow hit a wrong button while shooting in the dark and ended up with jpeg only which really limited my editing options. So what do you think? Too dark or intriguingly dark? Interesting or not? Suggestions for improvement? Bin it?

Nubble4 by SharonCat..., on Flickr

 

No RAW file so I only have the jpeg to work with. I was using a tripod but was shooting ISO 3200 as I was set up for the super moon and was trying to capture the moon details so I was keeping the exposure short so as not to end up with a big blob of light. Unfortunately the moon was a bust because it clouded up along the horizon and then I somehow ended up changing my settings by mistake so I ended up with jpeg only.

 

It almost has a "model" effect to it, like it was shot with a t&s.

 

Close but not close. I doubt I'll be back up there again this winter but I'll definitely be shooting there again at some point. We go there a lot in summer.

I can see what you're referring to.

Thanks for the feedback.

That is probably what has been bugging me the most. I may re-crop it to highlight the light. Thanks for the input.

 

It's a difficult one, but I think the scene is worthy of some extra work. I agree that it's a little flat, but then messing too much with the contrast will likely erase most of the shadow detail, and that is what helps give it the visual interest it has.

I'm not having an issue with subject matter. Lighthouses often have the lightkeeper's quarters attached to them, as this one appears to, so it's not something to attempt to separate. I am very fond of the glow from the light on the house. Everything in the middle of the frame is working nicely for me - it's the lower right and lower bottom of the frame that appear to be muddled, with perhaps too much loss of detail. Perhaps some selective burn-in in that area would be better than letting the viewer's eye strain to find something to rest upon - here, contrast might be your friend.

You might have better luck if you return to the area and end up with a better file to start with. But until then, no harm in playing with it, I say.

 

Here is that same photo in color. And I was wrong, I did have the RAW file for that one. It was the last shot taken before I somehow switched to JPEG only. I applied quite a bit of noise reduction and lifted the exposure and the shadows almost 100%.

Nubble color by SharonCat..., on Flickr

I do have better versions of this same shot that were taken earlier in the day so really no reason to mess with the high ISO version but I liked the way the light looked on the darker version when it was converted.
Nubble1 by SharonCat..., on Flickr