Wild Mustang, Wyoming: Critique requested please

[terrib]

This shot was taken at the McCollough Peaks Wild Horse Herd Management Area near Cody, Wyoming. I spent a wonderful afternoon all alone with several different groups of Mustangs. However, shooting conditions were difficult. It was cold and very windy. It was snowing off and on and the horses ranged in color from black to white to mixed and everything between. I was shooting from my car to lessen the chances of spooking them. Most of my shots came out somewhat soft, either from high ISO or, I believe, from the wind.

This was one of the better shots at 1/800, f6.3, ISO 800, 600mm. But I still used the "camera shake" sharpening in Photoshop (a new discovery for me) and then took it into Silver Efex for B&W processing. I've included the color version for reference, but I really like the B&W for this one.

I'd appreciate general C&C but also comments on the B&W processing as I've not done a lot of that.

[madcrow]

Great image. The way you have him standing out from the background fantastic.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[mugge]

I like it. The B&W version for me. Maybe even get rid of the foreground also. Maybe.
Cheers Ole

[Mike Buckley]

Your monochrome conversion is fine by any standard and especially so considering that you haven't made many conversions.

I wouldn't change a thing about the photo. You'll probably get some complaints about the foreground material but it works well for me, partly because it makes for a refreshing composition. You might also get some complaints about the very plain sky, but that also works really well for me.

For the record, my wife raved about your photo.

[JemC]

very well done,
B+W one to me is stunning,

Regards

[Craigie]

Nice shots, prefer the B&W.

[bje07]

Nice picture, nice treatment, I like the B&W version

[terrib]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

...
I wouldn't change a thing about the photo. You'll probably get some complaints about the foreground material but it works well for me, partly because it makes for a refreshing composition. You might also get some complaints about the very plain sky, but that also works really well for me.

Mike, thanks as well and tell your wife I'm glad she liked it! I agree with your comments. The OOF foreground is one of the reasons I wanted to try B&W. I think in B&W, it and the blank sky kind of creates a cloud around the horse and really sets him off. I actually accentuated that effect a bit by adding a little negative vignette. Thanks.

[ScoutR]

Exceptional. I just love this shot and I'd be framing it and hanging it in a heartbeat

They are both great, but there is something about the B&W that makes it a real standout.

If you have more, I'd love to see them.

[NorthernFocus]

Excellent shot, Terri. Nice job leaving room for the feet which is easy to overlook when they aren't visible. I also like the new version. My only suggestion would be to crop so the horse is just a noodge more to left in the frame but not enough to center the head. Well done.

And yes at 600mm wind was likely the culprit on the shakes.

[John 2]

Two good images but I love the mono version the most. It's a classic high key shot and it's a cracker. You don't have to change a thing for me for that to be true. The grasses add a bit of weight to the base of the comp. and the true black of the horse jumps out. The only tweak I might come up with is to soften the line of the horizon even more. Only because it cuts through the horses head but that would be really fine tuning. Nice work.

[IzzieK]

The mono version for me too...for all the righr reasons already stated.

[Donald]

I like it very much indeed and, like others, I think you've done a very good job on the B&W conversion.

I don't know what you did in Silver Efex Pro, but the feel I get, as one who uses the same tool, is that you've applied 'Soft Contrast'. That is a slider I use a lot.

I think the tones in the image are excellent. The horse is shown is a good strong dark tone and everything else is muted and subtle. The composition is, in my opinion, well-balanced; i.e. There is nothing jarring. There is a feeling of quietness, which is good.

I think all detail from the sky has gone; i.e. it's at pure white ... or most of it is. That may have been an artistic decision and it's a perfectly legitimate one to make. But I wonder if just a hint of detail in the sky would have strengthened the image even more?

But, a very, very fine image.

[terrib]

Thanks to the rest of you for your comments and suggestions. I will give them a try.

Donald, I appreciate your detailed comments. As I've not used Silver Efex a great deal, I tend to try the presets to find one close and then tweak from there. On this one, I started with the "Full Dynamic - smooth" which does increase the 'soft contrast' slider as well as the 'amplify blacks' and 'amplify whites'. I think you could be right on the sky detail as well, but I really don't think there was any. The unprocessed shot was underexposed about 1/2 stop and there was no detail and looking at the other shots taken in the area, it was a thick overcast sky.

[Donald]

I tend to try the presets to find one close and then tweak from there.

So do I for a lot of my images. I have a list of favourites.

[ccphoto]

Gee, I was going to say I didn't like it, but I'd get stoned..and it would be a lie...kind of a nice, Hi-Key lighting effect. Bravo.

[Mike Buckley]

I think you could be right on the sky detail as well, but I really don't think there was any.

I'm not advocating that there is a need to bring out more detail. However, if you want to bring out detail in a sky that is captured as overcast and plain, you might want to revisit this thread for an explanation of one way to make that happen.

[purplehaze]

Gorgeous, Terri. It's the mono for me.