[dclauria]

Hi - I'm a occasional photographer with a new K-7. I've used an Olympus C8080 and a Sony P&S up to this point, and would like to expand my photography skills with my new camera.

I was wondering where is the best place on this forum to post some pictures for constructive criticism? Also, if you have any suggestions on some basic improvements in Photoshop Elements. In both of the pictures I've attached below, I used 'multiply' to enhance the contrast, but that's about all I know how to do.

Also, what's the best or simplest way to get rid of the drainage pipe in the upper right corner of the 2nd photo?

Thank you for your help.

Attached Images

   

[Marc Sabatella]

Best place is the Photo Critique section of the Post Your Photos forum but do look over it first to get a sense of the "rules".

[Ash]

Well I'll comment to say both are good B&W conversions - they have a lot of 'life' portrayed in them.
#1 is a decent composition only affected somewhat by the distracting shadows casted over the subject.
#2 is well rendered with a good perspective. Cloning would be my method of choice to remove the pipe, sampling neighbouring grass area and with a small feathered brush go over the area of interest.

[dclauria]

Thank you for your observations and help

DISTINCTIONAL NOTE: In the critique section you will get critique on all aspects of the image.
If you just want feedback on PP, the PP section will be the best place.

[dclauria]

Thanks for the suggestions. Cloning didn't seem to cover up the black pipe completely.
I used the selection tool, then the eraser tool to get rid of the drain pipe. I think it turned out all right for my first try.

It started out much sharper before I had to resize it for this forum.

[mysticcowboy]

Your photos look good. What you do depends on what you want. Do try the Adjustment layer for converting to Black and White. By adjusting the various colors you can bring out specific areas and make the lighter or darker according to color.

Another suggestion if you want to have higher contrast is first open your photos in Adobe Camera Raw, which comes with all forms of Photoshop, including PSE. Working with the Clarity and Blacks sliders can give you more control before B&W conversion. You can actually convert to B&W in ACR with a lot of control.

michael mckee
My Port Townsend – A City in Photographs – 365

[dclauria]

This photo was actually taken directly in B&W on an Olympus C8080 camera last spring on my son's field trip.

I promise to spend some time learning how to convert RAW images from my new K-7, as I'm sure I'll get better results.

Thanks for the pointers.

[Mike Cash]

Thanks for the suggestions. Cloning didn't seem to cover up the black pipe completely.
I used the selection tool, then the eraser tool to get rid of the drain pipe. I think it turned out all right for my first try.

I think so, too. But this is a good place to point out the importance of noticing things you're not taking a picture of. When we take photos we quite naturally have all our attention on our subject. Learning to pay close attention to all the things in the viewfinder we're not photographing is an essential skill. Not to mention it cuts way down on the time, effort, and aggravation associated with post-processing later on.

[atupdate]

This tutorial provides a couple of B&W conversion options.

Methods of Black and White Conversion - Tutorials

Tim

[dclauria]

Wow! What a great website - I can't wait to dig into those tutorials.

Thanks!