Brothers

[Surprised]

Hello from a very occasional poster (but a more frequent lurker; I lurk to learn...)

Our two boys (now aged just 5 and almost 7) went cycling this afternoon and enjoyed cycling up and down a hill. I managed to get this picture as they were chatting at the top before racing down. Two questions:
(a) Is the crop about right? It's a much bigger photo (even though my year-old Lumix FZ28 was on full 18x zoom -- they were some way away!) and I've cut it down to try and get the space in between their faces at a third/third intersection point; and
(b) I don't often play with black and white (in fact I've only ever done it once) but would this picture benefit from such treatment? -- or does the hint of colour in the sky add something?

Data...
Taken today, 20th February 2010, in the UK around 4:30pm
Shutter speed: 1/500th
Aperture: f/8.0
ISO: 160
No flash (disabled to enable burst shooting)
No post-production at all (I only use iPhoto '08) -- apart from the crop, that is
(I think that's everything but please forgive me if I've forgotten anything)

[karen_s]

Really nice shot. The silhouettes have context and interaction and that is sometimes tricky to catch on the sensor.

As for critique, this is one of those images that you could do just about anything with. You could crop it several different ways, even horizontal and I think it would still work because of the strength of the subject. I might try to cut a bit more off the right as that side seems a bit heavy but it's not a deal breaker.

I think it would work very well in black and white too. It would most likely be a simple conversion as it is just about black and white already. I would think iPhoto would be able to handle it quite nicely.

[LeeR]

This is a wonderful shot; one that I would love to have in my portfolio. I like the hint of color and would even bump it up a bit. Also, I would make your clouds whiter. There is currently no pure white in your image, which is usually a mistake.
Please forgive me for taking the liberty, but I have run your image through Ps and this is what I came up with:

[scootermcq]

I love this image... It really speaks to me and makes me think. At the end of the day, is that not what this is about?

[Surprised]

Thank you for your comments!

karen_s: thank you for your encouragement to 'play around' with this; looking at the picture afresh I can see what you mean about it being a bit heavy on the right. I'll see where it goes!

LeeR: I've had a look at your portfolio on flickr and there are some amazing pictures there, so your first sentence was really encouraging -- thank you! Deep thanks too for taking the time and trouble to adjust it a bit; I like the changes you've made. It's interesting that eliminating the colour completely and bumping it up as you have are both good ways to go with this one.
I love the Ansel Adams quote at the bottom of your post -- seeing some members' images round here I might add "God helps those who help themselves" too!

Thanks again...

Surprised.

[Surprised]

Thanks, scootermcq, for your positive feedback! Encouraging people to think is kinda what I do for a living (I'm a teacher)...

Surprised.

[karen_s]

Glad you found the critiques helpful!

Cheers.

[Alefeb07]

Wow I really like this shot, you did a great job. The only thing I personally would change would be the crop. I happen to like a lower wide crop on it. The top branches to me are very cluttering and distract me from the image. Just my opinion, Great job though!

[Surprised]

Thanks for taking the trouble to comment, alefeb07. I was drawn to the way the branches loop over and provide a sort of arch to frame the boys -- would you get rid of that as well? -- or were you just referring to the long branch very near the top? I will go away and play with the crop though!

Thanks again.