black and white: then to now Strawberry Fields Forever IV (B & W ed.) 'The Ace of Spades'

This is a grayscale (desaturated) version of a previous post of the same

name found in my single photo, color folder. Your ratings and critiques

of this photo as a Black and White submission are invited and most

welcome. If you rate harshly or very critically, please submit a helpful

and constructive comment; please share your superior photographic

knowledge to help improve my photography. Thanks! Enjoy! John

I am particularly engaged by the movement generated by the lines of the cultivation. I really love the composition and the appropriate use of depth of field (if you'll excuse the pun). Well done. Tony

This was both an exercise in composition, for the lines, and an exercise in capturing the moment, for the turning of the spade and the placement of the worker, which took a very long time, as he worked his way down the row very, very slowly until he was in this precise position.

 

Although it has been a while, I recall painstakingly 'staking him out' from a distance with my mammoth 200~400 mm f 4 Nikkor, and framing it so the mound of earth with furrows on it for planting strawberries would look more like a large hill and then making divisions of the field so that there would be 'geometry' to the scene.

 

Then not only waiting for him to enter the scene, but also waiting for the precise moment when he'd do something interesting worthy of taking the photograph that would justify all that wait.

 

He finally did.

 

This also is posted in color if you wish to compare (his hat is red, and the earth is brown, but I always wanted to desaturate and finally got the bug last night, but was underwhelmed by raters and critiques.

 

I think your points are 'right on', but somehow this does not seem to be a particular appealing photo -- maybe because it's so abstract and so 'distant'. Maybe if it were blown up in a gallery VERY LARGE LIKE SO . . . . .

 

Thanks for taking the time to analyze so carefully and to share that with me (and other readers)

 

John (Crosley)

to compose this interesting shot is undoubtely very good. Use of dof is very good too, the only doubt - imho - is about the contrast. Thank you, Giuseppe

This version is not taken from the original, but from a color PN thumbnail,so it is not of the very best quality for contrast.

 

I seem to be having a bit of a problem with B&W contrast, due I think to my laptop screen or my color management (grayscale is a 'color'). I get them looking 'right' in Photoshop CS3 then post them and they look far more 'contrasty'.

 

I'll be working on that.

 

Thank you for the positive as well as the warning comment -- I appreciate both -- particularly the warning comment. (I did get your e-mail and have not overlooked a comprehensive reply).

 

John (Crosley)

Great frame angle..b &w is also good choice

Thanks for the compliment.

 

Feel free to stop by and browse any time.

 

John (Crosley)

... makes this a very interesting shot. I don't think the BW is too contrasty at all, John, in fact I like it as it is.

Did you see the color shot, lingering in another portfolio somewhere (single photo, color), all full of browns?

 

You might want to see it to compare.

 

Thanks for the critique/comment and compliment.

 

John (Crosley)