Weekly #466 - Black and White Competition

Hello folks

Thank you for your entries. I must say that the standard has been high and I have sweated over each and every photograph in judging the competition.

Well, here goes, my thoughts.

the laser in the shopping mall by davidwozhere
Impact. Circles, lines, a dynamic angle; all brought to the fore by the use of B&W. The figure really adds giving a sense of scale and story to the image.

The church across the weir by Vic Cross
Impact. A very different interpretation. The composition is great. I do think that the image would work in mono but feel that, as cool as the processing is, the image loses out by not having a range of tones.

Staithes by pentax
This is a lovely composition with lots to explore. It works well in mono. My only observation is that there are clear haloes on the headland that are from over sharpening? If this can be dialled back it would help the image.

Glass Houses by AndrewA
Powerful cityscape. That sky caps it off. And the glass does have a shimmering quality with the conversion. Funnily enough, I see this and want to see the colour version.

Is this the spectre of "Bill" by Daronl
I love a story. And I love this shot. Great angle, nice conversion. A subtle conversion that goes against my want to boost the contrast, a good thing. My only minor observation: sometimes a photograph needs only brief explanation. This one stands on its own as imagination takes over.

A Quiet Corner by swarf
Ah. Simple but well observed and framed. Frames within a frame. A subject that does cry out for mono treatment thereby reducing it to form and tone. I like simple. I love this.

Archie by wozfromcov
Hello Archie! What an impactful portrait. Sharp, lots of tone in Archie's fur. Archie, your pet photographer has done you proud.

Morning Manouvres by davidtrout
Timeless. Steam, livery, pools of light, folk. Great shot. If the engine to the right had been a bit further forward it might have added to the impact? A minor observation, you can't direct them!

Guildford Castle by GlynM
Interesting. A lovely composition and a great scene. I'm just not sure about B&W here. The scene is quite compressed and the lack of colour compresses it more because of the similar tones in the foreground and the castle. Colour would bring in the greens and blues providing some separation.

Teed off- waiting for the rain to stop by conexus
Like it. A picture that sums up June. The conversion brings out the misery of the forlorn figure. The rain in sharp relief to the otherwise tranquil scene. Minor observations, the frame, not sure, and you have a very bold watermark (no pun intended!).

Seaside Attraction by ken2390
Ah. Pier pressure. It's a nice view but the contrast is a tad low so the photo looks a little flat. Again, I want to see this in colour.

The wardrobe by Michaelblue
Another scary shot! Like this. The subject, the old doorframe, the peeling wallpaper, the lighting. No exif? Film? (some folk can tell film apart from digital- my varifocals struggle....!)

The Sage by bforbes
Nice graphic scene of a slab of modern architecture. B&W suits the subject. I feel that all that is missing is a sense of scale. Hard to do, but a good shot nonetheless.

Travelling Post Office Carriage Interior by JAK
Well observed, again timeless, photograph. The conversion adds to the period feel. It can't be helped, but I feel that a human element would have completed the story.

Mike Aspinall by johnriley
Nice portrait of an interesting subject. I am glad to see that the photographer has not gone down the uber gritty over stylised route. Perfectly natural. My only minor observation is the highlight on the nose. It very slightly distracts.

Water Thick Knee in sunlight by Noelcmn
Good shot where the plumage lends itself well to a conversion. The lighting is lovely. But, again, I find myself wanting to see the colour shot.

Jaws.... by drofmit
My nightmares were completed on seeing this chap. Great shot, sharp, lends itself to the conversion. Can the highlights be toned down a little and the blacks increased? A minor quibble.


Folk have risen well to the challenge. I have found this difficult as B&W can be pretty subjective. Tried to focus on the strength of the B&W as well as the subject. So, winners!:

Third Place
The laser in the shopping mall by davidwozhere

Second Place
Morning Manouvres by David Trout

Winner
A Quiet Corner by swarf

Highly Commended
Glass Houses by AndrewA
Archie by wozfromcov


Thank you all! Now over to you.

Great subject and a very worthy winner; the simplicity of the photo was so refreshing for a B&W which can sometimes lend themselves to an "all teeth and contrast" ( like when I do them ubfortunately)

Great shot

Congrats to Swarf

What a great shot! Evokes some strong desire to try it out. Congratulations Swarf. And extended to Davidwozhere and David Trout and the HC' s AndrewA and Wozfromcov. Excellent challenge. Thanks for that and the judging/comments, Simon. Always appreciated.

Many thanks for a great competition and congratulations to our winners.

Glyn

Great winner and great variety of themes submitted!

Thanks for the competition Simon, and your efforts in judging and commenting on the entries. There were some excellent images. Congrats to Swarf and David and the HCs and many thanks for my second place.
David

Well done swarf! a deserving winner.
Thanks for the competition and interesting judging Simon

Ps. I don't know what happens to the EXIF on photos I upload, it just comes out as "$+%>&^*(*. It never used to happen

Michael: I get ^F£)*F! EXIFs now and then too - no one has a satisfactory explanation for it so far.

The hammock is the place to be - well done - and where else would a coal tank and a spamcan come together like that? (railway nicknames)
Thank you for the placing and for your succinct judging Simon.