man playing a music instrument, BW

[Marija]

Camera: Olympus E-520
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

I took the photo in July 2009 at a festivity when I didn't think about photography as art, I just wanted to capture this interesting man playing an old Serbian music instrument. The result was: a photo with a part of a tent, a table, a chair, a bar, and as addition, the lower half of the photo was entirely in shadow, grass behind him wasn't thick and its color was half green half yellow. Recently I was going trough my photos and decided to try saving the photo because I really like the old man.
I converted to bw, cropped, cloned out things I've mentioned, applied some filters...Because I spent some time doing PP in GIMP, I'm not as objective as I want to be.
My questions: Can you tell, without my introduction, it was post processed ( Off course you can but I mean is it too much)? Would you try different cropping? Do you like it (not technically, just feeling)? And tell me everything else you think.

Thank you!

[Andrea KP]

I love the image of this old man, but I'm a bit unsure of the background. He doesn't seem to fit organically onto it (maybe a bit too much Photoshop processing?). The headstock of his instrument is getting lost in the starkness of the grass behind him. I'm not sure exactly what to suggest but some modifications to the background (darkening perhaps) might make the subject pop more.

[dishingthedivine]

Is he supposed to be sitting on a chair? Currently it looks like he's floating in a grassy field.

[Sterling]

Yes, it looks like you may have cloned out any sign of his own chair so his pose looks kind of unnatural now. If you move back from your monitor a little, the clone stamps in the grass become pretty obvious. Overall, yes to the man. No to the background.

[amymnc]

Agree with the others. You can easily see a white outline on the man. For me the background is too contrasty and confuses my eyes. Perhaps something solid so you can focus your eyes on the subject? I'd go back to the original and edit if you can, might be easier to start from scratch.

[Marija]

Thank you all for answering! You confirmed my worries abut background.

Originally Posted by Andrea KP

I love the image of this old man, but I'm a bit unsure of the background. He doesn't seem to fit organically onto it (maybe a bit too much Photoshop processing?). The headstock of his instrument is getting lost in the starkness of the grass behind him. I'm not sure exactly what to suggest but some modifications to the background (darkening perhaps) might make the subject pop more.

I tried darkening the background but it doesn't help much. The main problem I think is that the grass isn't thick enough to make a good background...

Originally Posted by dishingthedivine

Is he supposed to be sitting on a chair? Currently it looks like he's floating in a grassy field.

Originally Posted by Sterling

Yes, it looks like you may have cloned out any sign of his own chair so his pose looks kind of unnatural now. If you move back from your monitor a little, the clone stamps in the grass become pretty obvious. Overall, yes to the man. No to the background.

I noticed that when I was done with editing. I returned to the original to see where is that chair, to fix what I obviously cloned out, but, surprisingly there was no sign of a chair even on the original! That's why I asked about different cropping maybe, but then if I do different cropping, the bow will be lost...
I moved back from the monitor and saw the clone stamps

Originally Posted by amymnc

Agree with the others. You can easily see a white outline on the man. For me the background is too contrasty and confuses my eyes. Perhaps something solid so you can focus your eyes on the subject? I'd go back to the original and edit if you can, might be easier to start from scratch.

Oh, yes, back to the original! Can you guys help me with a suggestions how to improve my background!? It seems to me that if I do a solid background his "floating" will be more obvious.

Thank you again!

[amhuirnin]

what if you try to soften the edges or do a sort of focal bnw? just a thought >.<

[Marija]

amhuirnin, those are good suggestions. Thank you! I'll try to see if that will save this photo.
It seems to me that I have a lot of work ahead of me