Thanks for the critique.
Some people prefer the texture some don't.
I will post another version without the noise for your viewing pleasure.

I looked at both the B&W and the color image. In both there is too much clutter in the forground. In my humble opinion croping the image to just the back wall and adding the noise( this use to be called grain) would add a greater effect to the image.

chefron,

Thanks for the suggestion.
I will do another crop and post it again probably Monday!

i'm not sure how much nostagic feel the added noise give it makes it look like scanned newsprint, surely the building in itelf has nostalgia oozing out of it. I understand your difficulties in the horizontal line and setting up the photograph they are difficult because of all the horizontals and verticals, where is the building by the way?

alek,

the building is located at the Old Idaho State Pen in Boise ID.
A self guided tour is $5.
There are many other great photos to be had from this historic site.

For me it's just: boring. There's no excitement, nothing special, just two roses. Sorry...

veronicalynne,

thanks for the comment!
Glad that you liked it.

JENRIKS,
No worries.
To each his own opinion.
I like the shot you don't no biggie!
That's why i post them here to see why its not that exciting to others!

Well done Mike. It doesn't excite me because DOF or because DUO. What excites me so much it's that piece of building in the background. No matter what it is. It gives third dimension to the photo: Flowers, Building, Sky. That the reason I love it

I agree with Jenriks. I looked at your other images and feel you are a better shooter then this image.

chefron,
I can understand where you are coming from!

ikol22,
Different from your typical flower shot, thus the reason for posting!

Thanks for the critiques.

This is the same shot.
No B&W and no noise.
I think B&W makes a better pic in this instance due to the distracting elements that are seen in color.
Look at the back of the pic and you can see a power box. In the B&W version it is not noticeable!

i would agree that B&W suits this particular structure i'm not sure that the noise is necessary though, and the cropping sugestion you had on your B&W image was not a bad one

This is found on the old state pen property.
The ghostly apparition in the door is a reflection of my wife.

yes, this one look much better.
it's more balanced now.

VernonTrent,

Thanks for the comment.
Great to hear that I am learning this post processing adventure.

well, the adventure could be a little dangerous if you pay attention to "rules" when you compose and take the shot. it needs some time, but it saves a lot of time when you post process the image.
as long it's not a squirrel running away from you (like this shot above) take the time for shooting :)
make 2 or 3 light meassurements and choose the best.
make some notes, just to see what you did when the image turned into a good one. with the time you learn these "how's" and everything turn into fun :)

cheers
v.t.

oh, meant " a little less dangerous" :-)

sry.

VernonTrent,

Thanks for the advice. It is always good to hear what other photographers do to achieve their results.

I am still attempting to work on the basics, composition, exposure, DOF, so that less post processing in necessary.

I love the details on this ...sharp and clear and the narrow dof .. great work !!

Lindy,
Thanks for the kind comment!

I see what you were attempting Mike..but i personally would rather see focus on ONE object instead of 3-4. Another angle may be. I would like to see more clarity and a bit of a brigher photo.

I do understand what you were attempting...I live very near many many civil war graves and I have yet to find the one or two I feel I can do justice to.

To me, this photo doesnt show gloominess so much as it looks like it was an indoor photo without enough light. I do understand these are not indoors..but that is the feeling I get.

Sher,
thanks for the useful critique.
Once th temperature drops I plan to go back out to this area and do another shoot.
Hopefully such suggestions help the composition and mood of the photos.

I like the effect of the tilted front stone with those grasses growing at its base - I think it would make a more pleasing shot just cropping straight across at the very base of the second stone up and leaving it in a landscape format. Ideally the tilt would lean into the frame rather than out, but one cannot have everything! Unless you want to think about that on your reshoot?

love the effect here and works well in the sepia like tones...great detail and good framing

andygibb,
thanks for the positive feedback.

Sher,
thanks for the great comment.
I can agree with the lack of focal point.
I was just amused at the story behind it and was hoping it would provoke some thought.

Funny photo, I love stuff like this....but the sign does not stand out.

Very well seen! The irony of the sign and the headstones could make a great image if you just tightened it up a little - I agree that the sign needs to be lighter to hold its own with the headstones, and I would also remove the headstone behind the treetrunk on the right, because it is spoiling the point! Perhaps cropping between the trunk and that headstone and losing some of the shadow at the bottom might work.
On a different point, I am still trying to work out what is going on at the far end of the road - what is that very straight line cutting off the tree trunks?

annabc,
the very straight line?

It could perhaps be the building right in the distance.
This road rake a sharp left after the hill and circles the cemetery.

Thanks Mike - once I started looking at it as a building rather than a patch of sky, it all fell into place!

Wow this reptile looks powerful... master of its domain! I have to agree that the reflection is distracting and the background looks poor quality. However I do like the composition and subject, nice work!

Ramon,
Thanks for the comment.
Be sure to check out the latest on of him!

wow-he is really flared up! Cool capture!

Mike - As for the background/reflection..i agree with the others. Maybe you could try a sheet of solid paper against the back glass for taking photos - they offer many backgrounds for fish tanks..maybe something for reptiles as well.

As for your lizard...he is wonderful. I would however like to see him stand out more (or POP) against his environment - to me he blends in too much with his rock.

The detail of his scales and the background story add a great deal to the photo. It does tell a great story...I would myself prefer to see a more complete story with a more dominant photo where your pet lizard commands the eye better.

Thanks for all of the great comments.
Wonderful to hear you like.
This was one of the spur of the moment shots so there was not a lot of setup avail.
As for the background, I am planning on printing one of my desert Panoramics but have yet to get to it yet.

This through glass using a polarizer.
The orange/red "noise" that is seen is the sand that he has managed to get all up and down the glass walls.

Too bad about the sand on the glass but it sure does serve to emphasize his playful activity... Nicely composed!

this is a great shot I think ..I like the lighting ,the texture and perspective!

Ramon,
I agree about the sand but if it gets cleaned, it is in the same state the next day.

Lindy,
I was glad that I was able to focus this one properly and the textures turned out amazingly well.