Nicely captured and processed.
Think it'd a bit harsh, possibly like the odour
I'm holding my nose.
I like the composition in and of itself except that when it comes to the story-telling, I have to wonder why the two sneakers would be on what appears to be a public sidewalk.
I also like the post-processing except that at least the small file displayed here looks significantly overly sharpened. Perhaps the original full-size file doesn't have that characteristic. When you use relatively extreme contrast, very often less sharpening is needed.
I would try a sepia tone, but that reflects my penchant for its warmth.
I really like the sepia version, but as I mentioned, I often do. In this case, I like that it shows the dirt as dirt to me, perhaps because dirt tends to be brown.
Now that you've explained that it's your front door, I see that the scene includes a mat and probably the step up to your door. I'm sure everyone in your family is happy that you left your shoes outside rather than walk inside with them.
I like what would normally be over-sharpening in this instance. Think it suits the trainers Dave, however, I would not have sharpened the background in the same way. In a book that I have, Scott Kelby tutors in what he calls "extraordinary sharpening". It is done selectively.
I like Jim's comments too. +1 to him. I prefer the B/W one...plus Jim's advice to tone down the background.
Hi Dave
+1 to Jim and I prefer the B&W image (or a lighter sepia tone as the current one looks a bit too brownish).