A Young Cowboy's Toys
by bobnospum

Comment by JulietNN:
There's a snake in ma boot. 9

New Ties, Old Rails
by bobnospum

Comment by Citadel:
I'd have to say that black and white is a good choice for this subject. Desaturation worked okay here but using the channel mixer often gets far better results. (In GIMP: Filters -> Colors - Channel Mixer...)

I'd agree with colorcarnival in taking a different perspective. Maybe laying on the tracks themselves (if they aren't in use) might be an approach. Rails can convey motion and can conjure up thoughts of travel. Use the rails to take us somewhere.

You also mention you had highlights in the gravel you didn't care for. Shooting from the other side would have made the scene have easier lighting to shoot.

Hopefully these comments will help.

New Ties, Old Rails
by bobnospum

Comment by colorcarnival:
Hi Bob -

First, the railroad tracks just cut across your picture. To intrigue the viewer, maybe show the tracks leading to somewhere, maybe into the background of your picture.

Second, there's not much variation in the lighting so the whole picture looks flat. Both items compete for the viewers' attention. I like to think of it as find one focual point to grab the viewer's eye and then use other secondary items to lead the viewer around other parts of the photo.

So for this picture, maybe, try some different viewpoints and perspectives and then compare and see if anything grabs you. Hope this helps a bit.

9: Convoy
by bobnospum

Comment by bobnospum:
These are actually only 3-4 years old. They just recently came out with a new line of trucks as well, with different style cabs.

My wife is a big Pez collector and has hundreds of different ones all over our house. Towards the end of the month I'll photograph some of her more rare ones from the 60s/70s/80s, one of which is worth $250 US. I'll also see if I can get some group shots to show the breadth of the collection.

7: Bratz with Daddy's Keys - Off to the Mall!
by bobnospum

Comment by sempermarine:
Nice shot. I like the DOF. It appears your models are staring off into the distance. Maybe mouse has caught their eye.

9: Convoy
by bobnospum

Comment by sempermarine:
Now those have to some old PEZ dispensers.

7: Bratz with Daddy's Keys - Off to the Mall!
by bobnospum

Comment by dsray:
So that's where they went! No wonder I haven't been able to find them.

5: Hulk Camaflouged in a Tree
by bobnospum

Comment by colorcarnival:
I had no clue there were so many different Pez's. We just have one with a football on it lol. You should have made this one explode with anger while you were taking it lol.

Hitching a Ride on a Lobster Boat
by bobnospum

Comment by kiwiness:
Seems like I am in a critique club mood at the moment, this is already number 3 :) The crop on this image is far too tight. If you wanted to give the impression that the boat is moving then I would have left more room at the front of the boat to give a little more reality to the movement thing. It would have helped a little, but the fact there is no one in the boat at the wheel and there is no wake behind the boat kind of defeats the movement theory. At the most it could be drifting. The seagull is a good touch though. I also would have used your tele at the full 210mm to blur out the background more, bringing more attention on the boat.

4: Bumble Bee Pollinating Flowers
by bobnospum

Comment by colorcarnival:
Love it. That is one happy bee and you conveyed it quite well.