The old Papermill

kasperkjaerphoto · Jan 17, 2011

Check out more photos and techniques on my blog: kasperkjaerphotography.blogspot.com

ann · Jan 17, 2011

on my monitor, (which is calibrated) it looks flat, needing more contrast. there is also something funky in the sky area and it doesn't look like dust.

Did you do some burning and dodging on this image as the area around the stack seems uneven.

I love railroad cars and I would encourage you to try some additionals conversion .
WHich method did you use, or is this from film?

kasperkjaerphoto · Jan 17, 2011

This was converted using RAW image format editing software.
However the stack was converted using Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X3, as the RAW conversion removed the lines on the stack.
You have a keen eye for details, this was my first attempt at B&W photography, your critiques have been noted and I will remember it in the future.

LaFoto · Jan 17, 2011

There seems to be a dust spot in the sky, that's the first I see...

Other than that, when you work on the contrasts some more, you should maybe mask the sky and leave that unaffected from whichever post processing work you still plan to do, and only do that work on the buildings. You could in a second step try to work on the sky only and maybe darken it some to make the clouds more dramatic. Just some thought's I'm having here, don't know what it'd look like in the end, though.

carolinamom · Jan 17, 2011

I love love love this shot. I tend to do more black and white than anything...

photorookie12 · Jan 17, 2011

The technical aspects have been adressed by ann and lafoto, but what about the composition and mood of the picture? I'm not quite sure it goes left or right. The train carriage in the front and the chimney both take center stage, but there is nothing "connecting" them in the end... One could argue that it's an abstract, but I find it's not abstract enough to be abstract....

kasperkjaerphoto · Jan 17, 2011

photorookie12 said:
The technical aspects have been adressed by ann and lafoto, but what about the composition and mood of the picture? I'm not quite sure it goes left or right. The train carriage in the front and the chimney both take center stage, but there is nothing "connecting" them in the end... One could argue that it's an abstract, but I find it's not abstract enough to be abstract....

I chose this angle and setup because this is an old Papermill, that has been made into a museum, therefore the railroad track is no longer than what is shown in the photo, meaning that if I changed the composition the ends of the rail will be visible.