Young and Old

Richard

Here are a couple from the past few days:



This is one of my first attempts at B & W conversion and toning.




Hope you like them. C & C always welcome.

Cheers,

thegreenegg

I like your attempts on both of the pictures. But something seems to be taking my attention away from them too.
I like the first one for its color and vibrant life. Especially the crazy-eyed look of the boy and the full-out beautiful laugh of the girl at left. However, one of those moments would have done for me. I think the other people in the picture draw the focus away from whatever moment you were trying to create and make it feel more of a snap-shot then a picture.
The second one I think you have the right idea. The toning in black and white is perfect. Too much color or a distracting color from anything in the background would take focus away from the subject in front. So good choice. I would only like to see a more engaging expression on the fellow's face, but I really like his stance. It's hard to get the exact right expression, but overall very nice.
I'll look around for you in the future.
Ashley

Richard

Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Ashley. You are spot on. The first was a shot of a Cuban dance group in mid-performance. They weren't the greatest dancers in the world but they had tremendous vitality, and that's the main thing I was going for. And, yes, the espression is #2 is unfortunate...if you look carefully you can see his tongue sticking out a bit. I hope that wasn't directed at me. I was focused on the overall composition and didn't notice. So much to learn still...

Cheers,