Eventually we are all forgotten... C&C please :)

elliottalb · Apr 25, 2009

I've only been taking pictures for a few weeks and this is the first I thought I would benefit from some C&C on... So let me have it

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3472892742_bd4956600e_b.jpg

elliottalb · Apr 25, 2009

Here's the larger size; the ads blocked it when i posted it large for the first post. Hopefully it will be ok here.

Photoadder · Apr 25, 2009

That remind me one scene from "Blair Witch Project" heh.

elliottalb · Apr 25, 2009

Photoadder said:
That remind me one scene from "Blair Witch Project" heh.

Hehe. Ya, it was actually a pretty creepy cemetery. I had fun though, the weather was perfect.

Sherman Banks · Apr 25, 2009

Too grey for me, I like more contrast in my B&W. The subject just blends in with the rest of the scenery, but it's a pretty neat old cross.

elliottalb · Apr 25, 2009

Sherman Banks said:
Too grey for me, I like more contrast in my B&W. The subject just blends in with the rest of the scenery, but it's a pretty neat old cross.

Ya, I really need to learn more about B&W contrast. This was my second day attempting B&W shooting. I have a ways to go. It was encouraging to get a shot I liked and thought would be worth posting for C&C though. Thank you for the comment. I think I'll go back in the morning and mess around a bit more.

Sherman Banks · Apr 25, 2009

I don't want you to take the critique as meaning the photo sucks. It can be hard to get a nicely contrasted B&W directly out of the camera without pushing the levels. It's a very simple process in post production, and would make your photo look really nice. I think its a good shot though, and definitely shows you're on the right path to getting a nice B&W. Keep it up!

elliottalb · Apr 25, 2009

Sherman Banks said:
I don't want you to take the critique as meaning the photo sucks. It can be hard to get a nicely contrasted B&W directly out of the camera without pushing the levels. It's a very simple process in post production, and would make your photo look really nice. I think its a good shot though, and definitely shows you're on the right path to getting a nice B&W. Keep it up!

Oh no, I didn't take it in a negative sense at all! I posted this pic to get constructive criticism and that is what you provided. You provided very helpful criticism at that and I thank you

Andrew Sun · Apr 25, 2009

I agree with Sherman, it needs to have more pop - by adding more contrast, particularly to the sky. I can see the shot now with the sky being close to black, which enhances the dark and scary feel of the photo.

However, cemetery shots can also be colorful and a beautiful pieces of work but in this case, when it is b/w I assume you are wanting to emphasize on the darkness rather than light. So as it stands right now, in my opinion it's only half done. A little post-processing will do the trick.

Ron Evers · Apr 25, 2009

Watch your horizons/verticals, the pic is leaning to the right.

elliottalb · Apr 25, 2009

Awesome. Thank you so much for the feedback everyone! This forum really is an amazing resource.

Phranquey · Apr 25, 2009

Ron Evers said:
Watch your horizons/verticals, the pic is leaning to the right.

I would normally agree, but I think it is acceptable in this one to break the rule. The arms of the foreground cross lean to the left, and the hills rising in the background counter the lean against the sky.

stsinner · Apr 25, 2009

If you use Photoshop, as a rule when making photos black and white, instead of shooting them that way or simply desaturating them, I do it this way:

Image>Adjustments>Black & White and adjust the sliders to make the picture more interesting.. Your picture is a little washed out for my taste, so try this next time.

Or leave it color and do this: Image>Adjustments>Curves and play with that.. I usually start by making sort of an S-shaped line and working from there.. I'll bet you could get a really result with that cross in the foreground with this technique if you play with it a bit.

Another great thing to do, if you haven't already done it is to download Google's Picasa picture viewer... It's free, and it's very powerful. You can do things such as crop, saturate, sharpen, etc., and it does these things very nicely.