Ebony cohort
by locutus

Comment:
I like the rotation here. It makes a more interesting shot than the other piano key entries. And the title suggest some personification, like the keys are guards standing watch.

Flowing Lines
by lentil

Comment:
Very pretty, great symmetry!

The Old "Grayscale" Mare
by Sammie

Comment:
Funny title. :)

Ordinarily, I'd suggest framing the horse's head further in. But the face is so dead square-on facing the camera that it makes a really nice stopping point as my eye sweeps up the body. And for this challenge in particular, it's great to fill nearly the entire width with B&W.

7.

Chasing The Blue
by accady

Comment:
Very clever! I like how you got the carriage pointing toward the blue. Perfectly aligns with the title.

Waiting for the Fisher King
by dahkota

Comment:
This is a great example of where the high contrast conveys feelings similar to what you put in your description. I didn't get the full detail you wrote up, but I definitely understood the idea of being alone, with no clear idea what's out there.

I wonder whether it'd convey it even more to crop it more to the left, so you see less dock and more emptiness on the left?

boat.jpg
by dahkota

Comment:
I like the shot overall. The high contrast makes the sky blend into the water, so at first glance the boats appear to be floating on air. Is that what you intended? It's an interesting effect.

My emotional reaction is to be left wanting: wanting to see more detail, wanting to see more in the picture in general. Not necessarily a bad thing - just how it affects me.

B&W High Contrast
by acrotide

Comment:
First, thanks for the terrific explanation and links to the other shots! That's a terrific tool for helping others follow along.

I think this particular photo is a great example of what the various versions do for you. Of course, you start from a nicely composed, nicely exposed, nicely focused shot. Let's not forget the fundamentals here.

Here's my reaction to each shot:

Color: an old barn, but not especially decrepit. It's a nice day, enjoying some time in the country. Emotion: calm, happiness, generally enjoying life. It might benefit from some higher contrast, but not to extremes. Details I'm drawn to: the shape of the barn against the sky, a little texture in the barn, the hay bales.

Initial B&W: kind of bland; while in the color version the sky contrasted with the barn and the ground, here they all kind of blend together. Emotions: tired, end of day, ready to go home. I notice the sky darkening in a way I didn't in the original, which suggests the end of the day to me. I realize intellectually that it's just the usual sky lightening near the horizon, but emotionally, that's the effect. Details I'm drawn to: not much, actually. Mostly the shadow line under the roof.

High contrast B&W: ZAP! I immediately zoom in on the textures in the wood, the way the loft door stands out against the grain, and how the main door is falling off its hinges. The sky seems ominous now. The hay bales fade out of view. The barn's upper wood stands out against the lower stones. I wonder what's hidden in that shadow on the left and over in the very dark woods. Emotions: a little afraid, like the barn's probably haunted. And the sky makes me worry a storm's coming. Finally I feel a little sad for this barn that's falling apart.

I'm not saying the high contrast version is better than the color version, necessarily. It just conveys different things, and the high contrast version affects me more strongly. The initial B&W is definitely the "tamest" of the three, and wouldn't hold my interest for very long.

by moniepenny

Comment:
I agree with dahkota. Now the the empasis is on shapes and textures.

I wonder what it'd look like pushed even further? I'm not saying it'd be better, just curious.

IMG_9138-desolate-highcontr.jpg
by Jaded_Housewife

Comment:
I think this higher-contrast version conveys "desolation" better.

I'm starting to get an idea of what high contrast does: it takes whatever message or emotion you're trying to convey and makes it starker.

In this case, where the message was abandonment, I think the high contrast version is more powerful. The brighter sky is even more different from the building and the shadows virtually scream "hidden secrets from long ago."

Message edited by author 2006-07-29 10:33:49.

Ringing The Changes
by Gordon

Comment:
This is just spectacular. The B&W feel (duotone or no) is perfect, the composition and angle of the invitation across the shot are perfect, and the DOF is perfect. And the DOF is appropriate. So many people use narrow DOF "just because" without it really making the eye go somewhere specific.

And all of the things everyone said earlier are true, although I don't know why anonymity was so crucial.

Thanks for providing a great example to try to follow.