Old car

[GB1]

Taken at a desert park in Mexico. (Also have a horizontal shot of this car which shows more stuff, but still feel this one's superior. Maybe I'll post the other later.)

G

[Utkarsh]

hey its a good shot...I would have blown out the stuff out of the window even more...and would have made the colors more contrasty and vibrant inside with a lil sense of directional light from outside the window...

[Utkarsh]

And this could look so much cooler in black and white !

[armando_m]

Great DOF ! good candidate for HDR ?
I'll like a more grungy look , maybe b&w , but definitively with more contrast on the details

[arne saknussen]

I do like this shot, its very intriguing. Def on the contrast. I am wondering if this is the best angle, it seems like there a lot vying for my attention, without a clear focal point.

[merlot105]

Agree with the post that says this would be so much cooler in B&W. This type of photo/subject lends itself to black and white!

[draymorton]

I hate to resort to the lazy cliche "try it in black and white," but in this case, I would. I think it would work better converted mainly due to the ultra-hot exterior (particularly to the right). Very interesting stuff going on inside though.

[Greg McCary]

I think you could crop it just above the steering wheel the blown out windows really don't help anything. I also like it in color. The color of the rust and detail inside the cab is very nice.

[GB1]

Thanks fellows. I personally don't think this one totally makes the grade, for there's not a strong enough subject. The steering wheel almost acts as one, almost... but I think it's a little too far to the right.

Utkarsh, Hmm.. maybe I can fake some sunbeams coming in. Someone put a tutorial on how to do that in the PP forum once. I need to look it up.

Armando, you're so right on the HDR. But no tripod & no time to do one. I agree it's a little flat and could use something. Not sure what.

Arne, agree on all counts. Here's another version in landscape format. I also processed it as Armando suggested.

Merlot and Dray - here's the black and white. Not sure if the lack of clear cut subject is made even worse now?

Greg, the composition didn't look right to me when I tried that crop. Argg. What do you think of the edits?

G

[Frog]

I wasn't sure when others suggested b/w but I do like the first b/w best.

[hminx]

I like the way the filter and rag add a splash of colour in last image

[Greg McCary]

GB if you shot these in RAW and are using Lightroom you might try the exposure brush on the windows on the original. But of these I like the last one. you do seem to have some detail outside the windows to work with. Maybe even combine to different images, layer one over the other and use the eraser tool. One exposed for the windows and one for the cab. You do have something really nice and wirth the effort.

[GB1]

Thanks for the late comments fellows. This is one of those interesting objects you find in the deserts here (but I guess you can find them anywhere, even the inner city). I'm doing another 1-week desert exploration in mid April so will be on the lookout for more such, ehh, treasures.

Frog, this truck looks like something you would find in Washington state, so go get em man!

Pete, yes I agree! instead of distracting, those colors spice it up. I wish they were somehow in a slightly different part of the image (but not sure where).

Greg, Great idea. I don't use Lightroom (yet), but I think the same technique may be possible with PS CS5 (?), at least via slightly more manual steps. I did shoot it both RAW and JPG (there's a setting for that on the D700, though it takes more memory) so I can do a lot here. I wish I had more time to dedicate to my 'almost-there' images.