Folded Hands (monochrome)

[Mike Buckley]

A candid photo of a rather old female potter from Kenya

EDIT #1: Revised version displayed in a later post, thanks to Greg's suggestion.

EDIT #2: Two crops have been added to a later post, thanks to many suggestions.

[chauncey]

Mike, you do more conversions than do I...are your blacks a little blocked?
You gotta be the first that ever photographed her hands.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, great composition.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, guys!

are your blacks a little blocked?

Not according to the histogram. I tried lightening the darkest areas of her fingers to see if more detail would be revealed but there is no more detail to be revealed there; brightening those areas only makes them brighter. After seeing your post, I opened the image in SilverEfex Pro (I didn't use that program to post-process it) and displayed the 11 zones. The tones in Zone 0 are a very, very small part of the darkest areas of her fingers and the tones in Zone 1 are the larger part, confirming that the black tones are as I see them and want them.

[aslsw]

I love black and white photos. When adjusting mine, I tend to go slightly darker - I like the way that your eyes are forced to explore the photo a little bit more.

Great photo!

[chauncey]

I can't argue with that but...I've noticed when I "save for web">upload to photobucket>insert onto
web page, it's akin to playing the telephone message game in grade school...what goes in is not the
same as what comes out.
Does it look good to you?

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you, Anura!

when I "save for web">upload to photobucket>insert onto
web page, ...what goes in is not the same as what comes out. Does it look good to you?

Yes, it looks good to me on my profiled and calibrated monitor. I don't use "save for web" and I only upload to TinyPic. I post-process in sRGB, so that would also explain why there is no change when creating a version for the web. I use my own custom preset for producing a size intended for the web. Every once in awhile that preset has a little too much sharpening but other than that it works fine. I always upload a size that matches the native resolution of my monitor and I always view at that size here at CiC. Viewing it at a smaller size here may not degrade the image quality but it sure won't improve it.

[FootLoose]

Interesting framing, Mike. Whites in the lower left, greys in the upper right, divided by blacks on the diagonal. The blacks look ok on my display, although I find the white area pulling strongly on my attention.

[Mike Buckley]

I find the white area pulling strongly on my attention.

Thanks for mentioning that, Greg. I already toned them down but I'll try toning them down some more. As you know, whites make blacks look richer and vice versa, but there may still be some room for reducing the whites while maintaining the richness of the blacks.

[Mike Buckley]

I like your idea, Greg, or at least what I think you suggested. The revised version is shown below.

[Manfred M]

Nice shot Mike, and nicely processed too

Might I suggest a slightly different crop? I find that there is a bit too much background in the image. If you crop off a bit of the top (say roughly 1/2 way down the upper arm, you eliminate a bit of arm, but a lot more background and you may find that the image is a bit more compelliing.

[FootLoose]

It is a subtle change, Mike, but it makes a big difference. I like Manfred's suggestion for a crop, too. I moved the image around in lytebox, and that crop centres the reader's attention right on the hands.

[John 2]

I'm with Greg and Manfred on this Mike. It's a very nice image and well conceived. The blacks are fine on my monitor and all the detail is there except perhaps in the crook of the fingers but that is to be expected. Quality work.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Mike I saw your image when you posted it and I said to myself ' this is a nice image but I think there is something missing and I can't figure out what it is, so let's wait and see' . Now,after seeing the comments, I realize that I wasn't comfortable with bright white cloth and the composition. So, you have already toned down the whites. I like Manfred's idea about the crop. In addition to Manfred's crop I would also crop just a little bit from the right side .If you would like to give it a try , IMO it might improve the image.

[dabhand]

Mike,

Interesting image - unlike the other guys, FWIW I'd like to suggest keeping the square crop but reduce it by about an inch of the bottom and LHS - I think that has the double benefit of reducing the amount of cloth and ensuring the focus remains on the interlocking fingers which I feel are the strength of the iamge.

steve

[Mike Buckley]

Ha! And I thought I like tight crops! The first version shown below is a hybrid resulting from suggestions by several people. The second version is closer to what Steve suggested.

Your thoughts?

[bnnrcn]

Certainly edit #1 for me, because I can guess that hands are standing on someone's knees and it is an understandable composition. I don't have the same feeling in edit #2 and the composition seems squeezed to me.

[Manfred M]

I prefer #1; your crop is basically what I had in mind.

[NorthernFocus]

Cool shot, Mike. Great eye recognizing the opportunity at that moment in time. I'll leave the technical discussion to the B/W gurus...

[Daisy Mae]

Great shot Mike....crop #1 for me too.