A Little Help From ...

[Shadowman]

Any preferences on the conversions. Only hint, dress is vivid red, partially sunny, taken around 4:30PM.

[bnnrcn]

Hi John Unfortunatelly I'm not experienced in B&W at all but I prefer the first one. I find the second image too dark. Adding some contrast to the first image might be a good trial instead of darkening the whole image.

[pnodrog]

I prefer the second..

[deetheturk]

Nice capture John, its #2 for me!

[Shadowman]

Hi John Unfortunatelly I'm not experienced in B&W at all but I prefer the first one. I find the second image too dark. Adding some contrast to the first image might be a good trial instead of darkening the whole image.

Binnur,

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I was looking at a travel magazine recently and skintones ran the gamut of grays to blacks, I think energy, themes, and personal preference play a big part in how skin is displayed. In the second image the woman's black hair is lighter in tone than the cast shadows; which it should be. Also, the local color or tone of the skin is to me mid gray. Were you referring to the skintones or the shadows when you said image was too dark.

[Shadowman]

I prefer the second..

L.Paul,

Thanks for the comments.

[Shadowman]

Nice capture John, its #2 for me!

David,

Thanks for the comments.

[Brownbear]

Beautiful image! I prefer the 1st image for the happy mood which fits the moment. Perhaps with the clouds just a wee bit darker.

[John 2]

No. 2 for me. Perhaps one very small suggestion is to run the burn tool along the highlight on each of the rails just to take them down slightly.

[purplehaze]

I'm with Christina, John. The lighter dress, for me, contributes to a sense of lightness of being and joy. I guess it depends on what you are trying to convey, but for me, it is a better match for the other elements in the image (rising up, leaning in, large empty space above). Nice catch.

[Shadowman]

Beautiful image! I prefer the 1st image for the happy mood which fits the moment. Perhaps with the clouds just a wee bit darker.

Christina,

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

[Shadowman]

No. 2 for me. Perhaps one very small suggestion is to run the burn tool along the highlight on each of the rails just to take them down slightly.

John,

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. During edit in color, the highlights were slightly blinking and I took them down to a manageable state, interesting how it all changes when converted to black and white.

[Shadowman]

I'm with Christina, John. The lighter dress, for me, contributes to a sense of lightness of being and joy. I guess it depends on what you are trying to convey, but for me, it is a better match for the other elements in the image (rising up, leaning in, large empty space above). Nice catch.

Hi Janis,

Thanks for the comments. What inspired me to capture the scene was the sense of danger with her climbing the rail, there is a slanting drop of about fifteen feet if she didn't make it safely. Then there was the gentleness of her boyfriend/husband trying to get her safely over the rail; so I'm sort of split on the theme of the image.

[dedro]

I like the first one....

[Shadowman]

I like the first one....

Thanks Dedric.

[Shadowman]

Just did an 8.5" x 11.0" print of the first edit on luster paper. I'm liking the look even better than on screen. I'm supposed to let dry for 15 minutes then cover with plain paper for 24 hours before mounting.

[purplehaze]

What kind of printer do you have, John? I'm toying with the idea of getting one.

I also just wanted to remark how cool it is that this image is so expressive in spite of the fact that we don't see faces, or even the man's head.

[Shadowman]

What kind of printer do you have, John? I'm toying with the idea of getting one.

I also just wanted to remark how cool it is that this image is so expressive in spite of the fact that we don't see faces, or even the man's head.

Hi Janis,

I shot a series of fives images and only got the gentleman's face in one, I didn't get the woman's face in any of the shots. This and one other were the only ones that a bit of grace within the movement.

Regarding the printer, I just recently purchased a refurbished hp 7960 from Amazon for about $130.00, the largest print size is legal sheet (8.5" x 14.0"). I'm interested in larger format printer but purchased this because I had a few hundred dollars worth of ink remaining from my hp 7660 which bit the dust after about eight faithful years. The 7960 takes three cartridges (black or photogray #56 or #59), and tri-photo cartridge #58, and standard print #57). What size print format were you looking for?

[Jeffbridge]

Both good ones...I like #2 though....

[Shadowman]

Both good ones...I like #2 though....

Thanks for the comments Jeff. Seems members (8) are split evenly so far on preference.