Driveway Fence

[Dzerzhinski46]

Canon A80, converted to black and white. Comments and critique welcome.

Drew

[McMadCow]

Dzerzhinski, I don't mean to start off with a criticism, but I absolutely hate the way digital looks when converted to B&W. This one is no exception. As a self-proclaimed Ilford nut, you should grab a film camera, load it up with some Delta 400 and try that one again. I bet you'll be much more pleased with the look of it.
As far as the composition goes, there's nothing in the image that really grabs my attention and draws me toward it. Perhaps if you shifted your view a little farther to the right, the background wouldn't be so distracting and we could focus on the fence.

[OldSchool]

Hey Dz,

I think this one has great potential -- great perspective, focus, and DOF. But, I find the building on the left distracting. To me, it looks better if I cover the left part of your image. Have you considered just a crop with just the fence (I think the window is Ok.)?

Tim

[drg]

Great subject, the fence; too much house, on the left; the peeling paint really works. The two types of fencing (chain and wood lattice) just sort of seem to go together in this piece.

Have you experimented with "adding" grain back in on a digital photo? There are CS, PS, PSE2&3 grain filters or the add noise filters that sometimes are just the ticket to making a b/w digital photo really work without relying on iso noise. Just a thought.

[dbutler]

It's the house that's getting me too. If you can't take it at any other angle, I'd try blurring it out either by decreasing DOF or using the blur tool in photoshop. I love the fence!!

[jar_e]

Unfortunately, it's the house that distracts me too. Great potential, just a different angle.

[thapamd]

I too must agree about the distracting house. Very good attempt, however.

[Dzerzhinski46]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

McMadCow, I know. Digital is terrible when it comes to black and white. I probably will go shoot this with some FP4 Plus I have in my real camera tommorrow. Thanks for the input.

Old School, I hadn't really thought about doing anything with this photo as yet . I will probably reshoot this. Modify the DOF.

drg, Gimp does have grain tools, but I hadn't really thought about it. This photo was something of a knock off for me. Something to post while I finish my film roll . But I like the crispness and clarity of this most. Grain is a maybe.

Thanks all for the suggestions. I will definately reshoot.

Drew

[drg]

. . . This photo was something of a knock off for me. Something to post while I finish my film roll . . . .

Yes, you don't want to waste any space on that flash card! ;)

-C