How about this one?

[Yarrow]

I got a lot of compliments on this one but Id like your thoughts.

[Chunk]

I find the subject much to centered and the brushy surroundings and fence a bit drab and uninteresting. I find a slight 'S' shaped curves adjustment helpful, boosting the contrast a bit.

Was this a conversion from color? If so, a different conversion method might give a bit more differentiation amongst all the brush and trees.

Some strong foreground object would also be good.

[Greg McCary]

I find it not centered enough. I would gotten a little lower and found some tracks with a more interesting surrounding. I also would have shot in portrait mode to eliminate more of the left and right and focus more on the tracks. Also your focus is way off.
Greg

[Tyson L. Sparks]

Sorry I am with the group, get real low and focus better. Yes the focus is way off,

[Yarrow]

Yes I did convert it to B&W.
Im glad I posted this here because if I had gone on what others have said elsewhere I would have thought this was my best peice..lol..
So I thank you all profusely.
Im very new to photoshop so I dotn know how else to fix this without fouling it up.

To be quite honest I was just walking across the tracks with my family and just shot. Another mistake I often make, I dont think the shot.

Any suggestions as to how I could fancy it up with basic photoshop techniques?

[livin4lax09]

what version of photoshop are you using, and how did you do the conversion? A simple desaturation will lead to a not very "popping" image. the trick to b&w conversion is going into the channels and deleting different channels, changing the color workspace, etc. Just google "black and white channels photoshop" on google and you should find a bunch of hits that will help you tweak your conversion to your liking. a black and white conversion and a grayscale/desaturation look MUCH different. Here is an example.

desaturation


black and white conversion, with tweaking on the channels.


besides the different conversion, no other work was done between these two photos. original version here

As far as the image goes, train tracks are a bit cliché, but if you do them correctly you can have a good image. a couple tips: avoid the 5'9" syndrome, crouch down, lay on the ground, etc. Work for your photo. and also, don't be afraid to tilt your horizons. The most intriguing traintrack photo I have seen was because it was tilted 45 degrees. Also, avoid sticking your vanishing point near the middle of the photo, it makes it much more intriguing if you position it in a corner.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, I just try and give people all the advice I wish I had gotten when I first started photoshopping/taking photos, etc. It will help you to improve much faster than everyone saying "nice photo!" But good luck with everything!

[Yarrow]

I have PS Elements 5.0..I've only been using it for a few months and dont know my way around it to well..
I did the auto conversion then tweeked it out a bit. Probably not the best way to do it but one can only learn by trial and error..
It was also foggy and grossly overcast when I took it so that didnt help me much either.

I appreciate the harshness..Like I said in a PP I posted it to another site (not a photog one but pro photogs are there) and people gushed over it..so I definalty needed some more opinions.. I didnt think it was that great.

The tracks are rigth across the street from my home so I will try out some different angles as you suggested..and see what I can come up with..

Thanks

[Greg McCary]

This one is an Infrared picture but it wll give you an idea of the angle I wrote about.

[Yarrow]

Thats a cool pic. ..

[Chunk]

Yes I did convert it to B&W.
Im glad I posted this here because if I had gone on what others have said elsewhere I would have thought this was my best peice..lol..
So I thank you all profusely.
Im very new to photoshop so I dotn know how else to fix this without fouling it up.

To be quite honest I was just walking across the tracks with my family and just shot. Another mistake I often make, I dont think the shot.

Any suggestions as to how I could fancy it up with basic photoshop techniques?

Here's an article describing the Channel Mixer method of conversion that I like to use.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu...w_better.shtml
Many other useful techniques available on that site as well...