Koehler House . San Antonio,Texas

[jjbacoomba]

I converted this shot to B&W using Paint Shop Pro X2. I am new to photography and post processing. I love all the inspiration I get here in this forum.



I appreciate any and all C&C. Thanks, Joe

[Donald]

Joe

I like this. The following comments are aimed at providing you with some thoughts for future work.

There are two aspects of this I'd comment upon:
1) The composition and,
2) The conversion

In terms of the composition, the first point to consider is, I think, - What is you wanted to achieve with this; i.e. What is the 'story' you wanted to tell? If, as I am guessing, this is about showing the beautiful entrance to the house, including the garden in front of it, then I think you have got very close to a winner.

I think the idea of the composition is excellent. But for me the strength is also its weakness. I'll explain.

You have developed the idea of framing the entrance with the large shrub in the right foreground and the tree on the left. However, I think it's those lower left-hand branches of the tree cutting across the entrance that are the weakness. If they weren't there, you would have a beauty. You would've had a perfect frame.

As it is (and hence my question at the top) is I'm not sure whether the main subject is the entrance-way to the house, or the garden that is in front of the house.

What to do about it - other than covertly cutting off those two or three lower right branches?

Get lower. If you had been lower, those branches could have been framed so that the just tipped the top of the hallway into the front door. Now, of course, that would have left you to re-frame the right hand side as well. And I don't know what you've got available just out of shot on the lower right. (of course, you could take on a big cloning job on those branches and leaves). Nor do I know what lens(es) you have available to you. If you have anything that can go wider than you've used here (the image doesn't have the EXIF data embedded, so I can't see what you used), then that might have come to your aid.

It looks like one of those locations where I would have spent a long time just wandering around looking for the shot to try and get the framing right - at the same time as making anyone who was with me very angry because all the time I was 'wasting'. That's why I never go on a serious shoot with anyone else. It's very much a solo activity.

As for conversion - Well done. It's good.

I don't know PaintShop Pro X2, so don't know what tools it has. I use the GIMP and what I would have done with that was added another layer and applied Local Contrast Enhancement (LCE) to make it 'pop'. Then I would have put a black layer mask onto that layer to hide what I'd just done. And then I would have painted over that Layer Mask to reveal the LCE on selected parts of the image.

And what are the 'bits' that would have been selected?
a) All the branches and leaves of that tree on the left
b) The box hedge in front of you running alongside the edge of the path (but not the other piece of hedge on the right - don't want to draw more attention out to the side of the frame).

I hope this is helpful as some ideas to think about. Which, of course, you can reject out-of-hand if you wish. They're only my thoughts. But I felt it was worth taking a moment to comment as I feel this one is not quite a top drawer keeper, but is very, very close to it.

[jjbacoomba]

Hi Donald. Thanks for your help. You were right in your guess about showing the entrance and the beautiful garden. I agree that the lower branches of the tree on the left is the weakness. After I had posted the photo I thought how it would look without the branches obstructing the view of the left side of the door and the left window and the top of the railing. LOL! I couldnt help but think of giving that tree a nice trim the next visit. I will have to go back and try to take the shot at a lower angle.
I am very new to post processing. I have used brightness and contrast as well as saturation and hue so far.I will have a go at learning about layering and masking. I'll check and see if it has anything like LCE on it. I thank you for your help and ideas. I would never reject them at all. I have admiration and respect for you and your work. Hopefully I will someday have some "top drawer keepers.
This photo was shot with my Pentax K100D. My first DSLR. A Sigma 18 - 200mm F3.5-6.3 lens.
EXIF: Exposure: 1/10
Aperature: f/11
ISO: 200
Manual
Auto white Balance
Focal Length: 18mm
I did use some brightness and contrast in PaintShop ProX2
I also have a kits lens. A Pentax DA zoom 18-55mm, F3.5-5.6AL
Thanks, Joe