Originally posted by goatsNdonkey To go back to the overall "effect" of having this sort of flower image in black-and-white, I think the out-of-focus background is definitely of a kind that makes the image satisfying, without drawing too much attention away from the foreground flowers. Seeing the image in B&W, only, we can't know if something about the coloring of the background might have distracted, but sometimes that can happen, and converting a color scan to B&W can be a possible solution. There is also a nice range of tones, with in many places very smooth gradations between them. The whites and light grays are creamy. The dark grays are soft, but have a solidity, and range all the way to deep black. The brightest whites, for me, seem to get just bright enough, but are not piercing. This is a matter of taste, of course. I can be satisfied with just a few places with bright white, and love seeing a lot of shades of deep gray in a picture. Others may prefer paler views.
Thanks for the positive input. I prefer my whites a little softer than piercing unless against a solid black background, Then the effect can be stunning. The creaminess of the background, almost like wind blowing. and the gentle shifts in contrast is what made me keep this as a black and white. I did a few of some pansies and they look like very angry pansies in black and white.