Black and White Conversion

[jgbkab]

Camera Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Exposure 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture f/16.0
Focal Length 91 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

I've tried this once again and I payed close attention to the blue hue. Does the b&w conversion look okay? Is there anything that I should change? TIA.

[MrJones]

I like the mood in the picture and overall you did good, including the B&W conversion.
the only thing that bothers me is the composition. you placed him right in the center giving us half wall, half black picture. it just doesn't feel well in my eyes.
I think it would have been better if he was placed in the right third of the photo, showing less of the brick wall.

[DanielLane]

I agree with the positioning. Though I think putting him farther to the left showing more wall would add to the drama of being up against it. you could always fade down the lighting on the wall to the far right in that case so it wouldn't be obtrusive.

[Ladyblackswan]

I guess for me it would depend on what you are trying to say with this.....I think if he was further right, with more black space and less wall, it would give a sense of almost forlornness. It makes me think of someone grieving. With more wall, it would feel a lot more intense, with a lot of pressure. I like the over all conversion Please keep in mind though that I am a very untrained person.....but I look at a lot of art and in a painting, that's what I would be looking for/aiming at.

[jgbkab]

I think that I'm going to try all of your suggestions and see how they look to me. LBS, I think that you make great point about including and excluding the wall. I'm gonna try both.

[timiroberts]

I personally kind of like it the way it is. I think that it's just slightly off to the left of center and prefer the brick taking up the majority of the frame as opposed to just dead black space...I think it gives the photo more texture and depth. Good work on the conversion too!

[Niresangwa]

I think your composition is bang on. The truth is, people viewing it are feeling discomfort looking at it, which is something you don't want to lose. You managed to stimulate an emotion or feeling in the viewer with your composition, which is tough to do.

I'm a huge proponent of negative space, and use it liberally, but if you apply it here, and remove the far right third, you're going to down-play the impact of the image.

The conversion is a little contrasty for me, but I think it falls into the same category as the composition - if you toned down the hard contrast, you'd remove an element that makes the shot what it is.

Just because you cause a viewer discomfort, doesn't mean thats a bad thing - it's just as effective as making them feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but much harder to do. Anything that invokes an opinion, especially a strong one is a good thing.

[Ambrosia76]

I like it, and I like the wall it leads my eye towards him and doesn't really feel like he is centered at all. Of course they always fussing at me cause my pics are so centered so you might not want to listen to me.