Cowboy BW conversion and crop

[AlphaBjerke]

I am in a slump when it comes to finding new subjects to take pictures of so I went back through some previous shots that I hadn't worked with at all yet.

My question and what I would like to be critiqued on is twofold : Did I pick the right crop, and did I do a good BW conversion?

I chose the crop thusly (LOL, "thusly"): I asked myself what the subject was and what I wanted it to say. I liked the whole picture before the crop, but I thought the main feature was the belt buckle and the hands in the pocket. Sometimes I think it is that and the textured jeans and shirt. I opted to do the major crop and focus on the hands and buckle which still showed parts of the rest.

On the BW, I think you may think it is too flat on the shirt. I actually did a separate layer and worked with this and probably will have another go at it. I had what I thought was good, but I was worried that a couple of folds of the shirt would be criticized as "blown out."

Anyway, here we are with the final product with the starting shot below that (Oh, would you have left it in color?)



And the original:


Camera: Sony DSLR-A200
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off

[lputman]

In comaprison to your original, I really like the crop you did and the conversion.

[windrider86]

I actually like the original better. Or rather, a combination of the two. A slightly larger crop and maybe some subdued colors. The cropped version and where the index finger is seemingly pointing at places the focus not on the fingers or the belt buckle but somewhere else. Could just be me......................

[AlphaBjerke]

LOL, I guess I am the only person in the whole world that is not looking where the finger is pointing! Well, I have put this up for my flickr buddies in a thread, my Dyxum forum and here...An incredible number of people have mentioned "Brokeback Mountain," wondered about his finger, said they don't like to look at another man's crotch... It goes on and on. Looks like I am out of touch I liked the texture of the jeans, the cowboy stance and the huge buckle. I will just let this one die.

Thanks for your critiques! As you see, a surprisingly few people dared to say anything.

[Dianna M]

I like the cropped version and you did a good job with the conversion and I see what you were trying to accomplish. The finger is a bust though. It's like your making a suggestion.