Fall, Nature & Editing

Like a lot of people I love fall foliage.  I love seeing the trees turn various shades of red, orange, yellow and brown.  Of course I had to take my camera out and capture a few images.  I pulled the images off my card and went into processing mode.  I like nature in color but I'm becoming more and more fascinated with nature in black and white.  Therein lies my problem.  I am still perfecting the art of black and white nature without making it look flat and dull.  In addition to playing around with the black and white, I have to reign in my latest processing addiction, copper toning!  There's something about that particular rich toning that I like ... it just feels so warm.

The above photo was taken late Summer/early Fall and as you can see, the trees were still rather green.  I was exploring the park with my camera, looked up and saw that guy meditating.  He was obviously very good at meditating as there were some children playing rather loudly on the rock right behind him.  

When I first took the photo, I saw it in black and white.  I couldn't see it any other way.  Then, I turned it black and white.  I added contrast, I took away contrast, I tinkered with shadows, highlights and toning.  In the end a photo I thought would turn out lovely, just doesn't do anything for me in color or black and white.  Perhaps I'll re-visit it with fresh eyes down the line.

The above two photos and their edits caused me a dilemma.  I love the color but I also love the copper toning and contrast of the black and white versions.  I still can't decide which one I like best.  

The above is another photo I thought would be great in black and white.  But, I just can't get it right!  I think part of my lack of satisfaction is that it's not composed the way I want it.  I know you're thinking, "well, silly woman, why didn't you compose it the way you wanted?"  Good question!  There were obstructions so I tried to get as close to the angle I wanted as possible.  This photo will drive me crazy and I'll be forced to tinker with it until I find an edit that makes me happy.