Bagpiper in monochrome

[Mike Buckley]

Captured in 2010 in the annual Scottish Christmas Walk held in the Old Town area of Alexandria, Virginia. Converted to black-and-white yesterday.

C&C encouraged as always, though I have nothing to ask.

[PhotoRob]

Hi Mike - I like the composition, but the face comes off a little overexposed; could be my monitor. You use Elements to convert to monochrome?

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Rob. I look forward to knowing how you feel about the face using a calibrated monitor and a browser, such as Firefox, that is especially good for viewing photos on the Internet. (Internet Explorer and Google Chrome aren't.)

I use Nikon Capture NX2 to 99% of my post-processing, including monochrome conversions.

[Brownbear]

Super photo.. Love the composition and feeling..

[PhotoRob]

Thanks, Rob. I look forward to knowing how you feel about the face using a calibrated monitor and a browser, such as Firefox, that is especially good for viewing photos on the Internet. (Internet Explorer and Google Chrome aren't.)

I use Nikon Capture NX2 to 99% of my post-processing, including monochrome conversions.

I'm using Safari but the Mac also has Firefox, I'll give that a shot. From the sounds of it it's my display. I'm not familiar with NX2 or Elements, just curious at this point...

[pnodrog]

Pretty certain it is on the bright side. I like the concentration on the pipers face.

[Mike Buckley]

Your display is not necessarily problematic, Rob. It might be exactly as it should be.

Glad you like the photo, Christina!

Pretty certain it is on the bright side. I like the concentration on the pipers face.

I couldn't have written a better description of what I intended. Especially considering that I've been making monochromes only for a year and don't think of myself as an expert at portraiture, it's particularly gratifying to learn that the results work for you.

[Shadowman]

Very nice, especially the treatment of the dark tones.

[AB26]

Hi Mike,
I think it is a great shot, I like the tones and especially those deep dark blacks. I have to agree that the face is a bit to overexposed and almost blends with the background. On the other hand it can also be seen as shooting high key.
I always enjoy a B&W with tones ranging from pure white to pitch black.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to John and Andre.