The Road Appleton Farms

[ajsmith]

I took this photo last Saturday in bright afternoon sunlight. This is the main driveway at Appleton Farms in Ipswich/Hamilton Massachusetts (about 30 miles North of Boston, along the coast). It is one of over 100 properties belonging to the Trustees of Reservations. The farm is also the oldest continuously operating farm in the US.

This is my first attempt at a serious black and white, so please C and C.
I used Photoshop Elements 10 for processing.

F11, 1/60, iso 200, Canon 55-250mm lens @ 55mm

[dubaiphil]

You have lots of dynamic range in this image, with bright light poking through the foliage at some points. Perhaps adding some more contrast would help the image, giving it a bit more punch.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Ali,

I think you over did something in PP, as Phil mentions, there are some very bright small areas, but larger areas are very subdued, leading to bright halos around the trunks and a 'dark puddle' in the center bit at the end of the visible lane and the two largest areas of background left and right.

Perhaps too much vibrance was applied {+42} before monochrome conversion, or clarity {only +10} - or if you used Local Contrast Enhancement in Elements, too much amount of that with too small a radius?

You shot RAW, so another PP attempt is possible.

However, it is a pleasant composition and I can see why you took the shot.

I don't know enough to be able to offer better advice I'm afraid, although if you got the RAW to me via Dropbox, I could "have a quick go".

Hope that helps,