Opinions, please

RobDingwall · Oct 28, 2011

I am experimenting with HDR'ing the colour originals then converting to B&W, trying to get an "atmosphere". Your comments would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

shok · Oct 31, 2011

The sky feels more dramatic and thus more important than the structure imho :S

Mike Lamb · Oct 31, 2011

I agree w/ shok. The building looks like an illustration and the sky does not.

D-B-J · Oct 31, 2011

Overcooked and too little of a separation between the sky and building. It's just a mess of blacks and whites to me.

dxqcanada · Oct 31, 2011

I have to agree ... it is getting too close to a line drawing.

RobDingwall · Oct 31, 2011

Thanks for the comments - I thought the HDR effect was too intense,.
It's great to get some feedback as, probably like most of us here, I work alone.

martanh · Nov 1, 2011

I think you should keep the original colour instead of changing to B&W.

RobDingwall · Nov 1, 2011

Thanks, Martan.

Here's the colour version....

Archway of the Palace of St Michael and St George, Corfu by Rob Dingwall

bazooka · Nov 1, 2011

I think the shadows are too open... the color version looks washed out. Looks like an interesting place.

RobDingwall · Nov 1, 2011

Yes, it is a very interesting place - full of history and moods.

martanh · Nov 2, 2011

I dont know how to say but the colour look a little but strange to me . It looks like a painting more than sth taken by camera in my opinion but i cant deny it's nice place.

rabz · Nov 5, 2011

I definitely think there's more to the B&W image I feel it has more power than the colored one

RobDingwall · Nov 5, 2011

The colour one was the result of HDR'ing 3 exposures to get that effect - that's why it doesn't look like a normal single shot colour exposure. I then converted that to B&W with a few tweaks in Photoshop to get the result.

paulanton · Nov 9, 2011

IMHO, This pic has a lot of potential. (B&W). It is a howling success in HDR, I just think you went a little too far with it. And now for some recommendations from a guy who has no professional recognition at all.

I think the sky and the building texture is very similar, it seems flat. There are too few mid tones. I think if you darken the sky a little, brighten up and reduce the contrast on the building itself and deepen the shadows on the building it will give you the depth I think you are looking for. It seems it is all absolute white and absolute black. The underside of the arch is just as bright as the face of the building with direct sunlight. The overall brightness is too uniform.

Again, it is an opinion, treat it as such.