DSS #86 - Range of monotones

lkbart

Another challenge outside my comfort zone - I see so many gorgeous monotone photos but I never seem to get a conversion that pops for me. Was cool to find out that my when I put my camera in monotone mode, the photo recorded is still in color, even though it appears in b/w on the screen & auto converts to a b/w jpg from raw - always great to learn something new! Comments & suggestions please!

1. Treasure awaits (or Surprise Inside?)


2. Reflections


3. Reflections 2 (this is a composite photo - I assume that's okay since the only restriction is monotones)


4. Phloxy Butterfly


5. Sweet William Peepers



6. Sneaky kitty



7. Bob (won't enter this one as I just saw someone else's shot of a cat similar to Bob in the gallery, but I already had this one done)

mr peas

I like #3 and #6. The cat shot could use a bump up in contrast to discern the cat's black coat with the entire scene. #3's green tone sort of works for me, but its missing something, maybe it may also need a slight bump in contrast as well? Make sure to remove or make-small your watermarks in your submission and when submitting the composite image, that a proper Exif is still attached to the image file.

Froch

alot of cats this round. )

I'm a fan of number 5. I like that the focus weaves of a story of the flower, not the flower picker. Very nice.

lkbart

Thanks mr peas & Paul (& the watermark is just from my Smugmug gallery, won't be on the entry). I've reworked all of them after playing with a tonemapping tutorial, not sure if I've overdone it or underdone it (or some of both). Seems like they do pop a bit more. I'm adding some other shots, since my Cereus bloomed tonight! & there's one from The Big Read kick-off in Wichita today. Comments & suggestions appreciated!

3a reworked - Reflections


5a reworked - Sweet William Peepers


6a reworked - Sneaky Kitty


8. Not sure of a name for this one yet - they danced to The Cruel War by Peter Paul & Mary at The Big Read kickoff celebrating Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried"


9. One Night Only!


10. One Night Only!


11. One Night Only!

lkbart

& about the cats - Bob is the easiest animal to photograph! He sets still, he gives me goofy looks & he is sooo easy to focus. Can't believe how hard it is to focus on the kitties & how easy it is to focus on Bob.

WhatSheSaw

I like the reflected dancers in #8, but I wish the flag were not behind them.

I like the original of the black kitty (#6) better than the reworked one.

I really like the light in #11.

I am having a hard time comparing #5 and 5a. I'm with Froch on this - the focus is appealing.

sapphire73

Like the composition and light with #11. Lots of good options here!

lkbart

Thanks Karen & Gretchen. I wasn't sure on #5 if the little dianthus was significant enough or showed up enough to make the focus work, & 5a is just a bit brighter. Another shot that looked a little different in my head. & I completely agree on the flagpole. The Color Guard positioned 3 flags up front at the start of the ceremony, so oh well. The flags were a part of every shot I took. I think I'll look back through the other cereus blooms that I took - I was playing with a flashlight in various positions, so I'm sure I have some others that might have a better composition with the "alternative" lighting. Thanks for the comments - good luck all!