Old Barn

I would be hard pressed to discard the lovely light and interplay of colours on the trees, grass and barn. I respect your choice however.

You're welcome Ken! I enjoyed doing them.

Funny, after reading your post I suddenly realized I like photos artsied up and paintings that are more photorealistic!

Textures are a great way to add life to most images, yes. Awhile back I created a tutorial for using them.

Ken, I opened up the B&W and color in lightbox and switched back and forth a number of times. While I'm a huge B&W proponent, there is just something about the color version I most prefer. Maybe there's not enough *structure* for me for it to be B&W but, the color version just sings summer, field, abandoned barn. I can hear the cicadas buzzing, blue birds calling and I can feel the summer sun in the color version. This is an image that, had I taken it, I would be staring at throughout the winter, remembering the sounds, smells and feel of the summer to come. For me, your color version is the stronger one.

Oh yeah, and the name of this forum includes "in COLOUR" so your photos must meet the requirements! ;-)

Thanks for the additional feedback Trevor, Mike and Jack. One of my most difficult problems is deciding how far to go with color adjustments. The photo was shot in the middle of the day, so the lighting on the grass was harsh. As I said in my first response, it is hard to be objective about my own work.

Oh, and Mike, better hope that Donald doesn't read your comment about "COLOUR". He might just cut off your membership in the forum, or change all your images to shades of gray! :)

Ah, so COLOUR is a state of mind!