The old bridge

[mattb]

They ripped out the railroad tracks here in the 1950s which I think is a shame. Train service would be nice. You can still find remnants all over of what used to be a very busy spur of the Denver & Rio Grande railway that carried people and ore in and out of this valley during the boom days.
This is one of the old bridges over Tomichi Creek, now part of an old ranch that has become an open space park.
I played with stopping down to achieve various shutter speeds, trying the find one that really showcased the surface of the water and came up with this. I went with mono because the color in the shot wasn't particularly interesting and mono really seemed to bring out the surface of the water.

Pentax K-5 & DA 18-135

IMGP1563-Edit by MattB.net, on Flickr

[llewpics]

Matt,

This is a great BW conversion overall. The water and the bridge go well together as a subject. There are burned highlights and there is excellent tonal range throughout. The selected exposure is spot on (in my opinion) giving just enough movement.

Some thoughts for further improvement: The bottom 1/6th of the image is really not needed. The texture and look there is different than the water above it and a bit distracting. I would consider putting just a little bit more graduation on the sky (darker) and there are a few spots and "scratches" in the water I would look to clone out.

Very nicely done.

[mattb]

Thanks! You mentioned the things I saw too, but haven't had a chance to address yet.

[mattb]

Here's the modified version. I left enough of the bottom on to use that nice leading line in the lower right which still leaves some of the texture, but I think it may be worth it.

[hminx]

Love the edit ( originals not to bad either ) I this were mine I'd clone that little bit of tree top that sticks up at the right hand end of the bridge. Cropping that bit off the bottom improves the composition quite a bit Matt . Now all you have to do is get it to the framing guy.

[armando_m]

I love this photo

but because off the texture and reflections the water, for me the bridge is just a reference to the horizon, but in comparison to the moving water it is overpowered

[mattb]

Thanks Armando. You are right the water really is the subject and the bridge just happened to be there. Probably not the most appropriate title.

[LDiScipio]

Absolutely beautiful!

[GB1]

Matt - This is an unusual photograph. I think the conversion to B&W was an OK decision, but somehow it seems very processed? The sky and mountains in the background look unusual, almost like a painted backdrop. Hmm. The water churn is certainly unusual, reminds me of something that I can't quite pin down ... 70s tie dye, black light poster, ?

GB

[llewpics]

I don't see it ...